Studied by 14 people
State
A defined territory with a permanent population, a sovereign government, and recognition from other states (synonymous with country)
Ex: Canada, China
Nation
A group of people defined by cultural similarity and often have ties to a homeland and goals of autonomy (self-rule) in that homeland
Ex: Barcelona in Spain, the Kurds in the Middle East
Autonomous region
A place with a high degree of self-government separate from parent state
Ex: Vatican City, Native American reservations
Self-determination
The idea that certain peoples (specifically ethnicities) should have the right to govern themselves
Ex: Ideas of the Balkan countries
Nation-state
A state that has border matching that of a nation
Usually rules are created there supporting that specific nation’s needs
Tend to be small and somewhat isolated
This is the form nations prefer
Ex: Japan
Multinational state
A state comprising of multiple nations
Ex: Former Yugoslavia and technically any modern state
Balkanization
The breaking up of a multinational state, named after the Balkan Peninsula where former Yugoslavia broke apart
Multistate nation
A nation that extends beyond the borders of one state
Ex: Dodgers Nation, Lakers Nation
Stateless nations
Nations spread across multiple states with little power and minority status in each state
Ex: Kurds, Palestinians
Territoriality
The connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land
(can be expressed by control over the area)
Ex: The US has territoriality over Puerto Rico and Guam
Sovereignty
The right of a state to rule over itself
Ex: Popular sovereignty = people have the power = democracy
Territorial integrity
Protecting our state from other states
Mercantilism
An economy based on trade (Some states made bank by this)
Imperialism
The larger idea of creating an empire by taking over another nation from afar
Ex: The Roman Empire, the British Empire
Colonialism
Taking control of another country and settling there for economic and social control/gain
Ex: American Colonies, Berlin Conference
Neocolonialism
Modern colonialism, developed countries use economic power on less-developed countries and corporations control resources and labor, often from afar
Ex: Foreign countries dominate oil extraction in the Middle East
Capitalism
Free market economy, supply and demand
Decolonization
The creation of sovereignty for former colonies (often as a result of war)
Ex: UN helps coolonies become sovereign
Chokepoint
The often-narrow area that allows access to people, land, and resources and is crucial for countries to control
Ex: Strait of Gibraltar, Strait of Bosporus
Elongated state
Geographically long but relatively narrow
Advantages:
Transportation fairly simple
Typical cultural variations (like North and South, East and West)
Disadvantages:
Difficult to defend, communicate, and govern
Ex: Chile, CA
Compact state
Distance from the geographic center of the state to any of the borders does not vary greatly
Advantages
Difficult to invade
Easier cultural uniformity
Transportation fairly simple
Ex: Colorado, Wyoming, Macedonia
Fragmented state
Divided from other parts by land, other states, or water
Advantages:
Difficult to invade
Allows for cultural diversity
Access to varied resources
Disadvantages:
More difficult to defend
Difficult to unify culturally and politically
Ex: Hawaii, Greece, USA
Perforated state
A state that completely surrounds another state
Advantage: Able to dicatate actions of enclosed state more easily
Disavantage: Can lead to internal tension and problems in enclosed state
Ex: South Africa
Prorupt state
Has one portion that is more elongated than the rest of the state
Advantage: Can “grab” resources like water and minerals
Disadvantage: Fairly easy to cut off by neighboring states
Ex: Afghanistan, DRC
Microstate
Very small state
Advantage: Typically extremely homogenous cultural communities
Disadvantage: Easy to take over
Ex: Monaco, Singapore, Liechtenstein
Landlocked state
A state without direct access to the ocean
Disadvatages:
Reliant on neighbors for majority of international trade
Dependent on land-based agriculture
Core Periphery Model
A model that represents the development of states, with higher development being core and lower development being periphery
Core states
States that are extremely developed with higher education, salary, and technology (generates wealth)
Ex: USA, Japan, Australia
Semi-periphery states
States that display aspects of core and periphery states
Ex: Mexico, China, Brazil
Periphery states
States that have a low level of development (The opposite of core)
Ex: DRC, West Africa, Zimbabwe
Centripetal forces
Forces that bring people together, such as:
A strong national government
A shared history
Common language or religion
Economic development
Uniting against an external threat
Ex: Patriotism with the USA’s powerful government
Centripetal forces can lead to
Ethnonationalism
More equitable infrastructure development
Increased cultural cohesion
Ethnonationalism
The concept of a national identity being based on a common ethnicity or trying to connect an ethnicity with a nationality
Ex: India’s government trying to create a Hindu ethnonationalist identity
Centrifugal forces
Forces that tear people apart, such as:
Multiple ethnicities or nationalities
Economic inequality
Territorial dispute
Lack of infrastructure
Ex: Balkanization
Centrifugal forces can lead to:
Uneven development
Failed states
Stateless nations
Ethnic nationalist movements
Failed states
States in which the government is unable to perform basic governmental responsibilities or has little authority throughout the state
Ex: South Sudan, Syria, Yemen
Uneven development
When economic development throughout a state is not equal in all places
Ex: Saudi Arabia’s urban vs rural areas
Ethnic nationalist movements
When a specific group advocates for more autonomy or complete separation from a state based on ethnicity or nationality
Ex: Catalans, Balkanization
Unitary government
