Unit 4-2 Vocabulary - Political Patterns and Processes - AP Outline

Antecedent Boundary

Boundary that was established before the area was significantly populated or before the present-day cultural landscape developed.

• Formation: It is drawn in an area that is either uninhabited or very sparsely settled. These boundaries are often based on physical geographic features that existed long before human political divisions were created.

EX - 49th parallel between the U.S. and Canada

Boundary Administered

Process of enforcing and maintaining a political boundary by a government, including measures like border patrols, customs, checks, and physical barriers to control movement across the border - Actively managed, regulated, and enforced

EX - Border between U.S. and Canada where physical boundary with customs agents and border agents ensure security

Boundary Definition

Boundary is created in legal document or formal agreement (treaty) that establishes the precise limits of a territory or political unit

EX - Oregon Treaty (1846) separates U.S./Canada border

Boundary Delimited

Political boundary that has been drawn on a map, signifying the legal dividing between two countries or regions

Boundary Demarcated

Boundary line (defined in a treaty, drawn on a map) is officially marked on the ground with physical structures with visible markers such as: fences, walls, pillars, monuments, signs, or cleared land/cut lines (especially in forests)

EX - Border wall between U.S. and Mexico

Consequent Boundary

Political boundary that is drawn to accommodate and coincide with existing cultural, ethnic, linguistic, or religious differences between people in an area.

• Purpose: The boundary is established as a consequence of the cultural landscape's development, often in an effort to reduce conflict or grant self-determination to distinct groups

EX - Border between India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Islam)

EX - Border between Haiti (France) and Dominican Republic (Spain)

EX - Border between Ireland (Catholic) and Northern Ireland (Protestant)

EX - Border on Cyprus (Green Line) between Greeks and Turks

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Geographically defined area where military activity is prohibited by treaty or agreement between nations

EX - Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

EX - Green Line - Cyprus

EX - Antarctica (Antarctic Treaty - 1959)

EX - Kuwait/Iraq (1990s)

Democratization

Process of a country transitioning from an authoritarian government (dictatorship) to a democratic government

EX - Arab Spring (North Africa and Middle East) in 2010

Devolution

Process where power is transferred from a central government to regional/local/subnational governments with a country - giving local areas more autonomy and decreasing central government control

Primary reasons include: physical geography, ethnic diversity, economic disparities, and strong regional identities

Economies of Scale

Reduction in the per unit cost of production as volume of production increases (as businesses produce more goods, the average cost to produce EACH unit decreases - leads to increased trade agreements and supranationalism

Ethnic Cleansing

Deliberate and forceful removal of a particular ethnic group from a territory, often through violence, intimidation, or forced migration, with a goal of creating a more ethnically homogeneous area

EX - Violence against Bosnian Muslims by Bosnia Serbs during Yugoslav Wars

EX - Rohingya (Muslim) by Myanmar government (Buddhist)

EX - Rwanda - Hutu attacked the Tutsi

EX - Armenians by the Turks (Turkey)

Ethnic Separatism

Political movement where a particular ethnic group within a larger state (country) seeks to break away (separate) and establish its own independent political entity - desire for self-determination and autonomy due to feelings of marginalization or cultural differences with the dominant group

EX - Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovaks)

EX - United Kingdoms (England, Scotland, Wales)

EX - Canada (Quebec and Nunavut)

EX - Yugoslavia (Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Kosovo

EX - Sudan and South Sudan

Federal State

Political system where power is divided and shared between a central government and various regional or state governments, allowing for a balance of authority between the national and local levels within a country

Federal states have more locally based, dispersed power centers

EX - United States, Canada, Nigeria, Belgium

Geometric Boundary

Type of political border defined by its shape and construction rather than by physical or cultural features - boundary that is drawn as a straight line or arc on a map, often following lines of latitude or longitude

Examples of Geometric Boundaries

U.S./Canada Border (49th parallel)

Borders in North Africa and the Middle East (Deserts)

Irredentism

Political movement where a nation seeks to reclaim territory that it considers historically or ethnically its own

EX - Russians annexation of Crimea in Ukraine

EX - Serbian nationalists promoting a “Greater Serbia”

EX - Nazi Germany’s claim on the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia

Relic Boundary

Former political boundary that no longer functions as a border, but is still noticeable on the cultural landscape or has cultural meaning

Type of political boundary that:

• No longer functions as an official border or international political division

• Still exists on the cultural landscape, often with visible physical or cultural traces

• Holds historical significance and may influence present-day cultural, social, or economic differences between the regions it once divided

Examples of Relic Boundaries

Berlin Wall (Germany), Great Wall of China, Mason-Dixon Line

Subsequent Boundary

Type of political border that is defined by its establishment after the area has already been settled and the cultural landscape is in the process of evolving - Created to accommodate or reflect the already-existing human, cultural, and political dynamics of the region

EX - India/Pakistan border

EX - Most European boundaries

Superimposed Boundary

Type of political border that is imposed on the cultural landscape by an outside power - drawn without regard for the existing cultural, social, ethnic, or tribal divisions of the people who inhabit the territory

Examples of Superimposed Boundaries

Borders of African States during the Berlin Conference

Division of Kurdistan/Sykes-Picot Agreement

Supernational Organization - African Union

Continental organization made up of all African nations, established to promote unity, cooperation, peace, and development across the continent, addressing issues like political stability, economic growth, and human rights through collaboration between member states

Supernational Organization - Arctic Council

Intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic

Supernational Organization - Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Regional political and economic organization comprised of ten Southeast Asian countries, established to promote economic growth, social progress, and cultural development within the region, essential working together to foster cooperation and stability in Southeast Asia

EX - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos Brunei, and Myanmar

Supernational Organization - European Union

Political and economic union of 27 European countries that promotes cooperation, integration, and the free movement of people, goods, and services

Supernational Organization - North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

An intergovernmental military alliance among 29 North American and European countries with the purpose of guaranteeing the freedom and security of its members

Politically NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defense and security-related issues to prevent conflict

Supernational Organization - United Nations

International body where member countries cooperate to address global issues like peace, security, economic development, and human rights, essentially working beyond the authority of individual nations to achieve collective goals

Supranationalism

Political concept where multiple nations voluntarily give up some of their sovereignty to cooperate on a larger scale through an organization, creating policies that transcend national boundaries and affect all member states, often with the goal of achieving mutual benefits like economic integration or security

Unitary State

Political system where the majority of governing power is concentrated in a central government, with little to no power delegated to local or regional units

EX - United Kingdom, France, China, Iran

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

International agreement that establishes legal guidelines for how countries can utilize and manage the world's oceans, defining boundaries like territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, and international waters, essentially creating a framework for managing maritime disputes and resource access across the globe

• Territorial Sea - 12 nautical miles - state has sovereignty, but subject to certain rights of innocent passage for foreign vessels

• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) - 200 nautical miles - state has exclusive rights to explore and exploit marine resources