Key Concepts in Political Geography: Nations, Boundaries, and State Power

Nation

group that shares a common culture

Nation-State

country inhabited by people who share a common culture; cultural borders align with state borders of a country

Stateless Nation

group of people who want to be a state

Multination State

state that contains multiple nations and no single ethnic group dominates

Multistate Nation

nation that stretches across borders and states

Sovereignty

the authority of a state to govern itself or another state

Territoriality

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

Self-Determination

the idea that a country should be able to determine who is in control

Irredentism

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

Devolutionary Forces

the transfer of power from a central government to a lower level of government

Centrifugal Forces

forces that 'break places apart'

Centripetal Forces

forces that 'bring places together'

Relic Boundary

boundary that no longer exists

Antecedent Boundary

boundary that is physical/political and drawn before human settlement

Subsequent Boundary

boundary drawn after a region has been settled and its cultural landscape has developed

Consequent Boundary

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

Superimposed Boundary

boundary drawn by an external power that ignores pre-existing cultural or ethnic divisions

Geometric Boundary

boundary using straight lines

Demilitarized Zone

(of an area) having had all military forces removed

Buffer State

a small neutral country situated between two larger hostile countries and serving to prevent the outbreak of regional conflict

Choke Point

any place where travel is restricted

Shatterbelt

a region with significant internal divisions and instability, caught between larger, competing powers

Unitary State

independent state that concentrates power in the central government and grants little or no authority to its subnational units

Federal State

independent country that disperses significant authority among subnational units

Unipolar

1 person in charge

Multipolar

2 people in charge

Bipolar

many people in charge

Sanctions

things like boycotting or freezing assets

Great Power Competition

states compete for spheres of influence

Gerrymandering

redistricting to favor a political party

Territorial Representation

in US Senate, each state gets 2 representatives, and in the House of Representatives, members are elected from territorially defined districts based on population

Electoral College

a body of people representing the states of the US who cast votes for the President and VP

Cracking

splits districts which diminishes voting power

Packing

gives majority-minority

Majority-Minority

packed districts in which a majority of population is from the minority

Reapportionment

the process by which districts are moved according to population shifts

Subnational Unit

the smaller areas into which a larger state is divided

Supreme law of the land

Constitution

First three words of the Constitution

We the people

Amendment

Addition/change to the Constitution

First ten amendments to the Constitution

Bill of Rights

One freedom in the first amendment

Speech, Press, etc

Branch or part of the government

Legislative, Executive, or Judicial

What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful

Checks and Balances

In charge of the executive branch

President (Donald Trump)

Two parts of the U.S. Congress

Senate and House of Representatives

Number of U.S. Senators

100

Years a U.S. Senator is elected for

6

Voting members in the House of Representatives

435

Years a U.S. Representative is elected for

2

Who a U.S. Senator represents

State

Why some states have more Representatives than others

Population

Years a President is elected for

4

Commander-in-Chief of the military

President (Donald Trump)

Who signs bills to become laws

President (Donald Trump)

What the President's Cabinet does

Advise or aid president

Two Cabinet-level positions

Housing and Urban Development/ Health and Human Services

What the judicial branch does

Interpret the law

Highest court in the United States

Supreme Court

Number of justices on the Supreme Court

9

One power of the federal government

Treaties

One power of the states

Public Safety

One of your US senators

Dave McCormick

Your US Representative

Chris Deluzio

President

Donald Trump

Chief Justice

John Roberts

Governor of PA

Josh Shapiro