A highly centralized government with the capital as the focus of power
Advantages:
More efficient creation of laws and policies
Lower chance for local corruption
Reduces chance for devolution and creates patriotic ideas and national identity
Disadvantages:
People have less of a voice and minorities are often underrepresented
Corruption and domination of one cultural group at a higher level is a big problem
Local needs may not be met
Ex: Japan, France
Federal government
Control is more regional
Advantages:
People have a bigger voice and minorities are more represented
Local interests are addressed more quickly and accurately
Disadvantages
Implementation of laws and policies is inefficient
Differing laws across the country
Potential for devolutionary forces
Ex: USA, Nigeria
Devolution
The movement from central to regional power
Ex: Spain, UK/NI
Ethnocultural reasons for devolution
Nations within states push for more autonomy because of:
Ethnic cleansing
Terrorism
Economic and social problems not addressed
Division of groups by physical geography
Economic reasons for devolution
One part of the population makes up a large part of the economy
A certain area(typically rich) wants to be its own region
Ex: Catalonia in Spain, Silicon Valley
Spatial reasons for devolution
Areas(mostly islands) split with the mainland (often irredentism)
Ex: Corsica, Taiwan, Hawaii
Irredentism
A claim by a country that another independent area should be part of it
Ex: China and Taiwan, Russia and Ukraine
Electoral geography
Analyzing geography to make sure everybody is represented
Territorial representation
Representation for an area
Ex: US HOR, reps from defined districts
Reapportionment/redistricting
Moving districts according to population shifts (happens in the US every 10 years after the census)
Packing
Packing a single district with opposition or minority voters so they lose overall
Splitting/Cracking
Organizing districts so minorities are underrepresented in multiple districts
Ex: Splitting an ethnic neighborhood in half
Majority-minority districts
A district in which the majority is of an overall minority
Gerrymandering
Redistricting for advantage (Illegal in the US)
Boundary
A vertical plane (from deep in the earth to sky) dividing territory
Enforces territoriality
Influences sense of place, national identity, and regional identity
Controls people, businesses, and resources inside and outside the jurisdiction
Encourages/discourages immigration and trade
Subsoil resource deposits often cause territorial dispute
How boundaries are established
A defined boundary is established by a legal document
A delimited boundary is a line on a map that shows the limits of a government’s jurisdiction
A demarcated boundary has physical markers or barriers at the boundary
Political boundaries often coincide with cultural, economic, or national divisions
Political boundary
Divisions of governance between states (they reflect balances or imbalances of power)
Geometric boundary
A boundary based on latitude and longitude
Ex: Border of North and South Dakota
Physical-political boundaries
The physical landscape establishes boundary
Antecedent boundary
A boundary that is drawn before many people live somewhere and establish a cultural landscape
Ex: First US and Canada border
Relic boundary
Former boundary that no longer exists but still holds significance (economic, cultural, etc.)
Ex: East and West Germany with the Berlin Wall
Superimposed boundary
A boundary created without regard to culture and sometimes property
Ex: Berlin Conference
Consequent boundary
A subsequent boundary that is the result of something
Ex: Country lines after Balkanization of Former Yugoslavia
Subsequent boundary
A boundary based on where people have already settled and changes with cultural landscape (Already there but made formal)
Ex: Much of Europe
Definitional boundary dispute
A dispute over the language of a treaty that does not account for change
Ex: A treaty marking the edge of a river as the edge of a property creates disputes as the river widens
Locational boundary dispute
A dispute over the position on a map and demarcation of a boundary
Ex: A dispute over someone’s fence being in their neighbor’s property
Operational boundary dispute
A dispute over how a border should function
Ex: Biden vs Trump on the US southern border
Allocational boundary dispute
A dispute over access to resources (especially subsoil)
Ex: There is an oil deposit split between 2 neighboring oil companies so the argue over who gets what oil
UNCLOS
The United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea
Territory up to 12 nautical miles off the shore
Contiguous zone from 12 to 24 nautical miles from the shore
Exclusive economic zone starts from shore and reaches 200-350 nautical miles off the shore
Anything past 12 nautical miles is international waters and anyone can travel there
Geopolitics
Geography + power + politics + international relations
German ideas on geopolitics
Ratzel’s organic state theory (states need to take over territory to grow)
Happened in WWII
American/British ideas on geopolitics
Mackinder’s Heartland Theory: Whoever controls Eastern Europe would control the world (Eastern Europe is in Russia’s possession)
Mahan’s Sea Power Theory: Whoever controls the sea will control the world (The US control the sea)
Critical geopoltics
Core politicians develop a sense of place, influencing people’s political behavior and sense of place
Ex: USSR, terrorism, Middle East
Unilateralism
One country (currently the USA although China may take over) is in charge and other countries follow as opposed to co-leading
Shatterbelt
An area of instability between regions of opposing viewpoints
Ex: The DMZ between North and South Korea
Supranational organization
When 3+ nations come together to form an organization for political, economic, military, and environmental benefit
Ex: NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), UN (formerly League of Nations), Benelux (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg)
