AP Human Geography Free Response Question on International Boundaries

Sample Answers and Feedback

Student Sample 1

A. One geopolitical event that greatly affected the international boundaries within Europe was the balkanization, the fragmentation of a state, of Yugoslavia in the late 1980s. This breakup resulted in the formation of the states of Serbia, Slovenia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and Kosovo.

B. Nationalism can act as a centripetal force and unite people that are not necessarily residing under the same state but have a homogenous ethnicity or nationality. This was the case with the separate states of West Germany and East Germany. While the two states were separated by international boundaries, its people were of the same German nationality. This sense of nationalism caused people on both sides to advocate for the unification of the once-unified states. In 1990, the two states were reunified as one, and the international boundary between the two states was eliminated.

C. Nationalism may also act as a centrifugal force if two conflicting ethnic groups are under the same state and within the same boundaries. In most cases, people of a common ethnic group desire their own designated state over which they have sovereignty so that they may control its internal affairs. This is especially true when a particular ethnic group has religious or cultural rivalries with other ethnic groups or even the state under which they are in. This can result in political conflicts and efforts to break away from a state by creating new international boundaries. This was the case within Yugoslavia in the 1980s. In Yugoslavia, there was a series of numerous disagreements and efforts to create new states which sometimes even led to armed conflicts. This series of conflicts led to the weakening of the Yugoslav government. In the late 1980s, Yugoslavia broke up into 7 new states: Slovenia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. Each of these states had their own new international boundaries.

D. Supranationalism plays a large part in the functions of the international boundaries withing Europe largely because of the formation of the European Union(EU). One of these ways is the fact that there is one common currency amongst EU states. This means that when a citizen holds currency of one EU state, that same currency will not have to be exchanged for another currency when he/she enters another state. Another way that the EU affects the functions of the international boundaries of Europe is that there is free trade amongst EU states. This means that when one EU country exports goods to another EU country, that country does not have to pay a tariff. This results in a free flow of imports and exports through international boundaries within Europe.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt (thanks for the historical background second sentence !) B) 2/2 pts for good explanation and description! (: love ALL the vocab words used and the identification of a country in your explanation !!! C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description (: love ALL the vocab words used and the identification of a country in your explanation !!! D) 2/2 pts for 2 correct descriptions ! great job connecting them as well (: mentioning the concept of globalization in trade OR immigration could have made your responses even better, but it’s still great without it!!!

OVERALL) 7/7 pts  you are a great writer ! your explanations are very lengthy and have TONS of context and great info.

Student Sample 2

A. The breakup of Yugoslavia.

B. Nationalism: Loyalty or devotion to a particular nationality. Nationalism can eliminate boundaries because if the country is really loyal to its unity, they would propose to the government that they eliminate boundaries. We can see this on the map because the fall of the Berlin Wall removed the boundary separating east and west Germany creating a new unified Germany.

C. Nationalism can create new boundaries because if people are highly devoted to their culture and their people they may think that it is worthy of their own territories, which can create m0ore boundaries. We can see this on the map due to the breakup of Yugoslavia which happened as a result of Balkanization, or the breakup of a country due to conflicts among its ethnicities. This breakup created many new boundaries shown in the 2013 map.

D. Supranationalism: An alliance involving 3 or more countries for mutual benefit such as economic, cultural and political. Supranationalism can affect international functions because if countries and different regions are united, that would diminish trade taxes on goods. European Union could also have an opportunity to expand because once more regions are united, the European Union would have more involvement to help them be able to maintain their goals.

Intern Feedback:

A) 0/1 pt sorry… but on the AP exam you MUST respond in complete sentences because readers will NOT award points, even in identify sections, for sentence fragments…  B) 2/2 pts for good explanation and description! for reference, you don’t need to do “Nationalism: …” on the AP exam, but i do like that you included a definition to a vocab word (: C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description (: love the identification of a country in your explanation !!! D) 1/2 pts for 1 correct descriptions ! try to read the question fully for words like “ONE” & “TWO”. if you had two responses, supranationalism is the broad term for the EU so those aren’t distinct enough…

OVERALL) 5/7 pts

Student Sample 3

A. The fall of communism in Eastern Europe, and the subsequent breakup of the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.)

