Define the notion of state territorial morphology and discuss its application to Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand, respectively as compact, fragmented and protruded states.
Guidelines & Outline Answer:
Define "state territorial morphology" - refers to the size and shape of a state, and what does that means in national political life. A state's territorial morphology does not necessarily determine their viability, cohesion, unity. They can, however influence these qualities.
A ‘compact state' is one processing roughly circular territory in which the distance from the geometric centre to any point on the boundary exhibits little variation. Cambodia is a good example in South East Asia.
A ‘fragmented state' is one whose territory consists of several separate, non-contiguous parts isolated from one another by international waters or even areas of other states: Examples include Malaysia, Indonesia and Philippines.
A ‘protruded state' is one processing territory that is at least in part of a narrow, elongated land extension protruding from a more compact core area. In South East Asia, the southernmost portions of both Thailand and Myanmar are examples.
Examples
Cambodia: Ancient Khmer kingdom, Angkor Wat temples. Population is relatively homogeneous - 90% of Cambodians are Khmers. Cambodia's geographical advantages: compact state encloses a maximum of territory within a minimum of boundary. Its cultural homogeneity reduces the danger of centrifugal forces. But it could not withstand the impact of larger political forces, e.g. Vietnam War 1960-1975
Thailand: An example of a ‘protruded state'. Has a relatively compact heartland, in which lie the core area, capital, and major areas of productive capacity. The boundary that defines this protrusion runs down the length of Malay Peninsula to the Kra Isthmus, where neighboring Myanmar peters out and Thailand confronts the Andaman Sea as the Gulf of Thailand. In the entire country, no place lies farther from the capital Bangkok than the southern end of this tenuous protrusion.
Malaysia: Example of a ‘fragmented state': West Malaysia and East Malaysia (island of Borneo). A colonial political artifice. Politically, UMNO dominates the Barisan Nasional governing coalition: focus on race-based politics amid the challenges of modernization. Development programme of PM Mahathir Mohamad (1982-2004). Sabah and Sarawak: threat of devolution (demands for greater political autonomy)
Additional information
The question belongs to Politics. The question is about state territorial morphology and its application in smaller southeast Asian countries such as Cambodia, Malaysia and Thailand. State morphology can be described as the shape and boundaries of a particular state. The morphology of a state can create issues within the region and such issues have been discussed in the solution.
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