APHuG Unit 5 Vocabulary

Anocracy

A political system that is not fully democratic or autocratic, but rather a mix of the two.

Autocracy

A political system where a single individual holds all power and authority.

Boundary

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

City-state

A sovereign state that consists of a city and its dependent territories.

Colonialism

The policy or practice of acquiring full or partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Commonwealth

A political community founded for the common good; often refers to a group of countries with shared interests.

Compact state

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary is relatively short, creating a roughly circular shape.

Democracy

A political system in which power is vested in the people, who rule either directly or through freely elected representatives.

Elongated state

A state with a long, narrow shape.

Federal state

A political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central government.

Fragmented state

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.

Frontier

A zone where no state exercises complete political control, often a marginal or disputed area.

Gerrymandering

The process of redrawing legislative boundaries to benefit the party in power.

Landlocked state

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

Microstate

A very small state in terms of both population and land area.

Multiethnic state

A state that contains more than one ethnicity.

Multinational state

A state that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination.

Nation

A group of people with a common culture, history, and sense of identity, usually occupying a specific territory.

Nation-state

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality.

Perforated state

A state that completely surrounds another state.

Prorupted state

A compact state with a large projecting extension.

Self-determination

The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves.

Sovereignty

The ability of a state to govern its territory free from control by other states.

Stateless nation

A nation that does not have a state.

State

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Unitary state

A state where most of the power is in the hands of the central government officials.

Annexation

The formal act of acquiring territory by conquest or occupation.

Antecedent boundary

A boundary that was created before the present day cultural landscape developed.

Berlin Conference (1884)

A meeting where European countries agreed on rules for the colonization of Africa.

Border landscape

The physical and political landscape of a border area.

Brandt Line

A line that divides the world into the more developed "North" and the less developed "South."

Buffer state

A small neutral country situated between two larger, hostile countries to prevent conflict.

Capital

The city where a region's government is located.

Centrifugal force

A force that divides people and countries.

Centripetal force

A force that unites people and countries.

Confederation

A union of sovereign states with a weak central authority.

Consequent boundary

A boundary that coincides with some cultural divide, such as religion or language.

Decolonization

The process by which colonies gain their independence from the colonizing country.

Devolution

The transfer of power from a central government to regional governments.

Domino theory

The idea that if one country in a region falls to communism, surrounding countries will also fall.

Electoral regions

The distinct geographic areas that each elect representatives to a legislative body.

Enclave

A territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state.

Exclave

A portion of a state that is separated from the main territory and surrounded by another country.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

A sea zone over which a state has special rights regarding exploration and use of marine resources.

Forward capital

A capital city relocated to a remote or peripheral area for economic or strategic reasons.

Geopolitics

The study of the effects of geography on politics and international relations.

Growth pole

An area designated by government policies to spur economic development and growth.

Irredentism

The policy of advocating the restoration to a country of any territory formerly belonging to it.

Landlocked boundary

A boundary that does not touch any coastal waters.

Mackinder Heartland Theory

A theory that suggests the control of Eastern Europe is key to controlling the world.

Median-line principle

A boundary that is drawn midway between the coasts of two states.

Mercantilism

The economic theory that trade generates wealth and is stimulated by the accumulation of profitable balances.

Nation

A cultural-political community that has become conscious of its autonomy, unity, and particular interests.

National iconography

Symbols, imagery, and symbols that are reflective of a nation's identity.

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a military alliance of European and North American democracies.

Nunavut

An autonomous territory of Canada created in 1999 for the Inuit people.

Raison d’être

The most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence.

Ratzel Organic Theory

The theory that states are like organisms and need space to grow.

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in a legislative body based on changes in population.

Regionalism

The practice of regional rather than central systems of administration or economic, cultural, or political affiliation.

Relict boundary

A boundary that no longer functions but can still be detected on the cultural landscape.

Satellite state

A country that is formally independent but under heavy influence or control by another country.

Separatism

The advocacy or practice of separation of a certain group of people from a larger body.

Shatterbelt

A region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces.

Spykman’s Rimland Theory

The theory that the coastal fringes of Eurasia are key to controlling the world.

Subsequent boundary

A boundary that is established after the settlement in that area occurred.

Superimposed boundary

A boundary that is imposed on the cultural landscape, which ignores pre-existing cultural patterns.

Supranationalism

The idea of multiple states coming together to form a union or alliance for mutual benefit.

Territoriality

The effort to control pieces of the Earth's surface for personal, political, or social ends.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

An international agreement that establishes the legal framework for marine and maritime activities.

Wallerstein’s World Systems Theory

A theory that suggests the world economy is divided into a hierarchy of three types of countries: core, semi-periphery, and periphery.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance of communist nations in Eastern Europe organized in 1955 in response to NATO.