B. Strong feelings of nationalism in a multi-state nation can lead to the elimination of an international boundary because multi-state nations may want to join their respective states to form a single nation-state. This most commonly takes the form of irredentism as strong nationalistic sentiments encouraged states to take over other states with similar cultures. An example of nationalism destroying international boundaries is the unification of East and West Germany.

C. The balkanization of multinational states exemplifies how nationalism can create new international boundaries because of self-determination within many different nations that occupy a single state. An example of this shown on the map is the breakup of the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). This geopolitical event created many new nation-states that were previously a part of the Soviet Union. Examples of the states include Estonia, The Ukraine, and Latvia.

D. Supranationalism in Europe is most clearly seen with the European Union, an economic and political alliance between most of the states in Europe. This alliance has reduced the importance of international boundaries because it instituted open borders among all states in the Schengen Area, which incorporates most of the European Union. Another way supranationalism has affected the functions of international boundaries is that the European Union shares an economy, meaning that companies within the jurisdiction of the EU are able to freely use labor in any state and move capital between any states. This means that companies operating between two different states do not have as much of a financial burden as they typically would.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt you had a description which i did like so i gifted you this point… BUT on the REAL ap exam, readers will NOT award points for sentence fragments even on IDENTIFY sections. B) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description (: love ALL the vocab words used and the identification of a country in your explanation !!! C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description (: love ALL the vocab words used and the identification of a country in your explanation !!! D) 2/2 pts for 2 correct descriptions ! great job connecting them as well (: mentioning the concept of globalization in trade OR immigration could have made your responses even better, but it’s still great without it!!!

OVERALL) 7/7 pts  awesome responses

Student Sample 4

A. One geopolitical event that initiated change in European boundaries was the breakup of the USSR. Many new states and areas were created with the balkanization of the USSR after the Cold War.

B. Nationalism can eliminate an international boundary by allowing countries to merge due to a common heritage or culture. If two populations in two separate states have a similar culture/identity, they may decide to merge the countries for more economic/political benefits. The above map shows two countries in the east merging into one larger state from 1980-2013. This is an example of international borders being eliminated.

C. Nationalism can create new international borders by creating a divide within the pre-existing state. One area of the state may feel more connected with a specific group in the state, instead of the state instead. This may initiate that group, or nation, to devolve and eventually become their own nation-state. This may add new international borders within the previous state. An example in the above map would be the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. When the entire state broke up due to internal conflict, many new states were created based on a common language.

D. Supranationalism has affected international boundaries in Europe by making them have less control over migration/immigration. For example, with the formation of the EU (European Union), individuals from an existing EU state can freely migrate into another EU state; they can do this without needing passports or documents. This limits the international boundaries’ function of having control over immigration/migration. Supranationalism has also affected the borders’ function of regulating trade/economy. Again, with the formation of the EU, many European countries have a similar currency (the Euro) and free trade throughout the EU states. This gives each EU state, less concrete trading borders, and a lesser function to regulate international trade.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt (thanks for the historical background second sentence !) B) 2/2 pts for good explanation and description! to make your response even stronger, try to identify the name of the country that merged  C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description (: love ALL the vocab words used and the identification of a country in your explanation !!! D) 2/2 pts for 2 correct descriptions ! great job connecting them as well (: mentioning the concept of globalization in trade OR immigration could have made your responses even better, but it’s still great without it!!!

OVERALL) 7/7 pts  awesome responses

Student Sample 5

A. One geopolitical event that initiated change in the number of international boundaries in Europe between 1980 and 2014 was the break up of the soviet union

B. Nationalism can eliminate an international boundary by using a shared cultural identity to bring together into a single state. An example from the maps shown is how Germany was unified to form the country it is today.

C. States that were multinational can be divided up into nation or smaller states. The breakup of Yugoslavia caused a number of different boundaries in that region.

