APHUG Unit 4 - Political Geography Vocab

state

a politically organized territory with a set population, defined boundaries and sovereignty.

nation

a group of people with shared characteristics; culture, history, identity, or language.

nation-state

a state where most of the population shares ONE culture/identity

multinational state

a state with multiple national groups

stateless nation

a group of people without a state EX: Kurdish people

sovereignty

the ability of a state without outside interference.

self-determination

the right of the people to decide their own political status

boundary

an invisible line that marks the start/end of a state's land; separates states and political units

border

area near a boundary

physical boundary

a boundary defined by natural features (mountains, rivers, etc.)

political boundary

a boundary following human lines (latitude and longitude)

cultural boundary

separates people by culture, language, or ethnicity.

geometric boundary

boundaries made up of straight lines

relic boundary

a boundary made long time ago

EX: Berlin Wall

superimposed boundary

a boundary placed without regard to pre-existing cultures

compact state

a state whose shape is usual and capital is near the center.

EX: Poland remember examples - will make it easier

prorupted state

a state that is similar to a compact BUT has a narrow extension

EX: Namibia

elongated state

a state that is long and narrow

EX: Chile

fragmented state

a state that is seperated into many pieces

EX: Indonesia (in the US, Hawaii)

perforated state

one state that completely surrounds another state

EX: The Vatican being TOTALLY encompassed in Italy

unitary system

gov't holds the most power

federal system

power divided by both national and local governments

EX: United States

confederation

states have more power than the central gov't

think civil war confederate states broke AWAY from main US gov't

democracy

a system where people control the gov't

autocracy

a system where ONE person has the power

oligarchy

a small group of people holds power

reapportionment

reassigning seats based on the population

EX: House of Representatives

redistricting

redrawing the VOTING districts

gerrymandering

drawing the districts to favor ONE political party over another

cracking

splitting a political party to REDUCE its voting power

packing

pushing all the voters of one political party into ONE district

centripetal forces

forces that UNITE people

centrifugal forces

forces that DIVIDE people

nationalism

a strong feeling of pride and loyalty to one's country

devolution

the transfer of power from central gov't to regions

colonialism

control of territory by an outsider (foreign power)

imperialism

extending power through diplomacy or force

shatterbelt

a region caught between two stronger powers

balkanization

a state breaking into smaller hostile states

EX: Yugoslavia breaking into a bunch of smaller states

geopolitics

study of power relationships based on geography