Chapter 8 Vocab - Political Geography

City-State

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediately surrounding countryside (Singapore)

Microstate

A state that encompasses a very small land area (Vatican, Monaco)

Multinational State

A state that contains two or more cultural groups with traditions of self determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities (Russia, most states today)

Nation

Group of people who share a common culture (language, religion, charged history, territory) and identify as a cohesive group (Native Americans, Serbs, Kurds, French)

Nation-State

State with one nation in borders (Japan, Iceland)

State

Political unit with permanent population, recognized territorial boundaries, government, economy, control over internal and foreign affairs, and sovereignty

Unitary State

An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials (China, France)

Federal State

An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government (Russia, Canada, Brasil, India, The United States, Belgium)

Multi-State Nation

Members of a nation in many countries (Serbs, Kurds)

Stateless Nation

Nation with no state to call its own (Kurds in ME, Muslim Arabs Palestine)

Sovereignty

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states; internationally recognized control of own people and territory in boundary

(Sovereign: Syria, Turkey, Germany, any country; Non-Sovereign: South Ossetia Puerto Rico, Somali-land, Taiwan, Hong-Kong, Palestine, California)

Political Geography

Study of human political organization

Anocracy

A country that is not fully democratic or autocratic but rather a mix

Autocracy

A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people

Democracy

A country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office

Boundary

An invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory

Colonialism

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

Colony

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign sate rather than completely independent

Frontier

A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control

Gerrymandering

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

Self-Determination

The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Terrorism

The threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non state actor to attain a political, economic, religious, or social goal through fear, coercion, or intimidation

Weapons of Mass Destruction

A nuclear, biological, chemical, or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of human or cause great damage to human-made structures, natural structures, or the biosphere

Fragile States Index

Ranking of nations based on stability and pressures faced

UNCLOS (Law of the Sea)

Code of maritime law saying that states have sovereignty in territorial seas (12 nautical miles), limited sovereignty in the contiguous zone (24 nm), resource extraction in the Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nm), and anything beyond 200 nm is considered high seas

Reapportionment

Congressional districts are redrawn and seats are redistributed among states in the House → Gerrymandering

Territoriality

Creating ownership over defined space (bedroom, country, personal space, emotional response, → conflict: Persian Gulf War 1990’s, WWII Germany Invasions)

Centripetal Force

A uniting force

Centrifugal Force

A dividing force

Devolution

Transfer of power from central to regional gov; more power, autonomy, control, or sovereignty at the regional level

Balkanization

When a centrifugal force breaks apart a state along ethnic/cultural lines (Soviet Union - political, former Yugoslavia - cultural/ethnic)

Irredentism

Movement by nation to reunite across borders (Nazi Germany retake territory after WWI)

Shatterbelt

Caught between external cultural or politcal forces; stress from rivals (USSR + Western EU, Caucasus, Crimea/Ukraine, parts of ME, parts of East Asia)

Supranational Organization

Alliances of multiple states/countries (UN)