APHG Unit 4 Terms

Political geography

The study of the ways in which the world is organized as a reflection of the power that different groups hold over territory.

State

A politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population.

Sovereignty

The right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders.

Nations

Cultural entities made up of individuals who have forged a common identity through a shared language, religion, ethnicity, or heritage.

Nation-state

The territory occupied by a group who identify as a nation that corresponds with the politically recognized boundaries of the state.

Multistate nation

People who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country.

Irredentism

Attempting to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation.

Multinational state

A country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders.

Autonomous/Semi-Autonomous

Hold some authority to govern their own territories independently from the national government.

Balkanization

The fragmentation of a state/region into smaller states or regions

Balance of Power

When two groups have almost equal power

Boundary

Defined limits to the territories of states or regions, marking the geographical extent of their authority.

Buffer State

A country situated between two larger, more powerful countries, often serving to prevent conflict between them.

Stateless nation

A people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state.

Territoriality

The attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area.

Colonialism

The practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories.

Neocolonialism

The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries.

Choke point

A narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass.

Shatterbelts

States form, join, and break up due to ongoing conflicts among parties and external state interests.

Self-determination

The right of all people to choose their own political status.

Imperialism

The push to create an empire by influencing or controlling other nations or peoples.

Devolution

Occurs when the central power in a state is distributed among regional authorities.

Defined Boundaries

Boundaries defined by legal agreements, treaties, or legislation that establish clear separations between political entities.

Delimited Boundaries

Boundaries drawn on a map

Demarcated Boundaries

Marking a boundary using physical markers such as signs/fences

Apartheid

The physical separation of different races enforced by law in South Africa, leading to systemic discrimination and segregation.

Antecedent boundaries

Established before many people settle into an area.

Subsequent boundaries

Drawn in areas that have been settled by people, where cultural landscapes already exist.

Consequent boundaries

A type of subsequent boundary that considers differences within a cultural landscape.

Superimposed boundaries

Drawn over existing accepted borders by an external force.

Geometric boundaries

Mathematical boundaries typically following lines of latitude and longitude.

Relic boundaries

Former boundaries that once existed but no longer serve an official function.

Allocational Boundary Dispute

A disagreement over the use of resources that lie on or beneath a boundary

Definitional Boundary Dispute

A disagreement over the language of the boundary agreement, often related to its interpretation.

Locational Boundary Dispute

A disagreement about the geographic placement of a boundary, often due to changes in the landscape.

UNCLOS

Established the structure of maritime boundaries, determining a country’s territorial sea extent.

Exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

Extends 200 nautical miles from a country's coast.

Federal state

Power is held by regional units, such as the United States or Canadian Provinces.

Unitary state

A government form that conveys policies from the central government to regional units.

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives among states.

Electoral college

A set of electors chosen to elect the president.

Redistricting

The redrawing of a state’s internal political boundaries after each census.

Gerrymandering

Drawing district lines to benefit one political party over others.

Majority-minority districts

Gerrymandered districts where minorities constitute the majority of voters.

Ethnic separatism

Occurs when a particular ethnic group identifies more with their ethnicity than as citizens of the state.

Ethnic cleansing

State-sponsored attempts to eliminate an ethnic group through expulsion or violence.

Supranational organization

An alliance of three or more states that work together toward common goals.

Economies of scale

Producing more goods and services for less money on average.

Ethnonationalism/Ethnic nationalism

Identifying as having one common ethnicity, which creates cultural assimilation barriers.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance between the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellite states in response to NATO

Centrifugal Force

Forces driving people apart

Centripetal Force

Forces that bring people together

City-State

A sovereign state where a single city serves as the central political, economic, and cultural hub, controlling and governing the surrounding territory.

Commonwealth

A territory that has established a mutual agreement with another state for the benefit of each

Compact State

A state/political entity where the distance from the center to any point in the boundary doesn’t vary much

Elongated State

A state with a long and narrow shape, often resulting in varied climates and transportation difficulties.

Genocide

The deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, ethnic, national, or cultural group.

Landlocked

A state that is entirely surrounded by land and does not have any coastline or direct access to the ocean.

Microstate

A very small country that is independent and sovereign, often with limited population and land area.

Perforated State

A state that completely surrounds another state.

Prorupted State

A state that has a significant extension or protrusion, often to access a resource or coastline, creating an irregular shape.