Ethnicity, Culture, and Political Geography: Key Concepts and Definitions

Ethnicity

Identification through language, religion, collective history, national origin, or other cultural characteristics.

Ethnicity (Powerpoint definition)

Refers to a group of people who share a common history and culture. It sometimes (but not always) correlates to national origin.

Culture

The specialized behavioral social patterns, understandings, adaptations, and social systems that summarize a group of people's learned way of life.

Culture (alternative definition)

A learned behavior and a human construct.

Culture (function)

Culture tells us how to cooperate among groups of people and how to survive as a species.

Culture (definition)

Defined as a body of learned behaviors shared by individuals within a society.

Characteristics of a culture

Language, food, clothing, environmental factors, entertainment, architecture, symbols of national pride, religion, sports, anything else that sets one culture apart from another.

Shared values

Shared values, norms, and beliefs.

Material objects in culture

Material objects like tools, automobiles, televisions, shoes, and anything else that is made by humans.

Folk culture

The culture traditionally practiced primarily by small, homogenous groups living in isolated rural areas.

Folk culture (characteristics)

Varies widely from place to place at one time.

Folk culture (diffusion)

Tends to diffuse slowly then primarily through physical relocation of individuals.

Folk culture (impact)

Physical environment in which the people act has a tremendous impact on the culture.

Folk culture (community)

Stable and close knit, usually rural communities.

Folk culture (tradition)

Tradition controls and shows resistance to change.

Popular culture

A wide ranging group of heterogeneous people, who stretch across identities and across the world, and who embrace cultural traits such as music, dance, clothing, and food preference that change frequently and are ubiquitous on the cultural landscape.

States

Fundamental unit of political space (governments have sovereignty in the area); synonymous with 'country'.

States (definition)

Geographic area that is organized as a political unit.

States (elements)

Has four elements: population, territory, government, and sovereignty. Without one, it can't be a state.

Nations

A group of people who occupy a particular portion of the earth's surface, and who have a strong sense of unity based upon a shared characteristic.

Nations (characteristics)

Characteristics may include: ancestry, language, religion, culture, historical experience.

Nations (unity)

Group of people who have a strong sense of unity and common consciousness.

Elements of a nation

Common territory, common race, common religion, common language, common history, common culture, and common political aspirations. DON'T need all to be considered a nation.

Nation-states

State with shared ethnicity; also shared cultural and historical identity (examples: japan and finland)

Nation-states existence

Nation-states exist when the vast majority of a state's population are members of the same nation

Stateless nation

Nations without their own territory; desire to become their own state

State

A geographic area that is organized as a political unit

Nation

A group of people who occupy a portion of the earth's surface

Elements of state and nation

State is a political organization and nation is social, cultural, psychological, emotional, and political unity

Territory in state vs nation

Possession of a definite territory is essential for the state but not the nation

Sovereignty in state vs nation

Sovereignty is essential for state but not for nation

Stability of nation vs state

Nation is more stable than state

Creation of state vs nation

A state can be created while a nation is always the result of evolution

Alliances formation

States form alliances for military purposes and to combat terrorism

Terrorism

Intimidation by violence to further political aims

ISIS

Terrorism in the middle east and globally

European Union

A prominent economic alliance

NAFTA

The north american free trade agreement

Religion

The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or Gods

Adherents

Someone who supports a particular religion or set of ideas

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Polytheism

Belief in many Gods

Amish nation characteristics

Amish are an example of a nation in the USA with a strong sense of unity based on shared religious doctrine, preference for simple living, and reluctance to use modern technology

Geographic diffusion

The spread of something across space

Relocation diffusion

Diffusion that occurs as a result of people migrating from one place to another

Expansion diffusion

Involves the outward spread of ideas, cultures, innovations from a core area to places of lower hierarchy

Diffusion of folk culture

Tend to diffuse slowly and then primarily through physical relocation of individuals

Diffusion of pop culture

Widely distributed and varies widely from time to time in a given place

Centrifugal forces

Factors that divide people living in a state and can cause disharmony among people

Centripetal forces

Factors that unify people living in a state and contribute to political stability

Politically stable

Highly unlikely that a nation-state like Japan or Iceland will break-up/dissolve.

Han Chinese

Population of over 1.4 billion people; East Asian ethnic group native to greater China, representing 17.5% of the world's population.

Cultural diffusion

The process of spreading cultural traits, such as ideas, beliefs, and practices from one group to another through migration, trade, and communication.

Acculturation

The adoption of the cultural characteristics of one group by another. In some instances, majority cultures adopt minority cultural characteristics.

Assimilation

The reduction of minority cultural characteristics, sometimes to the point that the ethnicity ceases to exist.

Amalgamation

The idea that multiethnic societies will eventually become a combination of the cultural characteristics of their ethnic groups.

Universalizing religion

Seeks converts; don't need to be born into; known origin and clear patterns of diffusion; tend to be large in size. Examples: Christianity, Islam, Buddhism.

Ethnic religions

Does not seek converts; usually born into it; typically have unknown origins and little diffusion. Examples: Hinduism, Judaism, Chinese folk, African animism.

Christianity statistics

31.5% of the global population.

Islam statistics

23.2% of the global population.

Unaffiliated statistics

16.3% of the global population.

Hinduism statistics

15% of the global population.

Buddhism statistics

7.1% of the global population.

Folk religions statistics

5.9% of the global population.

Other religions statistics

0.8% of the global population.

Judaism statistics

0.2% of the global population.

Gerrymandering

The process of redrawing the boundaries of legislative districts; benefits the party in power.