Changing Political Geography and National Identity

Flashcards providing key vocabulary and definitions based on the lecture notes about changing political borders, national identity, and global geography.

Aztecs

A people encountered by conquistadors in the early 1500s; they originated from parts of North America (now in the U.S.) and migrated into the area of Mexico they came to dominate.

Ephemeral Borders

Political borders that are temporary, not fixed, eternal, or natural; they are created to meet specific tactical considerations and are constantly changing.

Nationalism (Lecture's View)

A movement based on the misunderstanding that people's national identity is organic, natural, and eternal, despite historical evidence of constant changes in countries and borders.

Political Map

A type of map that shows the borders of political states, distinguishing it from a physical map that depicts physical features.

Ural Mountains

The traditional physical border accepted between Europe and Asia, though the distinction between the two continents is argued to be more cultural and historical than purely physical.

Antarctica

A continent considered distinctive because it is not inhabitable by permanent human populations (aside from research scientists) and is not divided into countries like other continents.

Colonies/Territories (Pre-1945)

Regions, such as Alaska and Hawaii before 1959, and many African nations, that were controlled by other sovereign states before gaining their own independence or full statehood.

UN Trusteeship

A system existing in 1945 where territories were administered by a body of the United Nations, meaning they were neither independent nor direct colonies of specific countries.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension and division, widely accepted to be from roughly 1947 to 1991, which significantly reshaped the political map of Europe and the world.

Czechoslovakia

A country created in 1918 from parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, which later peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

Yugoslavia

A communist country during the Cold War that managed to escape direct Soviet control, but later dissolved into multiple independent states throughout the 1990s.

Sovereign Country (Recognition)

A landmass becomes a country primarily through recognition by a majority of member states of the United Nations or the international community, a process that can be violent or peaceful.

European Union (EU)

An entity that evolved from early economic arrangements like the European Coal and Steel Community into a political body that coordinates decisions and integrates economies among its member states.

Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

A large state comprising 15 component republics that dissolved in 1991, leading to the creation of numerous new independent countries and fundamentally reshaping the political map.

Decolonization (Post-1945)

The historical process occurring after 1945 and into the 1960s, where many parts of Asia and Africa gained independence from colonial powers, significantly increasing the number of sovereign states globally.

South Sudan

The most recent country mentioned, created in 2011 after a bloody conflict in Sudan, illustrating continued changes in global political geography.

Burkina Faso

A country in Africa formerly known as Upper Volta, which changed its name in 1984, serving as an example of how national names and identities can evolve.

Aztecs

A people encountered by conquistadors in the early 1500s; they originated from parts of North America (now in the U.S.) and migrated into the area of Mexico they came to dominate.

Ephemeral Borders

Political borders that are temporary, not fixed, eternal, or natural; they are created to meet specific tactical considerations and are constantly changing.

Nationalism (Lecture's View)

A movement based on the misunderstanding that people's national identity is organic, natural, and eternal, despite historical evidence of constant changes in countries and borders.

Political Map

A type of map that shows the borders of political states, distinguishing it from a physical map that depicts physical features.

Ural Mountains

The traditional physical border accepted between Europe and Asia, though the distinction between the two continents is argued to be more cultural and historical than purely physical.

Antarctica

A continent considered distinctive because it is not inhabitable by permanent human populations (aside from research scientists) and is not divided into countries like other continents.

Colonies/Territories (Pre-1945)

Regions, such as Alaska and Hawaii before 1959, and many African nations, that were controlled by other sovereign states before gaining their own independence or full statehood.

UN Trusteeship

A system existing in 1945 where territories were administered by a body of the United Nations, meaning they were neither independent nor direct colonies of specific countries.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension and division, widely accepted to be from roughly 1947 to 1991, which significantly reshaped the political map of Europe and the world.

Czechoslovakia

A country created in 1918 from parts of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Germany, which later peacefully split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia in 1993.

Yugoslavia

A communist country during the Cold War that managed to escape direct Soviet control, but later dissolved into multiple independent states throughout the 1990s.

Sovereign Country (Recognition)

A landmass becomes a country primarily through recognition by a majority of member states of the United Nations or the international community, a process that can be violent or peaceful.

European Union (EU)

An entity that evolved from early economic arrangements like the European Coal and Steel Community into a political body that coordinates decisions and integrates economies among its member states.

Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

A large state comprising 15 component republics that dissolved in 1991, leading to the creation of numerous new independent countries and fundamentally reshaping the political map.

Decolonization (Post-1945)

The historical process occurring after 1945 and into the 1960s, where many parts of Asia and Africa gained independence from colonial powers, significantly increasing the number of sovereign states globally.

South Sudan

The most recent country mentioned, created in 2011 after a bloody conflict in Sudan, illustrating continued changes in global political geography.

Burkina Faso

A country in Africa formerly known as Upper Volta, which changed its name in 1984, serving as an example of how national names and identities can evolve.

Conquistadors

Spanish conquerors and explorers who arrived in the Americas in the 16th century, notable for their encounters with indigenous civilizations like the Aztecs.

Nation-State

A sovereign state in which most citizens are united by factors such as language, culture, and shared identity, often coinciding with the concept of a 'nation.'

Physical Map

A type of map that illustrates the geographical features of an area, such as mountains, rivers, and elevation, in contrast to political boundaries.

Self-determination

The principle that peoples have the right to freely choose their own political status and form their own government, often a driving force behind decolonization and the formation of new states.

Austro-Hungarian Empire

A large multi-ethnic monarchy in Central Europe that existed from 1867 to 1918, whose dissolution after World War I led to the creation of several new countries, including parts of Czechoslovakia.