AP Human Geography Unit 4 Chapter 9 Vocabulary

Political Geography

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

State

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

Sovereignty

is the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders

Nation

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

Nation-state

territory occupied by a group who view themselves as a nation is the same as the politically recognized boundaries of the state they call their own

Multistate Nation

consists of 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

country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders

Autonomous

given all authority to govern their own territories independently from the national government

Semiautonomous

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

Stateless Nation

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

Territoriality

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

Choke Point

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

Colonialism

practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories

Neocolonialism

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

Shatterbelts

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 state

Self-determination

is the right of all people to choose their own political status

Imperialism

push to create an empire by exercising force or influence to control other nations or peoples

Devolution

central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders

Antecedent Boundaries

boundaries established before many people settle in an area

Subsequent Boundaries

drawn in areas that have been settled by people and where cultural landscape already exist or in the process

Geometric Boundaries

mathematical and follow lines of latitude and longitude, or straight line arcs between 2 points

Superimposed

drawn over existing accepting boundaries

Relics

former boundaries that once existed but no longer have an official function