This map illustrates the security status of the country of Afghanistan. The purpose of this map is to highlight those areas that are high security threats. The article accompanying this map details the efforts being made by NATO, Britain, and the United States to secure these areas from the Taliban. I would argue that using a map to tell this story is more useful than words. A writer could summarize the provinces where security is a problem, but he or she would not be able to capture the geographic significance of these locations. Maps provide much-needed context, which allow the reader to question and criticize. By looking at the map of Afghanistan, one might wonder what role Pakistan plays in the security debacle or why security threats are concentrated along Afghanistan’s southern rim.
On the other hand, maps can lead to faulty assumptions. Maps are intended to be generalizations of land and human activity. Unfortunately, news, and the news’ underlying issues, can exceed the average map in complexity. This being the case, it is important that newsmakers collaborate with cartographers on news stories to prevent oversimplification.
Source: http://www.economist.com/world/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8733593
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