APHG Unit 4 — political processes and patterns

What is a state?

A state consists of a permanent population, defined borders, a sovereign government, and is recognized by other states

What is sovereignty?

The authority of a state to govern itself including domestic and international affairs

What is a nation?

A group of people with a shared culture, language, history, homeland, and self determination

What is self determination?

The right or desire of a nation, or a group of people, to govern themselves

What is a multinational state?

A state that has more than one nation within its borders — examples include Russia and the U.S

What is a multistate Nation?

A nation that has more a state of its own, but also stretches into other states

What are some examples of multi state nations?

Korea (North + South Korea) or the Kurds (stretches through Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Iran)

What is a stateless nation?

A nation that has a history of self-determination, but does not have a recognized state

What does a stateless nation lack?

Lacks one or more of the following: Control over political boundaries, government with sovereign rule, control over its internal and external affairs, recognition from other states

What are some examples of stateless nations?

Kurds, Palestinians, Catalonian’s, basques, and the Flemish

What is an autonomous region?

A geographic area located within a state and has a high degree of autonomy from the state and has self-governing rights

What is a semi-autonomous region?

Geographic area that is controlled by another state, but only has a Moderate degree of self-governance. The national government can step in whenever they feel it is in their best interest

What is an example of a semi-autonomous region?

Hong Kong

What is a city-state?

Sovereign state with political and economical control over the surrounding countryside

What is an example of a city-state?

Vatican City

What is colonialism?

The practice of acquiring territories & settling there to exert political, economic, and social control over the area

What is imperialism?

The idea of growing a state or empire by exerting force over other nations to gain political, economic, and social control over the area

What is the difference between imperialism and colonialism?

Imperialism does not involve creating a colony like colonialism, and is usually the driving force behind colonialism.

What is a negative byproduct of imperialism\colonialism

Lead to the forced migration of millions of enslaved people (Atlantic slave trade)

What is decolonization?

Process of a stat leaving a former colony for independence

What is devolution?

The transfer of power from a national government to regional governments

What are some examples of devolution?

Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales all have autonomy as regional governments, but are still apart of the United Kingdom

What is balkanization?

When a state breaks up into multiple smaller states

What is the most common examples of balkanization?

The term derives from the breaking up of Yugoslavia, which was composed of multiple different nations which are sometimes referred to as “Balkan” countries

What is neocolonialism?

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

What is a multinational country?

A corporation that operates in more than 1 country

What are some examples of multinational coorporations?

Apple, Disney, Tesla, McDonald’s

What is an example of multinational corporations displaying neocolonialism?

Multinational coorporations use their economic and political power to locate production in developing countries to take advantage of their cheaper tax rates, labor, and looser regulations

What are some neocolonialism practices?

Giving loans to developing countries that the cannot pay back, spread of universalizing religions, and promoting their culture to developing countries

What is an example of neocolonialism?

China and Africa - China has issues billions of dollars to help build Africa’s infrastructure and fund construction projects. This gives China more power and influence over the African economy, and the ability to benefit from the booming African Economy

What is the secondary sector?

Activities that take raw resources to produce products of higher value (example- construction worker)

What is the tertiary sector?

Activities that provide a service for individuals. (Ex- lawyer)

How does neocolonialism affect countries?

In the case of Africa, more people move to the secondary sector of the workforce, which makes more money for China, enabling their population to move to the tertiary sector.

What is a choke point?

A strategic and narrow route providing passage through or to another region (example- Suez Canal)

Why are choke points important?

They’re important for trade, and any country that controls a choke point gains global economic and political power.

What is a shatter belt?

Geographic area caught between larger external powers who are currently fighting

What are some examples of shatter belts?

The Korean Peninsula and Kashmir

What can cause shatterbelt to be formed?

Can be caused by religious conflict or fought ownership

What is a demilitarized zone?

Area between two states which cannot be occupied or used for military purposes

What are some examples of demilitarized zones?

Kashmir, Palestine\Israel

What is a geometric boundary?

A border that follows lines of latitude and longitude (border is a straight line between two points)

What is an example of a geometric boundary?

The boundary between the U.S and Canada

What is an antecedent boundary?

An antecedent boundary is a boundary that existed before human settlement

What is an example of an antecedent boundary?

The boundary between Chile and Argentina because the boundary is based off thee Andes mountains

What is a relic boundary?

A boundary that is no longer active, but still impacts the cultural landscape, such as the Berlin Wall between east and west Germany

What is a superimposed boundary?

A superimposed boundary is a boundary created by a foreign state or group. An example of this would be the Berlin Conference, where European countries drew the border for Africa.

What is often ignored in superimposed boundaries?

Local ethnic groups and linguistic characteristics of an area

What is a subsequent boundary?

A boundary that develops along with the development of the cultural landscape. Opposite of a superimposed boundary in that many boundaries are based off different nations, linguistic groups, and cultural landscapes that existed before the boundaries were created

What is a consequent boundary?

A type of subsequent boundary that is created to divide different ethnic groups, religions, or linguistic groups. An example of a consequent boundary is the boundary between India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, which occurred due to religious conflicts

What is a frontier?

Geographic area in which no state has direct power or control over

What is delimiting?

The process of drawing a boundary on a map

What is demarcating?

The process of making a boundary

What is the purpose of boundaries?

Individuals use boundaries to show others where their property starts or ends, organizations use boundaries to better understand zoning in cities and towns for urban planning purposes

Definitional boundary dispute

A boundary dispute that takes place over the interpretations if the original documents that defined the boundary

What is a Locational boundary dispute?

A boundary dispute over the location of the boundary and ownership of the land. An example of this dispute is the border of Mississippi, which was based off the Mississippi River, which has shifted over time— causing the boundary to shift as well.

