APHUG Unit 4 Vocab

Nation

Nation

a large group of people who share a common language, culture, history, and identity, and who often live within defined borders.

Nation-State

a sovereign state in which the majority of the population shares a common language, culture, history, and identity, and in which the government represents the interests of that nation

Stateless nation

a group of people who share a common language, culture, history, and identity, but who do not have their own sovereign state

multinational states

a state that consists of two or more nations within its borders.

multistate nations

refer to a group of people who share a common identity, culture, and often history, but are dispersed across multiple countries or states.

autonomous

(of a country or region) having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs.

semiautonomous

(of a country, state, or community) having a degree of, but not complete, self-government.

devolution

the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.

sovereignty

the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.

self-determination

the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and government.

shatter belts

a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and ofter fragmented by aggressive rivals.

choke points

geographic locations where the flow of people and goods can be constricted and choked off in the event of a conflict. A choke point can be a strait, a mountain pass, a tunnel, or even a bridge.

neocolonialism

when a foreign power indirectly controls or influences a territory and its people, usually through financial means

territoriality

the concept of territory, which refers to a defined area of land or water that is claimed by a group or individual as their own and is protected from external interference

relic boundary

boundaries that used to exist and can still be detected on the landscape, like the Great Wall of China and the Berlin Wall.

superimposed boundary

political barriers drawn in an area with complete disregard for the cultural, religious, and ethnic divisions within the people living there. Ex. Berlin Conference / Scramble for Africa

subsequent boundary

a political boundary that was created after two groups have already settled there

antecedent boundary

boundary between two states that is created before the area is populated with human society.

geometric boundary

A boundary created by using lines of latitude and longitude and their associated arcs.

consequent boundary

a boundary between opposing cultural, ethnic, or political groups, that was established to settle disputes, end wars, and establish a clear separation between groups.

redistricting

Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries in a representative democracy.

gerrymandering

Gerrymandering refers to the process wherein political officials redraw electoral districts to favor a certain political party, ethnic group, coalition, or social class.

unitary form of government

a state where laws are administered uniformly by one central government.

federal form of government

a system of government where power is shared (in various arrangements) between a centralized government and various regional authorities.

ethnic cleansing

when a people group commits mass expulsion or mass killing of a particular ethnic group whom they do not want to exist either in a particular region or in the world as a whole.

geopolitics

The study of the interplay between international political relations and the territories in which they occur

state

A politically bound area controlled by an established government that has authority over its internal affairs and foreign policy.

nationalism

the attachment of a person to a particular nation, or a political action by such a group to achieve statehood (or national self-determination)

Berlin Conference

convened in 1884 with the intention of dividing up the continent of Africa among the various European imperial powers (Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and Italy).

Proxy War

an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities.

decolonization

process by which colonies become independent of the colonizing country.

organic theory

the idea that countries behave like organisms in that they seek nutrition to survive. The nutrition in the country's case is land territory.

heartland theory

whoever owns the heartland of Eastern Europe will control the world.

rimland theory

that Eurasia’s rimland, the coastal areas, is the key to controlling the World Island.

delimited boundary

boundaries are drawn on a map.

defined boundary

boundaries are established by a legal document.

demarcated boundary

boundaries are identified by physical objects, like walls, signs, and fences

natural boundary

boundaries are boundaries that are based on natural features such as rivers, mountains, or deserts.

cultural boundary

boundaries are boundaries that are based on cultural differences, such as language, religion, or ethnicity.

economic boundary

boundaries are boundaries that are based on economic factors such as trade routes, resource deposits, or economic development.

militarized boundary

boundaries are boundaries that are heavily guarded by military forces.

open boundary

A boundary in which there are no establishments and one is free to move from one side to another.

definitional dispute

boundary dispute over the legal terms set forth

locational dispute

boundary dispute over the physical location

irredentism

a political movement that is strongly tied to nationalism. It is a political movement that intends to reunite a nation or reclaim a lost territory.

operational dispute

a boundary dispute over how the boundary ought to function.

allocational dispute

a dispute over the right to resources.

territorial sea

a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state.

contiguous zone

An area seaward (24 nautical miles) of the territorial sea in which the Coastal State may exercise the control necessary to prevent infringement of its customs, fiscal, immigration, and sanitary laws.

exclusive economic zone

a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. The country that controls the EEZ has rights to the fishing, whaling, etc., as well as the raw material resources

law of the sea

each coastal nation has territorial sovereignty over 12 miles of water off their coast and maintains exclusive economic rights over 200 miles of water off their coast

cracking

when legislatures disperse a group into several districts in order to prevent a majority

packing

combines similar voters into one district to prevent them from affecting another district.

stacking

when minority voting groups are “stacked” together, but alongside higher turnout majority groups which dilutes their power

hijacking (type of gerrymandering)

involves redrawing districts to force two representatives in the same party to run against each other.

supranationalism

the process of nation states organizing politically and economically into one organization or alliance.

Balkanization

the devolution of larger countries and states as a result of multi-ethnicity leading to ethnic fragmentation and an overall feeling of political fragmentation.