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Antecedent Boundary
Borders established before there has been major settlement by people in a territory.
Berlin Conference
In 1884, European powers gathered to divide up the continent of Africa and establish boundaries, drawing for their own benefits without regard for tribal cultures and distributions.
Brandt Line ( The North–South Divide)
A line that divides the more developed North from the lesser developed South.
Buffer State/Zone
A small, neutral country between two larger, rival powers.
City-State (ancient and present-day)
A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland.
Choke Point
A strategic strait or canal which is narrow, hard to pass through, and has competition for use.
Cold War
A geopolitical division between Western allies and the Soviet Union that emerged following WWII and continued until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Colony
A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent.
Colonialism
An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.
Consequent Boundary
A type of subsequent boundary that considers the existing cultural distribution of the people living in the territory and redevelops boundary lines to align more closely with cultural boundaries.
Decolonization (after WWII)
A process where almost all European colonial territories won independence after WWII and transitioned to self-government.
Demilitarized Zone
A buffer zone forced into existence by treaties or agreements between nations forbidding any military installations, activities, or personnel.
Domino Theory
The idea that if one land in a region came under the influence of Communists, then more would follow in a domino effect.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
200 nautical miles in which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources (fishing, whaling), as well as natural resources (natural gas, oil, and energy).
European Union (EU)
A European supranational organization that promotes development within the member states through economic cooperation.
Fortified Boundary
A type of boundary constructed by the state to either keep people in or out of their territory.
Federal State
An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to local government units.
Heartland Theory
The idea that whoever controls Eastern Europe controls the world.
Geometric Boundary
Boundaries established on straight lines of latitude and longitude instead of physical or cultural boundaries.
Geopolitics
Global-scale relationships between sovereign states.
Gerrymandering
The process of redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power.
Imperialism
Control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous group.
Lebensraum (Friedrich Ratzel)
The concept that the living space for each distinct nation was based upon the optimal physical geography of the culture group.
Mahan’s Theory
The belief that the country that possessed power would be the one that controlled the seas.
Relic Boundary
Borders that no longer exist but have left some imprint on the local cultural or environmental geography.
Redistricting
State’s internal political boundaries that determine voting districts for the US House and state legislature. Redrawn to reflect new census data accurately.
Rimland Theory (Spykman)
The belief that whoever controlled coastal Eurasia would be able to control the world.
Shatterbelt
Instability within a region that is geographically located between states with opposing political and cultural values.
Sovereignty
The ability of a state to govern its territory free from the control of its internal affairs by other states.
Subsequent Boundary
Borders drawn in areas that have already been settled by people, typically due to changes that have occurred there.
Superimposed Boundary
Border lines placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern.
Supranationalism
The process of nation-states organizing politically and economically into one organization or alliance.
Supranationalistic Organizations
Organization comprising multiple member countries with shared objectives and cooperation in political, economic, and/or sociocultural spheres.
Unitary State
An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials.
UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)
Gave coastal countries navigational and economic sovereignty and proposed oceanic boundaries for UN members.
Balkanization
Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities.
Blockbusting
A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices out of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood.
Autonomous Regions
Location within a state that is given authority to govern independently from the national region. This could be to a lesser degree if semi.
Voting District
A geographical term used by state and local governments to organize elections drawn by state legislatures.
Charter Group
Early arriving ethnic group that created the first effective settlements and established the recognized cultural norms
Devolution
The movement of power from a central government to regional governments within the states.
Ethnic Cleansing
A process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one to create an ethnically homogenous region.
Ethnic Enclave
A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct from those in the surrounding area
Ethnicity
Identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions.
Ethnonationalism
Loyalty to a particular ethnicity rather than a nation.
Ethnic Separatism
People of a particular (usual minority) ethnicity fight for separation/independence (usually from the larger group).
Exclave
A region of a country that is completely separated from the main body of that country
Hegemony
The political dominance of a country or region by another country with consent of some form
Irredentism
A policy of cultural extension and political expansion aimed at a national group living in a neighboring country.
Multi-Ethnic State
A state that contains more than one ethnicity.
Multinational state
A state containing two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities.
Nation
A group of people with a common identity through shared cultural traits such as language, religion, ethnicity, and heritage.
Nationalism
Loyalty and devotion to a particular nationality.
Nationality
Identification with a group of people who share legal attachment and personal allegiance to a particular place due to being born there.
Nation-State
A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality.
Race
Identification with a group of people descended from a common ancestor.
Racism
The belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.
Ethnocentrism
The feeling that one's own ethnic group is superior
Self-Determination
The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves.
Stateless Nation
A nation of people without a state to occupy.
Part-Nation State
When a nation overlaps the boundaries of multiple states or if there are multiple nation-states of the same nation
Failed State
A government that has become incapable of providing the basic functions and responsibilities of a sovereign nation
Uneven Development
The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of the globalization of the economy.
State
An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs; otherwise referred to as a country.
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