What is an allocational boundary dispute?

Dispute that occurs over the resources in or on a boundary (natural resources such as oils)

What is an Operational boundary dispute?

A dispute on how to manage a boundary and handle different issues\situations that occur on the boundary (disputes on how to operate, maintain, and control boundary. Ex- Mexico and U.S border)

What is an internal boundary?

A boundary that exists within a country’s borders such as congressional district, state, or school district boundaries.

What is a voting district?

A geographic area organized together with the purpose of administering elections (geographic area where people go to vote)

What is redistricting?

Redistricting is the process of redrawing districts after the census has occurred, responsibility to do this is usually left to third party organizations or state leaders

What is gerrymandering?

When districts are gerrymandered, it allows parties that are gerrymandering the districts to get more seats in government

What is cracking?

The process of spreading like-minded voters out across multiple districts in order to ensure that like-minded voter are in the minority of each district and reduces the likelihood that their vote will have an impact on an election

What is packing?

The process of stacking like-minded voters into just a few districts to reduce the impact of their vote in other districts, which diminishes the overall ability of a party to win majority districts

What is a unitary state?

Power is located in the central or national government (little to no power is given to regional and local governments)

What are some examples of unitary states?

China, France

What are some characteristics of unitary states?

Usually have a small(er) geographic area, strong sense of national identity, and a more homogenous population

What is a federal state?

Power is distributed between the national government and regional\local governments that exist within a state

What are some examples of federal states?

Australia, U.S, Canada

What are some characteristics of federal states?

Often have a larger geographic area, more diversity, and isolated populations

What is the UNCLOS?

It stands for the United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea, it was created to settle allocational boundary disputes in the sea

What is the territorial sea?

12 nautical miles from the shore. In this zone, states may set laws mandating passage of ships registered in other states. Most mainland laws apply in this area as well, since state has economical and political control

What are contiguous zones?

They are 12-24 nautical miles from shore, and states may enforce laws concerning pollution, taxation, customs, and immigration.

What is an exclusive economic zone?

Between 24-200 nautical miles from shore. States have the right to resources in this area, such as oil and fish.

What is devolution?

Transfer of power from national governments to regional governments. States can either break up into multiple small states because of this (balkanization) or the power can simply decrease from the national government.

What is ethnic separatism?

When a person starts to identify more as their own ethnic group rather than as a citizen of the state, which often results in groups seeking more autonomy and political power (can cause devolution)

What is a reason why ethnic separatism can occur?

Sometimes it can occur due to the physical geography of a place; if an ethnic group is physically separated from the state and other cultural groups in the state by mountains, rivers, etc. This makes them more likely to retain and develop their own cultural identity.

What are some ways devolutionary movements can occur?

They can occur from linguistic differences. An example of this would be Belgium with the Flanders (Dutch speakers) and the walloon’s (French speaking).

What are some examples of devolutionary pressures?

high rates of violence and terrorism, which causes challenges in the state and demand for structural changes. Large disparities between citizens of a state (ex- Catalonia in Spain) and government corruption as well as nationalism.

What is ethnic cleansing?

Forcefully removing or “cleansing” an ethnicity from an area

What is genocide?

Genocide is the intentional and systematic elimination of a particular ethnic, national, or religious group. An example of genocide is the Rohingya Muslim minority group in Myanmar, who were systematically killed by the government because they were seen as “illegal immigrants”

What is terrorism?

The use of violence and intimidation against civilians to try and promote fear for political reasons

What is irredentism?

A movement by a nation to unite other parts of its nation that are located in other state. This can act as a devolutionary pressure because it puts pressure on a state to split. An example of this would be Ukraine and Russia.

What does it mean when a state disintegrates?

When a state breaks up into smaller parts (the state ceases to exist in its current form and new states are created). Examples include Sudan and South Sudan, and the Soviet Union

How can technology challenge governments?

Technology can reduce the hold autocratic government has on their citizens because citizens can spread awareness on the internet of what is happening in their country, and allows for people to organize, plan, and mobilize to challenge the government.

What is an example of how technology helped citizens challenge their government?

The Arab Spring of 2011, where people used twitter and facebook to share information on the government and its corruption and abuse. This lead to the downfall of many different dictators in North Africa and the Middle East.

What is democratization?

The process in which a political regime becomes more democratic

What is a supranational organization?

An alliance which consists of Multiple countries that work together to achieve common goals or address specific issues\challenges that impact the states. Governments have to follow certain criteria and rules to join these organizations, therefore forfeiting some of their sovereignty.

What is an example of a supranational organization with a focus in military purposes?

NATO (provides security and protection to member states, as well as economic benefits). States join these in order to gain military alliance, protection from other states, and increase their political stability.

What are some examples of supranational organizations that promote economic prosperity?

European Union, Association of Southeast Asia Regions. States join these to be more competitive in global markets and stabilize their economy which leads to a overall prospering state.

What are some examples of supranational organizations that focus on the environment?

An example would be the Arctic Council, which seeks to unite arctic states in hopes of sustainability efforts and preserving wildlife and nature. States join these in order make their states cleaner and better place to live through the sustainability efforts made by the organizations.

What is a failed state?

A failed state is a state that no longer has a functioning government, which is when the government can no longer provide its basic duties (basic necessities such as infrastructure, running water, education, food, etc.) to its citizens and loses authority over the land.

What is a nation-state?

A sovereign state with a relatively homogenous population that has a shared language, culture, and history. (essentially has one nation residing within its borders). Examples include Japan and South Korea.

What is nationalism?

Nationalism is a political ideology that emphasizes the interests, culture, and identity of a particular nation, often advocating for self-governance and independence from foreign influence.