AP Human Geo Unit 4

State

A politically organized territory with a permanent population, defined borders, and a sovereign government.

ex. USA

Nation

A group of people with shared culture, language, or history.

Nation-State

Usually one ethnicity in a state

ex. Japan

multinational state

two nations/ethnicities combined together into one state

ex. Canada with French and English

Multi-state nation

An ethnic group that exists across two borders of countries

stateless nation

A group of people who share a common culture, but lack their own independent sovereignty

ex. Palestinians

autonomous region

Territory/self governance within a country

semi autonomous region

A region that has some self rule, but still is controlled by a central government

ex. Greenland (Denmark).

perforated state

A state whose territory completely surrounds another

ex. South Africa, completely surrounding lesotho.

elongated state

A country that’s long and narrow

ex. chile

protruded/prorupted state

narrow elongated land extension away from mainland

ex. Thailand

fragmented state

not contagious, separated by other land or sea

ex. indonesia

land locked state

no sea access

ex. bolivia

compact state

distance from center to boundaries is similar

ex. poland

relic boundary

no longer observed but that still affects the present-day area

ex. Berlin Wall

superimposed boundary

imposed on an area by outside or conquering power

ex. african colonial borders

antecedent boundary

existed before an area is known or populated

ex. US- Canada border has a river

subsequent boundary

Created after recognized settlement

Allocational boundary

Conflicting claims to the natural resources of a border region

ex. Antarctica

locational boundary

The intention of the borders disrupted as when the border has shifted

operational boundary

Involve neighbors who differ over the way their boundaries should function

ex. US-Mexican border.

Definitional boundary

Conflict over the language of the border agreement

ex. Israel Palestine

choke point

A strategic canal or strait which is hard to pass through and has competition for use

ex. strait of malacca.

shatterbelt

A distinct type of world region from which local turmoil escalates to serious conflict among outside major powers

ex. The breakup of Yugoslavia.

neo colonialism

The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries

ex. China influencing Africa to invest.

enclaves

A state or territory that is completely surrounded by another

ex. lesotho

exclaves

Territories that are part of a state yet are not connected to geographically

ex. Alaska.

gerrymandering

Redistricting for political advantage when the political party controls, the majority of seats in the state legislator draws political district boundaries to maintain/extend their political power

Federal state

A style of government in which the power is shared between central regional and local governments

ex. example United States, Mexico, Canada, Switzerland, and India.

unitary state

A style of government in which the power is located centrally in the purpose of regional or local units is to carry out policy

ex. North Korea, Japan, Iran, France.

Demilitarized zone (DMZ)

A region were military forces are not allowed

devolution

The process in which regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

Centrifugal forces:

Physical geography: due to mountains, deserts, or bodies of water

Ethnic separatism: people who identify more with their ethnic group than a citizens of the state

Ethnic cleansing: state governments to try to eliminate an ethnic group

Terrorism: organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets to create fear and gain political aims

Economic or social problems: such as discrimination against a minority group fuel devolutionary forces

Irredentism: a majority ethnic group wants to claim territory from a neighboring state due to shared culture, like the Russian and Ukraine war

self-determination

People choosing their own government

balkanization

a state breaking into smaller states

ex. Yugoslavia.

transnationalism

connections across borders

statelessness

Lack of recognized citizenship

Supernational organization

an organization of multiple countries working together such as the United Nations, European Union, NATO, etc.