Reference no: EM133560611 , Length: 3 Pages

Assignment:

If a world map is a snapshot of political history, then a sequence of world maps across time can be viewed as a kind of time-lapse recording of political endurance and political change. As you have learned from this week's readings, why one country endures while others fly apart can be framed in geographical terms as the interplay of centripetal forces (those that tie states together) and centrifugal forces (those that pull states apart). In this discussion, you will approach this topic through world maps.

Use Google to locate three world maps: one from 20 years before you were born, one from the year you were born, and one from today (the current year). Be sure that all three are political maps (i.e., displaying the names and borders of countries).

Choose one region of the world to focus on (not North America), then visually compare that region on all three maps. Save a screen shot of that particular region on all three maps.

• What changed?
• What remained constant?
• When did changes occur? Between the earlier map and your birth year? Between your birth year and the present? Both?

Pick one of the countries in that region - either one that remained the same or one that changed. Use Google to do some quick research on the recent history of that one country, then answer the following:

• If the country has remained the same since the first map, what centripetal forces might have caused it to stay together?
• If the original country fragmented, what centrifugal forces might have caused it to fall apart?

A brief summary of your findings. ALONG WITH A attach your screen shots of the maps.