D. Due to the euro there is no reason for someone to exchange currency at the borders of states in Europe. People apart of the EU can participate in free trade.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt correct identification ! B) 1/2 pts for correct description BUT i need more explanation about HOW OR WHY Germany unified. C) 1/2 pts for correct explanation of the state on the map but i need description about how and why multinational states are divided up D) 0/2 pts you did not describe TWO benefits of supranationalism affected international boundaries. you tried to identify two benefits of the EU but you did not answer the question.

OVERALL) 3/7 pts keep practicing with ap hug frqs for the exam !! study how and why things work  i see that you know the vocab words but i don’t think that you fully understand how to apply the vocab words.

Student Sample 6

A. A geopolitical event that initiated change in international boundaries includes World War 2. Nation-states who were successful and won the war got to determine new boundaries for their nation, including a lot of annexation, or additional land added to the country. This resulted in the land looking different, such as East Germany and West Germany being reunited.

B. Nationalism can eliminate an international boundary by starting a internal and external conflict with other nations through war. Politicians or leaders of a nation-state can unite the citizens to opposing another nation-state. With nationalism, they can gain power over the people and government in general. For example, Adolf hitler during the World War 2 period directed nationalism to exploit his power over the people. Therefore, he was able to gain support for invading countries like Poland and starting the genocide, The Holocaust.

C. Nationalism can also create new international boundaries by using people’s support to bring a divided nation together. For example, during the World War 1 period, Yugoslavia was brought up by the leader Josip Tito, into a united cultural and political state as a nation-state. He used nationalism to make people of different ethnicities unite through communism.

D. Supranationalism has brought unification and disagreement between European countries. For example, the European union brought many positive aspects such as an open border policy, where it makes it easy for immigration to happen. This stimulates European economies. However, a negative aspect is that many countries do have disagreements about their ability to control what happens in their governments, such as sovereignty. Many feel like the European Union has too much power, bringing further debate.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt correct identification ! B) 1/2 pts for correct description BUT i need more explanation about a country on the map since you didn’t directly address the stimulus C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description using the stimulus D) 1/2 pts your negative aspect got the point, but your positive aspect was kind of two separate answers which on their own were not strong enough to earn the point.

OVERALL) 5/7 pts keep practicing with ap hug frqs for the exam !! good job 

Student Sample 7

A. The breakdown of the Soviet Union (USSR) was one major geopolitical event initiating change in the number of international boundaries in Europe between 1980 and 2013.

B. Nationalism can act as a centripetal force and eliminate an international boundary when members of the same nationality are present on both sides of that boundary. Nationalists are people who are highly loyal and patriotically tied to their countries. When an international boundary (particularly a superimposed one) divides such people with a shared history, cultural heritage, language, and nationality, the sense of nationalism and pride in national identity that binds a nation together pulls that divided nation together across the political boundary. An example of this would be the reunification of East and West Germany. Following World War 2, Germany was divided into a Soviet-backed East Germany and an American-backed West Germany. Despite the disparate political and social systems enforced by these outside countries, Germans on both sides of the border still identified as German. German nationalism was a driving force behind the abolishment of East-West Germany boundaries, because East and West Germans held the perception that their existing national identity of German deserved to be internationally recognized as one rather than divided in two. Furthermore, a nationalistic desire among the common Germans to rebuild Germany’s presence in the world following the shame of their role in WW2 was a centripetal force. To firmly establish an economic and political foothold in the global order again, Germans were determined to reunite with their fellow Germans, regardless of where they were situated in regards ti a superimposed border. Overall, the centripetal force of East and West Germans sharing a common self-determination and pride on their German identity helped eliminate the international boundary previously dividing Germany.

C. Nationalism can help create international boundaries by corroborating individual national identities existing within a larger state. When people are nationalistic, they believe in not just the validity of their state, but often even the superiority of their state, especially over other suprantational or political entities. Thus, nationalism can propel an ethnic minority from being an ethnic minority member of an existing state into being an individual national entity with a belief in self-determination. The breakdown of the Soviet Union into several smaller states is one example of this. The USSR was an enormous country covering a highly diverse, regionalized set of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural groups. These groups were often separated by physical barriers and thus developed independent national identities; the USSR felt like an empty political identity draped over these distinct cultural groups. As dissatisfaction grew among these cultural groups (which included everyone from the Kazakhs in Central Asia to Ukrainians in Eastern Europe) in regards to not being able to control their own political and social affairs, so too did their sense of nationalism. Ultimately, this led to great political and regionalist unrest in the Soviet Union that contributed to the Soviet Union’s formal dissolution into many states along cultural and ethnic boundaries in 1991.

