AP Huge Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes

Political Geography

A branch of human geography concerned with the spatial analysis of political systems

Political Map

Shows spatial organization of the countries and territories on the entire globe at a given point in time

State/Country

An independent political unit with a centralized authority that makes claim to solve legal, political, and economic jurisdiction over a region with defined boundaries

Independent State

A state that rules itself and is not subject to the authority of another state

Sovereign State

A state that possesses the sole authority over the land and people within its boundaries

Nation

A community of people bound to a homeland and possessing a common identity based on shared cultural traits such as language, ethnicity, and religion

Nation-State

The ideal, political geographical unit; one in which the nation’s geographic boundaries (a people and its culture) exactly matches the state’s territorial boundaries (governance and authority)

Nation State Ideal

The idea that political authorities govern in the name of all of a country’s citizens, modern mass communications link all residents, and state-based citizenship rights reinforce the idea of a national identity

Nationalism

A sense of belonging to and self-identifying with a national culture; people with a strong sense of nationalism derive a significant part of their social identity from a sense of belonging to a nation

Stateless Nation

An ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation-state

Multinational State

A country containing multiple national, ethnic, and religious groups within its boundariesM

Multistate Nations

Ethnic groups territoriality divided by one or more international boundaries

Autonomous Region

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a degree of self-government, or autonomy, in its decision making

Semiautonomous Region

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has some degree of, but not complete, self-government

City-State

A small sovereign state that is made up of a town or city

Self-Determination

A nation’s ability to determine its own statehood and to govern themselves in their own territories and form their own states

Core Area

A small territorial nucleus from which a country grows in area and over time

Escarpments

Abrupt slopes that break up general continuity of terrain

Effective Sovereignty

The idea that a state’s power to enforce its sovereignty may extend beyond its territory and varies over time and from country to country

Devolution

Movement of power from a central government to regional governments within the state, can occur by granting power and recognizes region

Ethnonationalism

A form of nationalism in which the nation is defined in terms of ethnic identity

Neocolonialism

A set of economic and political strategies by which wealthy and powerful countries indirectly maintain or extend their influence over less wealthy areas - more modern than colonialism

Peripheral States

• Little industrial development

• Simple production systems (raw materials)

  • Low levels of consumption and manufacturing

Core States

• Most advanced industrial and military technology

• Complex manufacturing systems

• Higher levels of wealth and mass consumption

Neocolonialism makes peripheral states dependent on the core states

True

Shatterbelts

Regions of continuing and persistent fragmentation due to devolution and centrifugal forces

Shatterbelt Theory

Shatterbelt areas are subject to frequent innovation, boundary changes, and low economic development

Choke Points

A narrow passage that restricts traffic to another region

Straits

A narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water; sometimes act as choke points

Terriotoriality

A political and cultural strategy used by individuals, groups, or organizations to claim power over an area of land and its people and resources

Boundary

A clearly demarcated line that marks both the limits of a territory and divisions between territories

Median Line Principle

An approach to dividing and creating boundaries at the midpoint between two places

Borderland

A region straddling both sides of an international boundary where national cultures overlap and blend to varying degrees

Frontier

A region at the margins of state control and settlement

Enclave

A territory surrounded by a country, but not ruled by it

Exclave

A part of a national territory separated from the main body of its country

Delimited

How boundaries are fixed or defined or identify their limits

Demarcated

How boundaries are set apart to distinguish their limits

Relic Boundary

A boundary that no longer functions as an international border

Superimposed Boundary

A boundary placed on an area without regard to existing boundaries (cultural differences)

Subsequent Boundary

A political boundary that developed with the cultural landscape

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary that was identified before an area was settled

Geometric Boundary

A boundary that has regular, often perfectly straight, lines drawn without regard for an area’s physical or cultural features

Consequent Boundary

A boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing cultural differences

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

A special boundary in which treaties or governments between nations, military powers, or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel; usually lies along an established frontier or boundary between two or more military powers or alliances

Buffer States

A politically and economically weak independent country that lies between the borders of two powers

Satellite States

A nominally independent country that is politically, militarily, and economically controlled by a more powerful state

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

A conference organized to define territorial boundaries and rights to the Sea through establishments of four zones - territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, & the high seas

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

A zone that extends 200 nautical miles from shore line in which coastal states have the sole right to exploit, develop, manage, and conserve all water resources lying beyond the land

Electoral Geography

A subfield of political geography that analyzes the geography of political preferences and how geography can solve voting outcomes

Voting District

A territorial division for casting votes in public elections; generally, only those who live in the voting district are permitted to cast their votes there

Electoral College

• A body of 538 electors In the U.S.

• A majority of 270 electoral votes required to elect the president

• The states’s number of electors = the number of members in its congressional delegation (house of rep + senators (2))

Reapportionment

The process by which the 435 seats in the U.S House of Representatives are divided proportionately by population among the 50 states following every U.S. census

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor a particular political party, group, or electron outcome

Packing in Gerrymandering

Concentration all of the opposition party into one district, thereby creating a large majority of that party in the district while ensuring that it cannot win any electron

Cracking in Gerrymandering

Dividing opposition votes into many districts, thus diluting the oppositions’s vote to ensure it doesn’t form a majority in any district

Subnational State

The smaller areas into which a larger state is divided

Unitary State

An independent state that concentrates power in the central government and grants little to no authority to its subnational units

Federal State

An independent country that disperses significant authority among subnational units