AP Human Geography Unit 4 CED

Balkanization

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

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

An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

Centrifugal Force

a force that divides people and countries

Colonialism

a group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation.

Cultural Boundary

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

Enclave

A distinct region, state or community enclosed within a larger territory or state

Exclave

A part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory.

European Union

A supranational organization of European countries formed to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

Federal Systems

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 usually along the lines of longitude or latitude

Gerrymandering

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

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.

Government

the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed

Imperialism

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

Nationalism

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

Physical Boundary

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

shatterbelts

an area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values

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, is recognized by the international community and has a permanent population.

Supranational Organization

Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives either economically, politically, or militarily.

Territoriality

A country or local community's sense of property and attachment toward its territorym-its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended.

Unitary System

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

Irredentism

advocating the recovery of territory culturally or historically related to one's nation but now subject to a foreign government

chokepoint

A narrow, strategically significant area where trade could be easily blocked or controlled

superimposed boundary

a boundary that is imposed on the cultural landscape which ignores pre-existing cultural patterns (typically a colonial boundary)...

Nation

a large group of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

nation-state

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

autonomous

self-governing; independent

semi-autonomous

acting independently to some degree

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

relic boundary

a former boundary line that is still discernible and marked by some cultural landscape features

subsequent boundary

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

consequent boundary

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

antecedent boundary

a boundary line established before the area in question is well populated

Neocolonialism

A new form of global power relationships that involves not direct political control but economic exploitation by multinational corporations

Berlin Conference

Meeting at which Europeans agreed on rules for colonizing Africa

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.

defining a boundary

provides a legal description of boundaries- usually in a treaty

delimiting a boundary

drawing the boundary on a map based on the legal description

demarcating a boundary

marking boundaries on the ground with a fence or post, etc.

Democracy

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

Autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Arab Spring

A series of popular revolts in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa that sought an end to authoritarian regimes.

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

Redistricting

The drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes.

ethnic cleansing

the mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society.

NATO

an international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty for purposes of collective security

ASEAN

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an alliance that promotes economic growth and peace in the region