unit four introduction to political geography

nation

a cultural entity made up if people who have forged a common identity through a shared language, religion, heritage, or ethnicity-often all four of these

nation-state

a politically organized and recognized territory composed of a group of people who consider themselves to be a nation

multi-national state

a country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders

autonomous region

having the authority to govern territories independently of national government; for example, by having separate currency

semi autonomous

describing a reguon that is given partial authority to govern its territories independently from the natuonal government

self determination

the right of all people to choose their own political status

devolution

the process that occurs when the central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders

neocolonialism

the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies

shatterbelts

a region where states form, join, and break up because of ongoing, sometimes violent, conflicts among parties and because they are caught between the interests of more powerful outside states

chokepoint

a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is diffusion to pass

territoriality

the attempt to influence or control people and events by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area; the connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land

super imposed boundary

a border drawn over existing accepted borders by an outside or conquering force

subsequent boundary

a border drawn in an area that had been settled and where cultural landscapes exist or are in process of being established

antecedent boundary

a border established befor an area becomes heavily settled

consequent boundary

a type of subsequent boundary that takes into account the differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups that have distinct languages, religions, ethnicities, or other traits

defined boundary

to explicitly state in legally binding documentation such as a traty where boundaries are located, using reference points such as natural deatures or lines of latitude and longitude

demarcated boundary

to place physical objects such as stones, pillars, walls, or fences to indicate where a boundary exists

delimited boundary

to draw boundaries on a map, in accordance with legal agreement

untied nation convention on the laws of the sea (unclos)

the international agreement that established the structure of maritime boundaries

exclusive economic zones (eez)

an area that extends 200 nautical miles from a state’s coast; a state has sole access to to resources found within the waters or beneath the sea floor of its EEZ

gerry mandering

the drawing of legislative boundaries to give one political party an advantage in elections

federal stare

the organization of a state in which power is shared between the federal government and its internal regional units

unitary state

an organization of a state in which power is concentrated in a central government

ethnic separatism

the process by which people of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly as members of their ethnic group than as citizens of the state

ethnic cleansing

the process by which a state attacks an ethnic group and tried to eliminate it through expulsion, imprisonment, or killing

irredentism

attempts by a state to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation

supranational organization

an alliance of three or more states thag work together in pursuit of common goals or address and issue or challenge

economics of scale

cost reductions that occur when production rises

stateless nation

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

ethnonationalism

the process bu which the people of a country identify as having one common ethnicity, religious belief, and language, creating a sense of pride and identity that is tied to the territory; also called ethnic nationalism