Unit 4 - Political Organization of Space

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts into smaller states, usually through ethnic conflicts though economic and politics often play a part

Multinational State

State that contains more than one nation (usually no one single dominant ethnic group)

Boundary

Invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory

Centripetal Force

something that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

Centrifugal Force

A force that divides people and countries

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union between the 1940s-1990s. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Colonies

Place directly controlled by a mother country.

Confederation System

A system consisting of a league of independent states, each having essentially sovereign powers. The central government created by such a league has only limited powers over the states and the powers the central government has are willingly given up by the states.

Cultural Boundary

An invisible boundary made by the certain cultural beliefs and traits that make the culture

Territorial Disputes

A disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states, or over the possession or control of land

Electoral Geography

The study of the geographical elements of the organization and results of elections.

European Union

An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

Federal System

Government systems that divide the powers between the national government and state or provincial governments

Geometric Boundary

Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines, sometimes along lines of latitude or longitude

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Geopolitics

How states interact with each other in the political landscape

Imperialism

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically.

Median-Line Principle

Lines made to distribute water ways when states are within 200 miles of each other

Nationalism

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

Nation-State

A country who's population share a common cultural identity.

Physical Boundary

Boundary defined by a physical land mark like a river or a lake

Security Council

Five permanent members( US, UK, France, China, Russia) with veto power in the UN.

Sovereignty

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

Stateless Nation

A nationality that is not represented by a state.

State

A politically organized territory that is administered by a sovereign government and is recognized by the international community.

Supranational Organization

Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives.

Territoriality

In political geography, a country's or more local community's sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it sovereign and strongly defended.

Unitary State

A state in which most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority.

Ethnonationalism

Intense feeling of pride in one's nationality - not necessarily one's country

Shatterbelt

A region with instability because it is located between two very different regions (Eastern Europe)

Satellite States

Independent countries which are controlled by another country (Eastern European countries during the Cold War). They politically rotate around a more powerful, larger country.

Devolution

Process of transferring political power from the central government to subnational levels of government along regional lines (like Britain granting Scotland the ability to form a Parliament)

Democratization

Move toward democracy by nations of the world

Allocational Dispute

Dispute over natural resources.

Operational Dispute

Disputes over policies along the border and how the border should be run.

Economic Devolution

Caused by a weak or unequal economy that leads to tension and division.

Ethnic Devolution

A basic type of devolution or decentralization that involves ethnicity and a well-developed sense of belonging to the same culture.

European Monetary Union

Economic or Monetary side of the European Union.

Globalization

Growing commonalities among world nations.

Government

The leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for a country.

Nation

A group of people bound together by a common political identity.

Political Geography

The study of the political organization of the planet.

Political Culture

The collection of political beliefs, values, parties, and institutions that the government of a state is based on.

Definitional dispute

Conflict over the language of the border agreement in a treaty or boundary contract

Locational Dispute

dispute over the location of a boundary

Defining boundaries

Boundaries are normally created in a treaty like legal document. Describes points on the landscape or latitude and longitude points

delimit

Fix, mark, or define the boundaries of a nation on a map

Demarcated Boundary

A boundary demarcated (marked) by some visible means on the ground. Ex. wall posts, fences, etc.

Administrate Boundary

to determine how the boundary will be maintained and how goods and people will cross the boundary

Relict Boundary

a boundary that ceases to exist, however the imprint of the boundary is still felt on the cultural landscape

Antecedent Boundary

a boundary that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place while people moved in to occupy the surrounding area

subsequent boundary

a boundary line that is established after the area in question has been settled and that considers the cultural characteristics of the bounded area

Ocean boundaries are defined by...

the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

Territorial Waters

12 miles out from the coast of a country. Countries have complete control above and below the waters within this range.

Contiguous Zone

12 miles out from a state's Territorial Waters, a state may exercise control to prevent others from infringing upon their laws, customs, and rights.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

the seazone extending 200 nautical miles from the coast over which a state has special rights as to the exploration and use of marine resources below the water

high seas (international waters)

ocean beyond any state's jurisdiction. Any state can use these waters to travel, trade, etc.

The Balkans

Area in Southeastern Europe, with a high amount of religious, ethnic, and national divisions. Namesake of the fragmentation of larger states.

Cracking

Gerrymandering technique where one spreads out voters of a particular type among many districts in order to deny them a large voting bloc in any particular district.

Packing

Gerrymandering technique where one concentrates as many voters of one type into a single electoral district to reduce their influence in other districts.

States

manifestations of political process organized into territories with permanent population, defined territory, and a government

consequent boundary

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

Autocracy

A system of government in which the power to rule is in the hands of a single individual

Anocracy

A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types.

Democracy

A political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Authoritarian

A style of government characterized by submission to authority. It tends to opposed individualism and democracy. In its most extreme cases it is one in which political power is concentrated in a leader or leaders, who possess exclusive, unaccountable, and arbitrary power.