AP Human Geography Unit 4

Centripetal force

Binds together

Centrifugal force

Tears apart

Race

Identity based on physical or biological traits. Big on ANCESTRY

Ethnicity

Identity based on shared cultural traits. Big on ORIGIN

Nationality

Identity based on allegiance to a country. Origin and ancestry do not matter

Nationalism

Loyalty to a nation

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Multinational state

State that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities.

Part-nation state

Nation found in multiple states (The Koreas)

Stateless nation

Minority ethnic group without a state (Kurds)

Multiethnic state

State with multiple ethnic groups that contribute to one larger nationality (USA)

Balkanization

Breakdown of a formerly stable state along smaller independent states that can be hostile

Balkanized

When the formation of a state is impossible because of conflicts (Yugoslavia)

Territoriality

Connection of people to their land

State

Formal region that occupies defined territory with a permanent population, sovereignty.

Multi-state nations

One nationality spread over several states

Nation-state

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

Sovereignty

Authority for a state to self-govern

Devolution

Power being passed down from a central government to local government

Authoritarian

Dictatorship

Republic

Democracy

Unitary government

A centralized government in which all government powers belong to a single, central agency.

Federated government

The cooperation and union of partially self-governing states, regions, or cities under a centralized government.

Gerrymandering

Division of a geographic area to voting districts which give unfair political advantages

Anocracy

Part democracy and part dictatorship

Autocracy

A system of government by one person with absolute power so like dictatorships

Frontier

Zones where no state exercises political power

Boundary

Invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory

Definition

Points in landscapes described and specified on legal documents

Delimitation

The translation of the written terms of a boundary treaty (the definition) into a map

Demarcation

The marking of boundaries or categories

Administration

Boundary being maintained

Physical boundaries

Boundaries created with naturally occurring features such as deserts, mountains, and rivers

Cultural boundaries

Borders based on culture traits, like language and religion

Ethnic boundaries

Boundaries based on customs, language, and religion; ethnic differences

Geometric boundaries

Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines.

Consequent boundaries

Respectful boundaries made AFTER a population is established

Superimposed boundaries

Disrespectful boundaries made AFTER a population is established

Antecedent boundaries

Boundaries drawn before a region is populated and holds no meaning until populated

Relic boundaries

Boundaries that no longer exist but has existing remnants

Landlock

Completely surrounded by land with no direct access to the ocean

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

Neocolonialism

Control over developing countries indirectly

Imperialism

Domination by one country of the political, economic, or cultural life of another country or region

Shatter belt

A region where political alliances are constantly splintering and fracturing based on ethnicity

Chokepoints

Geographic features that push people into small narrow areas

Territorial waters

The area of sea around a country's coast recognized as being under that country's jurisdiction. Up to 12 NM from shore.

Contagious zone

12-24 NM. States can; make laws on customs, immigration, sanitation, and taxation

Exclusive Economic zone (EEZ)

24-200 NM. States can; explore, extract minerals, and make rights on resources

The High Seas

Areas of seas considered beyond EEZ that no country owns

Irredentism

Political movement to reclaim and reoccupy a lost homeland

Supranational organizations

Made up of 3 or more states to form an organization to achieve benefits for all members

First World

Countries directly aligned with the US

Second World

Countries aligned with USSR

Third World

Countries aligned with no superpowers

Ethnic Separatism

When an ethnic group desires to separate from the larger group

Superimposed Boundary

A boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern

Buffer States

A country that lives between two much more larger and powerful states (Ex. Mongolia between Russia & China)

Annexation

The adding of a region to the territory of an existing political unit.

Heartland/rimland

Heartland is the central region of a country or continent; especially a region that is important to a country or to a culture. Rimland is the maritime fringe of a country or continent.

Sub-nationalist

Describes people who have a primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity

Locational Boundary Dispute

Conflict over the location or place of a boundary

Allocational Boundary Dispute

A boundary dispute that involves conflicting claims to the natural resources of a border region.

Definitional boundary dispute

Conflict over the language of the border agreement in a treaty or boundary contract

Operational boundary disputes

A boundary dispute that arises due to a conflict about the administration of a boundary.

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Internal boundaries

Physical, cultural, or geometric boundaries within a country (such as provinces or states)

Organic theory

Nations must continually seek nourishment in the form of gaining land to survive in the same way that a living organism seeks nourishment from food to survive.

State morphology

Study of states' shapes and their effects

Compact states

A state that possesses a roughly circular, oval, or rectangular territory in which the distance from the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions

Perforated State

A state that completely surrounds another one

Prorupted State

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)

A 1949 defense alliance initiated by the US, Canada, and 10 Western European nations

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)

An agreement for free trade between the United States and Canada and Mexico

United Nations (UN)

An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security

Fall of communism

This has changed the balance of world power, including the formation of new states

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

Origin of the modern concept of nation-state

ethnographic boundary

A political boundary that follows some cultural border, such as linguistic or religious border

Municipality

A city, town, etc. having its own incorporated government for local affairs.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

It lays down laws on world's oceans and seas and establishes rules on the usage of oceans and their resources