APHG UNIT 4

Political Patterns and Processes

State

Political unit with defined boundaries, permanent population, sovereignty, recognized by other states

Nation

Group of people with shared culture, history, homeland

Nation-State

State whose population is primarily one nation (ex: Japan, Iceland)

Multinational State

State with multiple nations (ex: Canada, Russia)

Multi-State Nation

Nation across multiple states (ex: Koreans — N. and S. Korea)

Stateless Nation

Nation without a state (ex: Kurds, Palestinians)

Sovereignty

Ability to govern itself

Territoriality

Connection of people, culture, economy to land

Self-Determination

Right of nations to govern themselves

Geometric Boundaries

Straight lines (ex: U.S.-Canada border)

Physical (Natural) Boundaries

Mountains, rivers (ex: Andes between Chile and Argentina)

Cultural (Ethnographic) Boundaries

Language, religion (ex: India-Pakistan)

Antecedent Boundaries

Pre-existing (before settlement) (ex: U.S.-Canada)

Subsequent Boundaries

After settlement, reflects cultural landscape (ex: Yugoslavia)

Superimposed Boundaries

Imposed by outside power (ex: Africa by colonial powers)

Relic Boundaries

No longer functional, but still visible (ex: Berlin Wall)

Definitional Boundary Dispute

Over legal language (ex: Chile-Argentina)

Locational Boundary Dispute

Over placement (ex: India-Pakistan Kashmir)

Operational Boundary Dispute

Over how boundary functions (ex: U.S.-Mexico border security)

Allocational Boundary Dispute

Over resources (ex: Iraq-Kuwait oil fields)

Compact State

Small, centralized (equidistant from center) (ex: Poland)

Elongated State

Long, narrow (ex: Chile)

Prorupted State

Compact with projecting extension (ex: Thailand)

Perforated State

State that completely surrounds another (ex: South Africa-Lesotho)

Fragmented State

Scattered pieces (ex: Indonesia)

Landlocked State

No access to sea (ex: Niger)

Unitary State

Centralized power (ex: France)

Federal State

Power shared between central and local (ex: U.S.)

Devolution

Power transfer from central to regional (ex: U.K. to Scotland, Spain to Catalonia)

Balkanization

Breaking into smaller hostile units (ex: Yugoslavia)

Shatterbelt

Region caught between stronger powers (ex: Eastern Europe Cold War)

Supranational Organization

3+ states for common goals, examples:
→ UN: Peacekeeping, cooperation
→ EU: Economic, political union (Europe)
→ NATO: Military alliance
→ ASEAN: SE Asia economic cooperation
→ Arctic Council: Manage Arctic region
→ African Union: Political, economic cooperation in Africa

Gerrymandering

Manipulating district boundaries

Redistricting

Redrawing districts after census

Reappointment

Reallocating seats in legislature (ex; U.S. House of Reps)

Types of Gerrymandering

→ Cracking: Splitting opposition voters
→ Packing: Concentrating opposition voters
→ Stacking: Merging dissimilar areas

Heartland Theory (Mackinder)

Control Eastern Europe → Control world

Rimland Theory (Spykman)

Control coastal areas (Rimland) → Power

World-Systems Theory (Wallerstein)

→ Core: High development (U.S., Japan)
→ Periphery: Low development (Sub-Saharan Africa)
→ Semi-Periphery: Emerging (Brazil, India)