Exam One Study Guide: World Regions and Concepts

Cold War

A state of political and military tension between powers in the Western Bloc and powers in the Eastern Bloc after World War II.

Colonization

The action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

Commodity Chains

The process used by firms to gather resources, transform them into goods or commodities, and finally, distribute them to consumers.

Communism

A political and economic ideology advocating for a classless society where the means of production are owned communally.

Demography & Demographic Transition Model

The study of human populations, including their size, composition, and distribution, with the demographic transition model illustrating population changes over time.

Economic indicators and differences of (GDP, GNP, PPP, HDI)

Measures used to evaluate a country's economic performance, with GDP representing the total value of goods and services produced, GNP measuring the total income of a nation's residents, PPP adjusting for price differences, and HDI assessing human development.

Economic Sectors (primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary)

Classifications of economic activities: primary involves extraction of raw materials, secondary involves manufacturing, tertiary involves services, and quaternary involves knowledge-based activities.

Geomorphology

The scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them.

Globalization

The process of interaction and integration among people, companies, and governments of different nations.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through colonization, use of military force, or other means.

Latitude/Longitude and effects on temperature

The angular distance of a location north or south of the Earth's equator (latitude) and east or west of the Prime Meridian (longitude), influencing climate and temperature.

Multi/transnational corporations

Large companies that operate in multiple countries, often with production facilities and sales in different regions.

Nation, nation-state, and state

A nation is a group of people with common bonds, a nation-state is a sovereign state encompassing one dominant nation, and a state is a political entity with defined borders and government.

Neoliberalism (privatization, protectionism, IMF, WB)

An economic philosophy advocating for limited government intervention in the economy, often involving privatization, free trade, and support from institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB).

Plantation Economies

Economies based on large-scale agricultural estates specializing in cash crops like sugar, coffee, and cotton.

Offshoring

The practice of relocating business processes or services to another country.

Outsourcing

The contracting of a business process or service to an external provider.

Supranational organizations

Organizations in which member states transcend national boundaries to share in decision-making and governance.

Balkanization

The process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states.

Berlin

The capital city of Germany and historically a significant geopolitical location.

Black Death

A devastating global epidemic of bubonic plague that struck Europe and Asia in the mid-14th century.

Buffer zone

A neutral area serving to separate potentially hostile forces or nations.

Colonizing countries

Nations that establish settlements or control over foreign lands.

COMECON

The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, an economic organization of communist countries.

Command economy

An economic system where the government makes decisions regarding production, pricing, and distribution of goods.

Enclaves and exclaves

Enclaves are territories enclosed within another territory, while exclaves are territories geographically separated from the main state.

Entrepots

Ports where goods are imported, stored, and then re-exported.

Ethnic cleansing

The mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society.

Golden Triangle

A region in Southeast Asia known for illicit drug production and trafficking.

Gulf Stream

A warm and swift Atlantic Ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico.

Industrial Revolution(s): periods of; geographies; innovations

Periods of significant industrial development, occurring in different regions at different times, with innovations like mechanization and factory systems.

Little Ice Age

A period of cooler climate conditions, causing agricultural hardship and societal changes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Maastricht Treaty

The treaty that established the European Union and introduced the euro as a common currency.

Marshall Plan

An American initiative to aid Western Europe after World War II, providing economic support to help rebuild the region.

Mercantile capitalism

An economic system where trade and commercial interests are paramount for generating wealth.

Polders

Low-lying land reclaimed from the sea or rivers and protected by dikes, especially in the Netherlands.

Population characteristics (birth rates, aging, etc.)

Features of a population including birth rates, age distribution, mortality rates, and other demographic factors.

Satellite states

Countries controlled politically and economically by a more powerful state.

Schengen Agreement

An agreement among European countries to abolish passport controls and allow free movement of people across internal borders.

Xenophobia

A fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers.

Yugoslavia

A former country in Southeastern Europe, disintegrated into several independent nations in the 1990s.

War with Japan

Conflict involving military hostilities between Russia and Japan.

Aral Sea

A once-large saltwater lake in Central Asia that has shrunk significantly due to water diversions.

Bolsheviks

Members of the majority faction of the Russian Social Democratic Party, which eventually led to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Chechnya

A republic in southwestern Russia known for separatist movements and conflicts.

Chernobyl

Site of a catastrophic nuclear accident in Ukraine in 1986.

Climate & vegetation zones (tundra, taiga, steppe, etc.)

Different climatic regions with characteristic vegetation types, such as tundra, taiga, and steppe.

Collectivization

The consolidation of individual land and labor into collective farms, often associated with communist regimes.

Continental effect & climate

The influence of continental landmasses on climate, leading to temperature extremes and seasonal variations.

Cotton

A soft, fluffy staple fiber used in textiles and other products.

Five-year plans

Centralized economic plans in the Soviet Union and other communist states, outlining goals for production and development over five-year periods.

Lenin

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, a key figure in the Bolshevik Revolution and the first leader of the Soviet Union.

Muscovy

The historic nucleus of Russia, centered around Moscow.

Oligarchs

A small group of powerful individuals who control a country's wealth and resources.

Permafrost

Permanently frozen soil found in polar regions and high mountains.

Serfdom

A feudal system where peasants are bound to the land and required to provide labor and goods to landowners.

Soviets

Councils of workers and soldiers formed during the Russian Revolution, later becoming key governing bodies in the Soviet Union.

Stalin

Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953.