AP Human Geography Unit 8 Terms

Balance of Power

a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries

Berlin Conference

a meeting from 1884-1885 at which representatives of European nations agreed on rules for the colonization of Africa

Boundary

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

Capital

the city that is the seat of government of a state, nation, or province

City-state

a sovereign state compromising a city and its immediately surrounding countryside

Civil divisions

governmental divisions that divide citizens

Colonialism

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

Colony

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

Compact state

a state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly

Core

regions or countries that dominate trade, control the most advanced technologies, and have the highest levels of productivity and wealth.

Democratization

the spread of representative government to more countries and the process of making governments more representative

Devolution

the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Elongated state

a state with a long, narrow shape

EEZ

Exclusive Economic Zone: a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources

Fragmented state

a state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory

Federal state

a political entity characterized by the division of powers between a central government and regional governments, allowing for multiple levels of governance

Frontier

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

High seas

the portion of the oceans considered common territory, not under any kind of exclusive state jurisdiction

Gerrymander

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

Imperialism

control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society

Irredentism

a policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a country aimed at a group of its nationals living in a neighboring country

Landlocked state

a state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea

Microstate

a state that encompasses a very small land area

Multinational state

a state that contains two or more cultural groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully recognizing each other as distinct nationalities

Perforated state

a state that completely surrounds another one

Prorupted state

an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

Sovereignty

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

State

an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs

Stateless nation

a nation of people that does not have a territory to legally occupy

Territorial waters

the area of sea around a country’s coast recognized as being under that country’s jurisdiction

Territoriality

the connection and sense of ownership individuals or groups have over a defined geographic area

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

Unitary state

an internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials

Supranational organizations

a venture involving three or more nation-states involving formal, political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives

UNCLOS

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: a code of maritime law that authorizes among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and 200 nautical miles wide exclusive economic zones.

United Nations

international organization to promote world peace and cooperation. Replaced the League of Nations

defined boundary

legally agreed-upon visible lines in treaties

delimitation boundary creation

mapped lines

demarcation

physically marked boundaries (posts, walls, fences, etc.)

geometric boundary

straight line boundary totally unrelated to physical features

physical political/natural political boundaries

boundaries which conform to physical features

genetic boundary: antecedent

boundaries that were defined and delimited before humans settled

genetic boundary: subsequent

boundaries which developed according to the cultural landscape

genetic boundary: superimposed

forcibly drawn boundaries across a culturally unified landscape

genetic boundary: relict

border that has ceased to function whose imprints are still evident in the cultural landscape

territorial/definitional boundary dispute

focuses on legal language of the agreement

positional/locational boundary dispute

focuses on delimitation and demarcation of the border

functional/operational boundary dispute

way boundary should function, how should each side handle cross-border migration, management of boundary

resources/allocational boundary dispute

dispute over who owns resources

apportionment

Congress’s distribution of the seats among that states in the HOR based on population

reapportion

redistribution of the seats in the HOR after each decennial census

Reapportionment Act of 1929

HOR has 435 members

semi-periphery

industrializing, mostly capitalist nations between core and periphery

periphery

less-developed countries/regions that are economically dependent and often exploited by core regions

forward capital

a symbolically relocated capital city, deliberately to a frontier/peripheral area to achieve strategic, economic, or political goals