Vocab for ch. 9,10, & 11

Political geography

the study of the ways in which the world is organized as a reflection of the power that different groups hold over territory.

state

a politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population—in short, a country.

state government

power over a population that works together to contribute to an economy and is connected by transportation and communication systems.

sovereignty

which is the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders

nations

cultural entities, meaning that they are made up of individuals who have forged a common identity through a shared language, religion, ethnicity, or heritage—often all four of these

nation-state

territory occupied by a group who view themselves as a nation is the same as the politically recognized boundaries of the state they call their own.

multistate nation

people who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country

irredentism

the attempt to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation.

multinational state

A country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders

autonomous/semiautonomous

regions within a country that are given authority to govern their own territories independently of the national government.

stateless nation

describes a people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state

territoriality

a concept that has multiple dimensions

colonialism

practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories

neocolonialism

use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies.

choke point

narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass

shatterbelts

Territoriality and the quest for political power sometimes lead to instability in regions

self-determination

the right of all people to choose their own political status

imperialism

the puch to create an empire by exercising force/influence to control other nations/peoples

devolution

when the central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders

defining

when countries explicitly state in legally binding documentation like a treaty where their borders are located, using reference points sush as natural features/lines of latitude and longitude

delimit

when countries draw their boudaries on a map in accordance with a legal agreement

demarcated

to place physical objects such as stones, pillars, walls, or fences to indicate where a boundary exists

administer

manage the way their borders are maintained and how goods and people will cross them

antecedent boundaries

established before many people settle into an area

subsequent boundaries

drawn in areas that have been settled by people and where cultural landscapes already exist or are in the process of being established

Consequent boundary

a type of subsequent boundary that takes into account the differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups that have distinct languages, religions, ethnicities, or other traits

superimposed

a border drawn over existing accepted borders by an outside or conquering force

geometric boundaries

a mathematically drawn boundary that typically follows lines of latitude and longitude or is a straight-line arc between two points

relics

a former boundary that no longer has an official function

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

the international agreement that established the structure of maritime boundaries

exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

an area that extends 200 nautical miles from a state’s coast; a state has sole access to resources found within the waters or beneath the sea floor of its EEZ

federal state

the organization of a state in which power is shared between the federal government and internal regional units

unitary state

more power is held by a central government that maintains authority over all of the state’s territory, its regional units, and its people.

concurrent

shared, powers. Including levying taxes, making and enforcing laws, establishing courts, and borrowing money.

reapportionment

the redistribution of representative seats among states based on shifts in population

electoral college

a set of people, called electors, who are chosen to elect the president and vice president of the United States

redistricting

After each census is complete, reapportionment takes place along with a process

gerrymandering

the dividing of legislative boundaries to give one political party an advantage in elections

ethnic separatism

the process by which people of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly as members of their ethnic group than as citizens of the state

ethnic cleansing

the process by which a state attacks an ethnic group and tries to eliminate it through expulsion, imprisonment, or killing

supranational organization

an alliance of three or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals or to address an issue or challenge

economies of scale

cost reductions that occur when production rises

Ethnonationalism

the process by which the people of a country identify as having one common ethnicity, religious belief, and language, creating a sense of pride and identity that is tied to the territory; also called ethnic nationalism

ethnic nationalism

places barriers for participation in the life of the state, because identifying a country by ethnicity, religion, and language excludes people who don’t fit within those parameters.