AP Human Geography Unit 4 terms

Administered boundary

The enforcement and maintaining of a boundary by government. Individual countries decide how strict or relaxed border crossings will be.

African Union

An organization of African states established in 2002

Annexation

the internationally legal addition of new territory into an existing state.

Anocracy

A system of government where elements of democracy and autocracy are employed.

Antecedent boundary

the name of a boundary between two states that is created before the area is populated with human society.

Arctic Council

the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

a political and economic union of 10 sovereign states in Southeast Asia.

Autocracy

a form of government in which one ruler has absolute control and decision-making power in all matters of state and over all the country's people.

Autonomous region

an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority.

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Berlin Conference

dividing up the continent of Africa among the various European imperial powers (Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy).

Choke Point

geographic locations where the flow of people and goods can be constricted and choked off in the event of a conflict. ( A bridge, strait, mountain pass, or a tunnel)

City-States

A small sovereign state that is made up of a town or city and the surrounding area

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

colony

a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country.

Communism

A theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.

Compact state

a state that is reasonably small and centralized; it usually somewhat resembles a square.

Consequent boundary

a boundary between opposing cultural, ethnic, or political groups, that was established to settle disputes, end wars, and establish a clear separation between groups.

Constitutional monarchy

A system of government in which a monarch shares power with a constitutionally organized government. (old UK)

Contact zones

social space where disparate cultures meet, clash, and grapple with each other, often in highly asymmetrical relations of domination and subordination

Contiguous zone

An area seaward of the territorial sea in which the Coastal State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws.

Cultural boundaries

the border between two different ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups.

Defined boundary

Boundaries established by a legal document

Delimited boundary

boundaries drawn on a map

Demarcated boundary

Boundaries defined by certain physical characteristics (mountain ranges, fences, signs).

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them.

Democratization

The process of establishing representative and accountable forms of government led by popularly elected officials.

Devolution

The movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state or breakup of a large state into several independent ones (related with balkanization)

Elongated state

A state with a long, narrow shape.

Enclave

a distinct region or community enclosed within a larger different territory

Ethnic cleansing

Process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region

Ethnic separatism

when an ethnic group desires to separate from the larger group

Ethnographic boundary

A boundary based on ethnographic and cultural considerations, such as language and religion.

Ethnonationalism

a form of nationalism in which the "nation" is defined in terms of ethnicity

European Union

an association of European nations formed in 1993 for the purpose of achieving political and economic integration.

Exclave

a part of a country that is seperated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory.

Exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources.

federal state

a system of government where power is shared (in various arrangements) between a centralized government and various regional authorities

Forward capital

a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons

Fragmented state

a state whose territory is physically divided into several distinct segments.

Geometric boundary

A boundary created by using lines of latitude and longitude and their associated arcs.

Geopolitics

The study of the interplay between international political relations and the territories in which they occur.

Gerrymandering

manipulate the boundaries of (an electoral constituency) so as to favor one party or class.

Green Line boundary

an internationally recognised border.

Heartland Theory

whoever owns the heartland of Eastern Europe will control the world.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Irredentism

a political movement that is strongly tied to nationalism. It is a political movement that intends to reunite a nation or reclaim a lost territory.

Kurds

one of the largest stateless nations, with over 20 million people dispersed throughout six countries: Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Iran,

Landlocked states

a state that is completely surrounded on all sides by other countries that has no direct access to the ocean

Microstate

A country that is small in both population and area

Multiethnic state

A state that contains more than one ethnicity.

Multinational state

a state that consists of two or more nations within its borders

Nation

a politically organized body of people under a single government

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

Nation-state

is a country whose political boundaries correspond with its cultural boundaries

Neocolonialism

continued economic dependence of colonies on their former occupiers.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a group of 28 countries that has agreed to protect each other in case of attack; founded in 1949

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

an intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-producing countries that aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member states.

Perforated state

a state that completely surrounds another state. Two classic examples are Italy, which completely surrounds San Marino and the Vatican

Physical boundaries

A boundary based on the geographical features of the Earth's surface

Prorupted state

s a state that has a primary body of territory that comprises most of the state, but that also has a long extension that can dramatically increase the territorial power and significance of the country.

Reapportionment

the president transmits to Congress the number of seats each state can claim based on its newly calculated popu- lation.

Redistricting

the process of drawing electoral district boundaries, takes place in the United States following the completion of each decennial census to account for population

Relic boundary

boundaries that used to exist and can still be detected on the landscape, like the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall .

Rimland Theory

suggests that sea power is more valuable and that alliances will keep the heartland in check.

Satellite states

independent nation under the control of a more powerful nation

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Semi Autonomous region

area where a group has some type of political autonomy. Semi-autonomous regions, like Kurdistan, has a degree of power and self-determination, but not fully like the autonomous regions of Russia in the North Caucasus region

Shatterbelt

a geographical region that is endangered by local conflicts within the states or between countries in the region, as well as the involvement of opposing great powers outside the region.

Socialism

a political theory advocating state ownership of industry

Sovereignty

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

State

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Stateless nation

a group of people with a common political identity who do not have a territorially defined, sovereign country of their own

Subnationalsim

multinational state contains people that give primary allegiance to a group or nation smaller than the population of the entire state.

Subsequent boundary

formed based on religious, ethnic, linguistic, and economic differences between groups of people.

Superimposed boundary

a boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern

Supranationalism

term applied to associations created by three or more states for their mutual benefit and achievement of shared objectives

Territoriality

In political geography, a country's or more local community's sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended.

Unitary state

places most power in the hands of central government officials

United Nations (UN)

an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea

a code of maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and 200-nautical-mile-wide exclusive economic zones

World Trade Organization (WTO)

International organization derived from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that promotes it free trade around the world.