AP Hug Unit 4

Country

An identifiable land area that represents a specific territory and population

Nation (culture group)

A population with a single culture and shared history

State

A population under a single government that has a defined territory and sovereignty

Nation-state

A single culture group that possesses its own sovereign territory and government

Sovereign territory

The land area that a state has exclusive authority and control over

Multinational states

Countries w/ 1+ nation/ethnic group in borders (Switzerland- French, German, Italian, Romansch)

Nationalism

The strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s own nation or country

Stateless nations

Ethnic groups or nations that do not possess their own sovereign territory or state

Federal states

A system of government where power is shared between a central authority and regional sub-units

Confederations

like federal but with less pwr in central gov (non-binding for member states) (none exist as states right now post-2006 dissolution of State Union of Serbia and Montenegro)

Microstates

Extremely small sovereign states that often consist of a single city or small island

Autonomous regions

Areas within a state that have been granted a degree of self-rule and independence

Supranationalism

The process where multiple states work together for a common economic or political goal

Supranational organizations

Groups formed by three or more nations to promote shared objectives

United Nations

A global organization of member states dedicated to maintaining international peace and security

European Union

regional supranational organization integrates economies and politics of European nations

Free-trade union

An agreement between states to eliminate taxes and restrictions on trade with each other

Open-border policy

A policy that allows people and goods to move freely between member states without checkpoints

Monetary union

A group of states that share a single common currency

Judicial union

A system where member states share a common court or legal framework

European Union Constitution

A proposed document designed to provide a legal foundation for the European Union

Territoriality

The attempt by an individual or group to affect and control people or things by delimiting a geographic area

Expatriate

A person who lives outside their native country

Enclave

A territory or part of a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of another state

Exclave

portion of state separated from main pt by other land (Alaska, separated from US by Canada)

Territorial sea

area of ocean 12 nautical miles from state's coastline where full sovereignty

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

maritime area up to 200 nautical miles from country's coast- holds unique rights over natural resources (1982 UNCLOS) (fish stocks, oil, natural gas)

High seas

The open areas of the ocean that are not under the jurisdiction of any single state

Admiralty law

The body of law that governs activities and disputes occurring on the high seas

Antecedent boundaries

Political boundaries that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place

Relic boundaries

Boundaries that no longer function politically but are still visible on the cultural landscape

Subsequent boundaries

result from conflict or cultural changes (war, migration) (german-polish border after 1945)

Superimposed boundaries

Boundaries forced upon an existing cultural landscape by a colonial or external power

Geometric border

A political boundary defined by straight lines or arcs regardless of physical features

Definitional border disputes

Conflicts centered on the legal language and interpretation of a boundary agreement

Locational border disputes

where border is on map (border moves)

Operational border disputes

Disagreements over how a border should function regarding migration or trade

Allocational border disputes

Conflicts over the extraction and ownership of resources that cross a boundary

Frontier

historical term- land unexplored/unsurveyed; describes the open + undefined territory (only one today Antarctica- 1959 Antarctic Treaty prohibits military/commercial activity)

Conference of Berlin

The 1884 meeting where European powers divided Africa into colonies without regard for ethnic groups

Self-determination

The concept that ethnic groups or nations have the right to govern themselves

Tyranny of the Map

borders imposed by Europe onto Africa (where political allegiance is based upon tribal identity) — cramming together tribes w/ precolonial conflict history

Ethnic cleansing

The systematic forced removal or killing of an ethnic group by a more powerful one

Morphology

The study of the shapes of states and how those shapes affect their governance

Annexation

The formal act of acquiring territory by conquest or occupation

Seat of government

The location where the primary political authority and administration of a state is situated

Suffrage

The legal right to vote in political elections

Popular representation

A system where citizens elect officials to represent their interests in government

Electoral College

The system used in the United States to elect the president based on state-level results

Reapportionment

The process of reassigning legislative seats based on changes in population

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of electoral boundaries to favor one political party or group

Aristocracy

A form of government in which power is held by the nobility or a privileged upper class

Absolute monarchy

supreme aristocrat is head of state and gov (Saudi Arabia, Oman, Vatican City)

Head of state

The highest-ranking official who serves as the public representative of a sovereign state

Head of government

highest official in gov of state; presides over cabinet/group ministers who lead executive departments (PM of UK, Chancellor of Germany, and President of USA)

Constitutional monarchy

A system where a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written constitution

Prime minister

The leader of the executive branch in a parliamentary system

Republics

States in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives

Separation of powers

The division of government authority into distinct branches to prevent any one part from becoming too powerful

Constitutions

The fundamental laws and principles that govern a state or organization

Communism

A political and economic system where property is publicly owned and each person is paid according to their needs

Marxism

class-free society w/ no wealth/pwr inequalities. basis for communism

Planned economy

An economic system in which the government determines what goods are produced and their prices

Quotas

Fixed limits on the amount of goods that can be produced or imported

Devolution

The transfer of certain powers from a central government to regional or local governments

Proletariat

The working-class people who do not own the means of production

Definition

The stage of boundary creation where the exact location is legally described in words

Delimitation

The process of drawing a boundary on an official map

Demarcation

The physical marking of a boundary on the ground using signs or walls

Physical border

A political boundary that follows natural features like mountains or rivers

Cultural border

A political boundary that follows ethnic or linguistic divisions between populations

Geopolitics

The study of the effects of geography on international politics and relations

Centripetal forces

Factors that tend to unify a state and provide stability

Centrifugal forces

Factors that tend to divide a state and lead to instability or conflict

Balkanization

The process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Irredentism

country should expand borders to nearby territory where ppl same ethnic/cultural group live

Chechnya

A federal subject of Russia that has experienced significant conflict over its desire for independence

Reunification

The process of bringing together parts of a country that were previously divided

Neocolonialism

contemporary colonialism using economic pressure (China BRI state-controlled companies give out infrastructure contracts in exchange for doing what China wants)

Heartland-Rimland model

A geopolitical theory comparing the strategic importance of the interior of Eurasia versus its maritime edges

Heartland

The central interior region of Eurasia believed to be the pivot point for world power

Rimland

The maritime fringe of a country or continent that surrounds the heartland

Commodity of conflict

thing states are willing to fight over (land in Mackinder’s Heartland-Rimland Model)

Shatterbelt theory

1950 modification of Heartland-Rimland model w/ Pivot Area, Inner Crescent, Outer Crescent; predicted Cold War conflicts in Inner Crescent

Pivot Area

The core region of the heartland that is central to global strategic control

Inner Crescent

The coastal areas of Eurasia that surround the pivot area in Mackinder's theory

Outer Crescent

The oceanic and island regions located beyond the inner crescent of Eurasia

Buffer states

Neutral countries situated between two larger hostile powers to prevent conflict

Containment

A policy aimed at preventing the expansion of a hostile power or ideology

State terrorism

Acts of terror conducted by a government against its own people or other state