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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
relic boundary
geometric boundary
consequent boundary
cultural consequent boundary
physical consequent boundary
open boundary
militarized boundary