D. Supranationalism has greatly affected the function of international boundaries in Europe, and one of the most influential supranational organizations for Europe was the European Union. The EU influenced Europe’s international borders economically by introducing the Euro, a common currency adopted by several European member states. This common European currency increased economic mobility across boundaries for individual Europeans – wages earned on the job in France could be spent in Germany without any conversion, for example – and also simplified international trade across Europe. The EU also affected international European borders by easing travel between member states. Becasue many EU states didn’t require lengthy passport checks and border crossing processes for fellow EU state members, the symbolism of the international border as a sharp dividing line was strongly reduced.

Intern Feedback:

a note – you wrote A TOOOONNNN OF info. it was almost all good, but try trimming down your responses in the future because ap hug readers appreciate when you are pretty concise.

A) 1/1 pts for correct identification !! B) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description with tons of great backing for your argument ( : C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description with good investigation of vocab words and the use of the word “nation” !! D) 2/2 pts two correct descriptions with tons of specific info 

Overall) 7/7 pts great job but see my original note ! you don’t have to trim it since this was the 25 minute frq, but you have the option to…

Student Sample 8

A. One geographical event that initiated change in the number of international boundaries in Europe was when the Soviet Union Collapses in 1991 and leads to 15 newly independent states.

B. Nationalism can eliminate an international boundary by bringing one nation from two states together. An example of this is between East and West Germany During WWII, and the unification of Germany after the Cold War in 1989. This lead to a reduction of the numbers of boundaries within Europe.

C. Nationalism can create new international boundaries by having many nations in one state separate off into their own states. An example of this is the former Yugoslavia. After the fall of the Soviet Union, the United Nations broke up Yugoslavia into separate states for each of the culture groups.

D. One way supranationalism affects the international boundaries in Europe is the fact that citizens of members in the European Union are allowed to work, and travel freely within the Union, as long as they have a passport from one of the countries that are members of the European Union. This helps the countries in the United Nations by helping their economies stay stable. Another way supranationalism affects the functions of the international boundaries in Europe is the fact that the it puts a countries sovereignty into question. If the European Union has full abilities to determine what happens on an international level for a country, that countries sovereignty is reduced.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt correct identification ! B) 2/2 pts for correct description and explanation !! C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation and description !! D) 2/2 pts you answered the question with specific examples in the EU  !!

OVERALL) 7/7 pts keep up the good work on the AP exam !!

Student Sample 9

A. The balkanization of Yugoslavia

B. Nationalism provides a shared cultural identity among people and can unify people across borders, eventually resulting in combining into one state. This is a centripetal force because nationalism strengthens a nation and creates automatic relationships over a common trait. An example from the map is the fall of the Berlin wall uniting West Germany and East Germany into one sovereign state.

C. Nationalism can create new international borders, especially within a multinational state, because of cultural differences. A nation may want more representation over themselves and recognition which can lead to self-determinism to secede and become their own state. An example of this is the fall of Yugoslavia caused by many different nations/ethnicities seceding due to cultural differences and a sense of nationalism, dividing them from others.

D. The EU, a supranational organization, has allowed free international travel and free international trade among its European member states. The EU passed the Treat on the European Union which allows citizens of any of its members to cross international borders into another state without a passport or having to go through border patrol. The EU also permits free international trade, which eliminates tariffs on international goods & services.

Intern Feedback:

A) 1/1 pt correct identification BUT AGAIN WRITE IN COMPLETE SENTENCES !!! B) 2/2 pts for correct description and explanation !! C) 2/2 pts for correct explanation of the state on the map and description !! D) 2/2 pts for correct description of the border control example BUT i would like to see more description on free trade. you got the point but i would like to see a little more description next time on free trade.

OVERALL) 7/7 pts keep practicing with ap hug frqs for the exam !! try to add a little more description, especially with 25 minutes to complete the FRQ