AP Syllabus focus:
‘Political power is expressed geographically as control over people, land, and resources; describe how states and other actors use territory to project power.’
Political power shapes how states and political actors organize space, control populations, and manage resources, influencing territorial behavior, governance priorities, and international interactions across the globe.
Political Power and Its Spatial Expression
Political power is fundamentally geographical because states and other actors express authority through the organization and control of people, land, and resources. This spatial expression reinforces sovereignty, supports state legitimacy, and allows governments to project influence internally and externally.
Political map of the world showing independent states and their borders. The map illustrates how political power is territorially organized into distinct countries, each exercising sovereignty within its boundaries. While the map reflects a specific moment in time, the underlying idea—that political authority is tied to clearly defined territorial units—is central to political geography. Source.
The Concept of Political Power
When geographers discuss political power, they refer to the ability of a state or political actor to influence people, set policies, control territory, and access resources in ways that advance political goals.
Political Power: The ability of a political actor to influence people, territory, and resources to achieve governance, security, and strategic objectives.
Political power becomes meaningful only when it interacts with space; territory provides both the platform and the limit for this power. States therefore rely on formal boundaries, physical control, and institutional systems to maintain authority.
Sovereignty as the Foundation of Territorial Control
All expressions of political power depend on sovereignty, introduced here as the full right of a state to govern territory without interference from other states.
Sovereignty: A state’s recognized authority to govern its territory, population, and internal affairs without external control.
Because sovereignty is tied to territory, the ability to control land and resources becomes a key indicator of state stability and capability. The spatial extent of sovereignty helps determine a state’s geopolitical influence.
Controlling People: Governance, Surveillance, and Identity
States project power by shaping how people behave, identify, move, and participate in political life. Key mechanisms include:
Administrative systems such as taxation, national ID programs, and census-taking.
Legal structures that define rights, responsibilities, and punishments.
Political institutions that regulate participation, representation, and public order.
Cultural and national identity promotion, such as national education or unity-building initiatives.
These tools allow states to maintain authority over diverse populations and mitigate internal conflict, especially in culturally varied regions.
Controlling Land: Territory as Strategic Space
Control of land allows states to project authority outward and preserve internal cohesion. Land carries strategic, economic, and symbolic value.
Political map of India showing its states, union territories, and their capitals. The map illustrates how a single sovereign state internally organizes political power across multiple subnational units, each responsible for governing specific populations and areas of land. The map also notes some disputed boundaries and territorial waters, which exceed this subsubtopic but demonstrate how territorial complexity can affect political control. Source.
Territory: A bounded area of land under the jurisdiction and control of a political actor, typically a state.
Political control of land may include:
Military presence, such as bases or fortifications used to deter threats or assert dominance.
Border administration, including checkpoints, patrols, and surveillance technologies.
Infrastructure investment (roads, ports, energy grids) to integrate distant regions and reinforce state unity.
Urban and regional planning, which can reorganize populations or prioritize development in areas important to national cohesion.
These strategies help states establish spatial authority and reduce territorial vulnerability.
Controlling Resources: Economic Foundations of Political Power
Resources—natural, human, and technological—enhance a state’s ability to project political power. States often exercise control through:
Regulation and ownership of natural resources such as oil, minerals, forests, or water.
Economic policy, including subsidies, trade agreements, or investment in strategic sectors.
Resource extraction and distribution networks that create economic interdependence and strengthen the state’s legitimacy.
Control of valuable resources can also serve diplomatic or military purposes. For example, states may use energy supplies to influence neighboring countries or secure alliances.
World map showing maritime areas designated as Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs), where coastal states have special rights to exploit marine resources. The map highlights how political control of resources extends beyond land territory into surrounding waters, reinforcing the link between sovereignty, space, and access to valuable assets. This image introduces EEZs slightly ahead of later syllabus sections on maritime boundaries but directly supports the concept that resource control is a key dimension of political power. Source.
Non-State Actors and Territorial Control
Although the AP focus centers on states, non-state actors can also exert political power through territory:
Supranational organizations, which shape state behavior through rules or shared governance.
Insurgent groups or militias that claim territory and assert competing authority.
Corporations, especially in resource-rich regions, which influence land use and economic policy.
Indigenous groups with recognized or semi-recognized territorial rights.
These actors complicate the relationship between political power and territory by introducing overlapping or contested claims.
Territorial Strategies for Projecting Power
States employ specific geographic strategies to assert and maintain power:
Strategic location control, such as occupying coastal chokepoints.
Expansion or consolidation of borders to secure favorable terrain or demographic advantages.
Territorial integration policies, which use infrastructure and administration to reduce regional disparities.
Resource security efforts, including exclusive economic zoning or conservation policy.
Each strategy highlights how territory becomes a tool for influencing internal stability and international relations.
Why Control of People, Land, and Resources Matters
By controlling these three pillars—people, land, and resources—states can:
Strengthen sovereignty and legitimacy
Maintain internal order and identity
Build economic and military capacity
Influence global and regional power dynamics
Prevent fragmentation or internal revolt
FAQ
Physical features such as mountains, deserts, dense forests, and large bodies of water can either strengthen or limit a state’s capacity to control land and people.
These features may:
Hinder movement of government personnel, military forces, and resources
Create isolated regions that develop distinct cultural or political identities
Require additional infrastructure investment to maintain integration
States with difficult terrain often rely more heavily on technological surveillance, decentralised governance, or negotiated autonomy to maintain authority.
Remote regions may hold valuable natural resources, strategic military positions, or symbolic significance tied to national identity.
Reasons include:
Strengthening control over borderlands and reducing vulnerability
Preventing separatist sentiment by improving connectivity
Accessing high-value resources such as minerals, timber, or energy reserves
Such investment helps states solidify authority even where population density is low.
Uneven population distribution affects how governments allocate administrative capacity, policing, and public services.
Densely populated areas are easier to monitor but may experience:
Increased political activism
Pressure for representation and resources
Sparse regions require greater investment to maintain visibility and control. States may use incentives, migration policies, or infrastructural development to stabilise these areas.
Resource-rich regions often attract external interest, internal competition, or illicit activity, complicating state control.
Challenges may include:
Smuggling networks and illegal extraction
Corporate influence over local decision-making
Environmental degradation leading to social tensions
States must balance economic exploitation with security, sustainability, and fair distribution of benefits.
Technology enhances a state’s reach by improving communication, surveillance, and administrative efficiency.
Key tools include:
Satellite monitoring to oversee borders and land use
Digital identification systems for population management
Remote sensing to assess resource availability
Data analytics for predicting unrest or resource demand
Together, these technologies widen a state’s capacity to manage people, land, and resources effectively.
Practice Questions
(1–3 marks)
Define political power in a geographical context and briefly explain how states use territory to express this power.
Question 1 (1–3 marks)
1 mark for a basic definition of political power (e.g., the ability of a political actor or state to influence people or decisions).
1 mark for reference to the geographical or territorial dimension (e.g., control of land, boundaries, or resources).
1 mark for a brief explanation of how states use territory to express power (e.g., through borders, administration, military control, or governance structures).
(4–6 marks)
Using examples, explain how control over people, land, and resources allows states to project political authority both internally and externally.
Question 2 (4–6 marks)
1–2 marks for describing how states control people (e.g., through governance, surveillance, legal systems, or identity-building).
1–2 marks for explaining how control of land contributes to political authority (e.g., borders, strategic space, military presence, infrastructure).
1–2 marks for explaining how control of resources strengthens power (e.g., access to natural resources, economic policy, energy leverage).
Up to 1 additional mark may be awarded for relevant examples that clearly illustrate the concepts.
