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)

Area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers, or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel

• Core Function: It serves as a buffer zone to separate hostile forces and reduce the risk of renewed conflict

• Political Status: While it is often a "neutral" space, it frequently acts as a de facto (in practice) political boundary between two states that may still legally be at war or in a ceasefire

EX - Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

EX - Green Line - Cyprus (Turks and Greeks)

EX - Antarctica (Antarctic Treaty - 1959)

EX - Kuwait/Iraq (1990s)

Democratization

Process by which a state transitions from an authoritarian regime (dictatorship, monarchy) to a democratic system where the people have the power to choose their leaders and laws

Democratization Involves:

Competitive Elections: Regular, free, and fair voting

Civil Liberties: Freedom of speech, press, and assembly (crucial for the diffusion of ideas)

Rule of Law: Laws apply to everyone equally, including leaders

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

• EX - Post-Apartheid South Africa (1994)

• EX - Fall of the Soviet Union (1991)

Devolution

Process where power is transferred from a central government to smaller, regional governments within a state, essentially giving more autonomy to local areas and decreasing the central government's authority

Transfer or delegation of power from unitary (central) to federal (local)

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

Economies of Scale

Refers to the cost advantages that a business obtains due to an increase in the size of its output (production). Essentially, as production volume goes up, the average cost per unit of output goes down

Ex. - Automobile manufacturing, global food products (Pepsi, Coca Cola, McDonalds)

Devolution - 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

Specific process where a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one to create an ethnically homogeneous region

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)

Devolution - 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 (Subdivision of States) State

Country where governmental power is shared between a central (national) government and regional (local/provincial/state) governments

Federal states have more locally based, dispersed power centers

EX - United States, Canada, Nigeria, Belgium, India, Germany

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 country seeks to reclaim territory in a neighboring state because they believe it belongs to them historically or ethnically - usually happens when a Nation (a group of people with shared culture) spills over the borders of a State (the official country)

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

Trade-Off

• The Cost: You lose some control. (e.g., You can't print your own money or declare war whenever you want)

• The Benefit: You gain strength in numbers. (e.g., Access to a massive trading market, protection from enemies, or a louder voice in global politics)

Unitary (Centralized) 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, Japan

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

Devolution - Physical Geography

A country's terrain creates physical barriers, it creates isolation. Isolation allows distinct cultures to develop separately from the rest of the country and makes it difficult for the central government to enforce its will. This forces the central government to grant autonomy (devolution) to keep the region happy

Examples of Physical Geography Devolution

• Basque (Spain) - mountains

• Indonesia - fragmented islands

• Nunavut (Canada) distance

Berlin Conference

"The Scramble for Africa"

• Who: 14 European powers (including Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Belgium). Crucially, no African leaders were invited.

• The Goal: To regulate European colonization and trade in Africa to prevent war among the European powers.

• The Result: They drew lines on a map to divide the entire continent into colonies

Centrifugal Force - Failed State

Force or attitude that pulls people apart and acts to divide a state

• Forces dividing a country (war, ethnic tension, corruption) become stronger than the forces holding it together (national identity, effective government), the state collapses

• Central government has lost sovereignty (control) over its own territory

Examples of Failed States

Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen

Centrifugal Force - Uneven Development

Force or attitude that pulls people apart and acts to divide a state

Significant gap in economic wealth, infrastructure, or industrialization between different regions of the same country (often called the Core vs. Periphery gap)

Main Elements

• The Rich Region (Core): Often feels they are "subsidizing" the rest of the country. They pay high taxes but see their money going to poorer regions instead of improving their own local infrastructure. They feel "held back."

• The Poor Region (Periphery): Often feels neglected, exploited, or left behind by the central government. They may feel their resources are being extracted to make the rich region richer

Examples of Uneven Development

United Kingdom (North and South), Brazil (Southeast and North), Italy (North and South)

Centrifugal Force - Stateless Nation

Force or attitude that pulls people apart and acts to divide a state

Ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state (sovereign country) and is not the majority population in any nation-state - Because they don't have their own state, they are often a minority in someone else's state. They may be oppressed, forbidden from speaking their language, or denied economic opportunities

Examples of Stateless Nations

Kurds, Palestinians, Basques

Centrifugal Force - Ethnic Nationalist Movements

Force or attitude that pulls people apart and acts to divide a state

Organized political or military efforts by a specific ethnic group to gain more power, autonomy, or total independence - pull the state apart because the ethnic group feels more loyalty to their own "nation" than to the country ("state") they live in

Examples of Stateless Nations

Basque (Spain), Catalonia (Spain), Quebec (Canada), Chechnya (Russia), Former Yugoslavia, Sudan/South Sudan

Centripetal Force - Ethnonationalism

Any force, attitude, or institution that unifies people and enhances support for a state

How a shared ethnic identity acts as the "glue" that holds a specific nation-state together

Ethnonationalism acts as a unifying force primarily in Nation-States.

• The Logic: If the vast majority of people in a country belong to the same ethnic group, their shared history, language, and ancestry make them feel like a big family. This reduces internal conflict and increases loyalty to the government

Examples of Stateless Nations

Japan, Poland, other nation-states