AP HG Unit 4

nation

a people who share a common heritage, are unified by shared values and heritage, and typically claim a specific location as their homeland based on tradition

state

1. defined territory with borders

2. permanent population

3. government

4. sovereignty

5. recognition from other states (synonymous with country)

nation-state

a singular nation of people who fulfill the qualifications of a state

Japan

an example of a nation-state

multinational state

a country that contains more than one nation

Canada

an example of a multination state

stateless nation

cultural groups that have no independent political entity (ex. Kurds)

multistate nations

a nation has a state of its own but stretches across borders of other states

autonomous region

a defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government and freedom from its parent state (ex. Hong Kong)

Nunavut

an example of an autonomous region

fall of communism

late 1980s, early 1990s; this has changed the balance of world power, including the formation of new states, new borders

antecedent boundary

a boundary created before an area is known or populated; could be a physical geographic boundary or man-made

geometric boundary

boundary that follows either latitude or longitude (ex. 49th parallel between the US and Canada)

militarized boundary

political border that is heavily guarded and controlled by military forces (ex. Berlin wall)

unitary state

states with this kind of government allow little to no power/sovereignty for their sub-units; most states of this kind are located in Europe

territorial sea

a state has sovereignty up to 12 miles off their coast; commercial vessels pass, non-commercial can be challenged

census

in the United States, redistricting and assigning of seats in the House of Representatives to states is guided by this

territoriality

a willingness by one person or a group of people to defend space they claim

federal state

states with this kind of government allow powers/sovereignty for their sub-units (ex. Canada and US)

EEZ

200 mile radius off the coast where a country has exclusive rights to harvest resources

subsequent boundary

a boundary created after settlement, usually meant to separate existing cultural groups; could be the result of war, diplomacy, new states

natural boundary

boundary that is defined by physical geographical features like rivers, mountains, or lakes (ex. Rio Grande River between Mexico and the US)

NAFTA; European Union

regional trade blocks that can challenge state sovereignty

devolution

process in which power moves from the central government to subnational units; regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

Balkanization

an explosion of conflict between ethnic groups in a region or country

subnationalist

people who have a primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity, rather than their central state

Quebec

example of a place where subnationalism is present

centrifugal forces

forces that might separate elements of a state (ex. armed conflicts, uneven economic development, stateless nations, ethnic movements)

centripetal forces

forces that can unite elements of a state (ex. national identity; equitable infrastructure development; linguistic, cultural, ethnic homogeneity)

nationalism

a strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one’s country

colonialism

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

sovereignty

ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states

supernationalism

three or more countries agree to give up a degree of autonomy in order to pursue common goals (ex. European Union)

democratization

the process of creating a government elected by the people

ethnic enclaves

neighborhoods where people from similar cultures live together and assert cultural distinction from the dominant group

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization; an alliance made to defend one another if they were attacked by any other country (US, England, France, Canada, Western European countries)

United Nations (UN)

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

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

gerrymandering

process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power

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

UNCLOS (Law of the Sea)

a code of maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and 200 nautical mile wide exclusive economic zones

open borders

a border that enables free movement of people between different jurisdictions with limited or no restrictions on movement

ethnographic border

a cultural boundary that runs along differences in ethnicity, such as language and religion

superimposed border

a political boundary/border placed by powerful outsiders on a developed human landscape

relic boundary/border

a boundary no longer observed but that still affects the present-day area (ex. border between East and West Germany in Berlin)

defined boundary

one established by a legal document, such as a treaty

demarcated boundary

identified by physical objects place on the landscape, such as a sign, wall, or fence

administered boundary

the enforcement and maintaining of a boundary by a government

internal boundaries

physical, cultural, or geometric boundaries within a country (provinces or states)

imperialism

a policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force

political map

a map showing units such as countries, states, provinces, districts, ect.; each is normally a different color

irredentism

the attempt to recover lost territory to re-unite separated ethnic nationalities (ex. Russia pushing to reclaim land of former Soviet republics where some ethnic Russians live)

shatterbelt

a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals (ex. Israel or Kashmir today)

choke point

a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass

self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

patriotism

a sense of pride in one’s country

majority-minority districts

drawing district boundaries to give a minority group a majority

single-member districts

an electoral district in which voters choose one representative or official

ethnic cleansing

process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region (a devolution factor)

ethnic separatism

when an ethnic group desires to separate from the larger group

ethnonationalism/ethnic nationalism

a form of nationalism wherein the nation is defined in terms of ethnicity