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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.