AP Human Geography Unit 4 Notes

Sovereignty

Authority or power given to self-govern.

State

A political unit with a government and a fixed territory.

Territoriality

Process of enforcing control over a geographic area.

Nation

A group of people bound together by some sense of common culture, ethnicity, language, shared history, and attachment to a homeland.

Self Determination

Concept that people of nations have the right to govern themselves without interference

Nation-State

National groups homeland coincides with the borders of the state

Multinational-State

Country with several national groups within their borders

Multi-State Nation

National group is spread out over several different states

Autonomous Regions

High degree of self government; Freedom from its parent state

Semi-Autonomous Region

Having a degree of, but not complete, self-government

Nationalism

Belief people’s greatest loyalty should be to the nation not king

Core area

Small territorial nucleus from which a country grows in area over time

Independent movements

Groups of people inspired by nationalism, advocating for separation from larger political entity

Imperialism

Controlling economic, political, and cultural systems - starts with need for natural resources

Colonialism

Occupation with settlers, and exploiting poor country for its raw materials

Devolution

Movement of power from central gov. to regional gov.

Ethnonationalism

Support political interests of particular ethnic group

Regionalism

The breaking up of an area into autonomous regions

Superimposed Boundaries

Drawn on the landscape by outside powers

Decolonization

Decolonization after WWII (1945-1970)

Neocolonialism

The control of less developed countries (LDCs) (peripheral) by developed countries (core) through indirect means

Worlds System Theory/Peripher-Core Model

Geopolitical theory refers to the division of labor with World Systems Theory;Framework to understan how the Capitalist World Economy was created

Periphery

Low on technology; Lack of education; Little wealth

Semi-periphery

Both core and periphery processes occur

Core

Technology; Education; Wealth

Shatterbelts

Regions of continuing and persistent fragmentation; Buffer zone between two hostile countries;High level of diversity between both

Choke Point

Limits access to people, land, and resources making control of these access points crucial

Territoriality

Political and cultural strategy used to claim power over Land, People, Resources

Boundaries

Clearly demarcated line

Borderlands

Regions straddling both sides

Enclave

Territory surrounded by a country, but not ruled by it

Exclave

Territory separated from the main body of country

Geopolitics

effects of geography + power + politics + international relations in global scale

Organic Theory (German School)

argues that states are born and that they need nourishment and living space to survive - their nurishment = weaker states; Colonialism and Imperialism drives this theory

Heartland Theory (British American School)

Belief that control of Eastern Europe (Russia and Central Asia) would lead to domination of the “world island”

Rimland Theory

The Rimland comprises densely populated coastal areas of the world. -crucial- more varied resources than the heartland;- “Godfather of containment”

Political Boundaries

Invisible line that separates one state from another

Natural Boundary

Based on physical features to separate entities

Relic Boundary

National border that no longer exists, but still holds some kind of significance

Antecedent Boundary

Boundary that existed before human settlement

Geometric Boundary

Usually straight lines without consideration for environment or cultural patterns

Subsequent Boundaries

Established after human settlement

Consequent Boundary

Established in order to accommodate cultural or physical differences that preexist between two areas

Superimposed Boundary

A boundary drawn by outside powers

Defined boundary

Established by a legal document

Delimited Boundary

line drawn on a map

Demarcated Boundary

represented on the landscape (sign, border wall, fence)

administered

how the boundary will be maintained or enforced

Definitional Boundary Dispute

Parties disagree over how to interpret the legal documents or map

Locational Boundary

A lake/river is not questioned; Interpretation of the border is

Operational Boundary

Disagree on a major issue involving the border

Allocation Boundary

Boundary not in question; Resources around it

Types of State Morphology

borders are equidistant from center(compact,elongated,prorupted,perforated,fragmented)

Compact State

borders are equidistant from center

Elongated State

states are twice as long as they are wide

Prorupted State

state has protrusion extending out

Perforated State

state has an entire country inside its borders

Fragmented State

state is in pieces (islands)

Enclave (Morphology)

(inner) is territory completely surrounded by the territory of other state

Exclave (Morphology)

(outer) is territory separated from the main country

Landlocked Countries

Any landlocked country is at a distinct political and economic disadvantage

International Law of the Sea

Land Boundaries; Vertical plane extends above and below ground along a states boundary;Also applies to the sea

Territorial sea (water)

Extend 12 nautical miles from land; Considered sovereign territory of a state

Safety - Contiguous zone

12-24 nautical miles from land; Not sovereign; Considered part of international waters; May exercise control for security purposes

Resources - Exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

Explore, extract minerals, and manage up to 200 nautical miles (continental shelf)

Arctic Council

Gives a forum for issues faced by the arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic

Voting districts

Local geographic area in which you vote for representatives to congress

Suffrage

The power to vote

Reapportionment

Deciding how many seats a state will have based on population changes (census)

Redistricting

Process of deciding how a state will be divided into districts based on the number of seats

Gerrymander

The redrawing of political boundaries for political advantages by one of the major political powers

Packing

Bundles votes into one district

Cracking

Breaking up large groups into small districts to dilute vote

Unitary States

Have strong centralized government structure; Power is concentrated in a National Assembly inside a national capital city

Federal States

Have a decentralized government structure;Power is shared between a national assembly inside a national capital city and local assemblies inside local capital cities

Democracy

Power is shared among competing groups

Anocracy or semi democracy

A country that is a mixture of democratic and autocratic

Autocracy

Authoritarian (autocracy) regimes concentrate power; Can be a single dictator or a political party

Apartheid

Segregation of non-white citizens of South Africa until ‘91

Devolution

Breaking up a state into smaller units or the passing of power from central to lower government

Balkanization

Fragmented or division of a state or region into smaller regions, often hostile with one another

Proxy wars

A war instigated by a major power that does not itself become involved

Satellite states

A state dominated by another state politically and economically

Terrorism

An organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets; Create fear/terror in furtherance of political aims; Hopes of achieving devolution

Irredentism

The effort to reunify a “lost” territory

Supranationalism

Multiple countries form an organization

NATO

Military and political alliance of created to counter Soviet Power

UN

organization to promote international cooperation

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that pull countries apart

Failed states

The state is unable to perform basic governmental responsibilities and lacks proper authority over its land

Stateless nations

The nation is fighting to establish its own state