APHG Unit 4 Vocab

state

largest political unit, formal term for a country

sovereignty

the power of a political unit to rule over its own affairs

nation

a group of people who have certain things in common such as cultural heritage, belief sets or claim to a homeland

nation-state

a nation of people who fufill the qualifications of a state

multinational state

a country that contains more than one nation

autonomous region

a defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-governance and freedom from its parent state

semiautomonous region

a state that has a degree of, but not complete self-rule

stateless nation

a cultural group that has no independant political identity

multistate nation

when a nation has a state of its own but stretches across boardes of other states

nationalism

a nation’s desire to create and maintain a state of its own

centripetal force

a force that unifies people

centrifugal force

a force that divides peoplev

imperialism

a broader concept that includes a variety of ways of influencing another country or group of people by economic control, direct conquest or cultural dominance

colonialism

a particular type of imperialism in which people move to and settle on land of another country

Berlin Conference

a key event where european empires made claims to parts of africa despite pre-existing ethono-linguistic, cultural and political boundaries

self-determination

the right to choose ones own soveirgn government without external influence

decolonization

the undoing of colonization

genocide

organized mass killing in which people are targeted because of their race, religion, ethnicity or nationality

Cold War

a period of diplomatic, political and military rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union

satellite states

a state dominated by another politically and economically

devolution

the process in which one or more regions are given increased autonomy by the central political unit

geopolitics

the study of effects of geography on politics and relations among states

territorality

willingness by a person or group of people to defend space they claim

neocolonialism

indirect economic, political or cultural control exerted over developing countries

choke point

a place of physical congestion between wider regions of movement and interaction

physical geographic boundaries

natural barriers between areas such as kceans, deserts, and mountains

cultural boundaries

boundaries that split people based on some cultural division, such as language, religion or ethnicity

antecedent boundary

a type of boundary that precedes the development of the cultural landscape

subsequent boundary

a boundary typically created while the cultural landscape is evolving and is subject to change over time

ethnographic

boundaries usually related to cultural phenomena

superimposed boundary

a boundary drawn by outside powers and may have ignored existing cultural patterns

Berlin Conference

a meeting held by European powers to divide Africa into colonies

landlocked states

states without territory connected to an ocean

relic boundary

boundaries that have abandoned for political purposes, but evidence of it still exists on the landscape

geometric boundary

a straight line or arc drawn by people that does not closely follow any physical feature

consequent boundary

a boundary that takes into account pre-existing cultural or physical landscapes

cultural consequent boundary

a boundary that takes into account pre-existing linguistic, religious or ethnic traits

physical consequent boundary

a boundary that takes into account pre-existing natural features

open boundary

an unguarded boundary people can cross easily

militarized boundary

a boundary that is heavily guarded and discourages crossing

defined boundary

a boundary establish by a legal document, such as a treaty

delimited boundary

a boundary drawn on a map by a cartographer to show the limits of a space

demarcated boundary

a boundary is one identified by physical objects placed on the landscape

definitional boundary dispute

a dispute that occurs when two or more parties disagree over how to interpret the legal documents or maps that identify the boundary

locational boundary disputes (territorial disputes)

a dispute that centers on where a boundary should be and how it is delimited and demarcated

irredentism

a type of expansionism when one country seeks to annex territory where it has cultural ties to part of the population or historical claims to the land

operational boundary dispute (functional dispute)

a dispute that centers around how a boundary functions

allocational boundary dispute (resource dispute)

a dispute that centers around a separation of natural resources

administered boundary

how a boundary will be maintained, how it will function and what goods and people will be allowed to cross

controlled borders

boundaries that have checkpoints where a passport or visa are required to enter the country

exclaves

territories that are part of a state, yet geographically separated from the main state by one or more countries

political enclaves

states, territories or parts of a state or territory that are completely surrounded by the territory of another state

shatterbelt

a place located between two very different and contentious regions

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

a treaty signed by more than 150 countries to define four zones of the sea

territorial sea

an area that extends up to 12 nautical miles of sovereignty where commercial vessels may pass but noncommercial vessels may be challenged

contiguous zone

coastal states have limited sovereignty for up to 24 nautical miles where they can enforce laws on customs, immigration and sanitation

exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

coastal states can explore, extract minerals, and manage natural resource up to 200 nautical miles

high seas

water beyond any country’s EEZ that is open to all states

small island developing state (SIDS)

small island states that control nearly 30% of all oceans and seas

internal boundaries

boundaries used at the subnational scale to divide countries into smaller units

electoral geography

spatial thinking techniques and tools to analyze elections and voting patterns

voting districts

internal boundaries that divide a country’s electorate into sub national regions

electorate

people of a country who are eligible to vote

census

a count of the population that happens every ten years

reapportionment

changing the number of representatives granted to each state to reflect the state’s population

redistricting

redrawing district boundaries so each district contains roughly the same number of people

gerrymandering

the drawing of boundaries for political districts by the party in power to protect or increase its power

cracking

dispersing a group into several districts to prevent a majority

packing

combining like-minded voters into one district to prevent them from affecting elections in other districts

stacking

diluting a minority-populated district with majority populations

hijacking

redrawing two districts in order to force two elected representatives of the same party to run against each other

kidnapping

moving an area where an elected representative has support to an area where he or she does not have support

federal state

a state that unites separate political entities into an overarching authority

unitary state

a state where most or all of the governing power is held by the national government

annexation

the process of legally adding territory to a city

devolution

the transfer of some political power from the central government to sub national levels of government

ethnic separatism

the advocacy of full political separation or secession from the larger group along cultural, ethnic, tribal or governmental lines

ethnic cleansing

a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent or terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas

terrorism

organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets to create fear for the advancement of political goals

irredentism

a movement to unite people who share a language or other cultural elements but are divided by a national boundary

autonomous regions

regions that have their own local and legislative bodies to govern a region with a population that is an ethnic minority within the entire country

subnationalism

people who have a primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity

balkanization

the fragmentation of a state or region into smaller, often hostile, units along ethno-linguistic lines

globalization

the integration of markets, states, communication, and trade on a worldwide scale

supranationalism

the practice of multiple countries forming an organization for the benefit of all members

United Nations (UN)

a global organization to promote peace, security and human rights

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

an organization that provides mutual defense of member states in the north atlantic

European Union (EU)

a union of European countries to integrate member state politically and economically

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement

a treaty between the US, Mexico and Canada that stimulates free trade between members

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

an south Asian union with goals of advancing economic growth, peace, social progress and cultural as well as economic development in the region

Artic Council

a council of countries with territories in the Arctic, and is meant to foster cooperation, coordination, and interaction among the Arctic states with participation of Arctic indigenous communities

African Union

comprised of all countries in Africa, and is made to advocate peace, security, and stability on the continent through greater cooperation, economic development, and global integration

World Trade Organization (WTO)

a supranational organization with the goal of having countries agree to a set of fair and non-discriminatory guidelines for international trade

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

an organization with the mission of unifying its member’ Petroleum policies in order to stabilize oil markets

Transnational Corporations

companies that conduct business on a global scale

Democratization

the transition from autocratic to more representative forms of politics

time-space compression

the social and psychological effects of faster movement of information over space in a shorter period of time

centrifugal forces

forces that divide the citizenry in a country

centripetal forces

forces that unite a country’s population

regionalism

when loyalty to a distinct portion of a country is more important than loyalty to the entire country