APHUG 04 Vocab

Annexation

the formal act of acquiring something (especially territory) by conquest or occupation

Antarctica

an extremely cold continent at the south pole almost entirely below the Antarctic Circle

Apartheid

a social policy or racial segregation involving political and economic and legal discrimination against non-whites

Arab Spring

series of anti-government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across the Middle East in early 2011

Balkanization

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

Boundary

Vertical planes between states that cuts through rocks below, and the airspace above the surface.

Boundary disputes - definitional

Definitional- Disputes that arise from the legal language of the treaty definition of the boundary itself; one of the countries involved will usually sue another country in the International Court of Justice (World Court).

What is an antecedent boundary?

A boundary that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place while people moved in to occupy the surrounding area.

What is a subsequent boundary.

A boundary that developed with the evolution of the cultural landscape and is adjusted as the cultural landscape changes.

What is a superimposed boundary.

A political boundary that ignores the existing cultural organization of the landscape, usually placed by a higher authority to ease tension and satisfy the demands of superpower alliances rather than the needs of the country it divides.

What is a relic boundary?

Boundaries that no longer exist as international boundaries.

What is boundary delimitation?

Putting the boundary on a map

What is boundary demarcation?

Physically marking the boundary on the landscape

What is boundary definition?

Legally describing and negotiating the exact location of a boundary

What are natural/physical boundaries?

Boundaries created with naturally occurring features.

What are ethnographic/cultural boundaries?

Boundaries outlined by cultural factors such as language, religion, or ethnic groups.

What are geometric boundaries?

Boundaries created with latitude and longitude features or with other straight lines.

Buffer State

a small neutral state between two rival powers

Capital

a seat of government

Centrifugal

tending to move away from a center, tending away from centralization, as of authority

Centripetal

tending to unify

Colonialism

practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another area, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically

confederalism

the act of forming an alliance or confederation

Conference of Berlin (1884)

formalized the scramble to gain colonies in Africa and set up boundaries for each country's colonies

decolonization

the action of changing from colonial to independent status

devolution

the delegation of authority from a central to a regional government

domino theory

if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control

EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)

established in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a zone of exploitation extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) seaward from a coastal state that has exclusive mineral and fishing rights over it.

Electoral Region

different voting districts that make up local, state, and national regions

Enclave/Exclave

a country or part of a country mostly surrounded by the territory of another country or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country. a country which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory.

Ethnic conflict

a war between ethnic groups often as a result of ethnic nationalism or fight over natural resources. conflict often includes genocide. It can also be caused by boundary disputes.

European Union

an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

Federal

Federalism is a political philosophy in which a group or body of members are bound together with a governing representative head.

Federalism

System where power to govern is shared between national and state/provincial governments, giving local areas more control.

Forward Capital

Symbolically relocated capital city for strategic reasons.

Frontier

Zone where no state has complete political control, often uninhabited or sparsely inhabited, separating countries where a boundary cannot be found.

Geopolitics

Study analyzing geography, history, and social science in relation to international politics, focusing on the political and strategic significance of geography.

Gerrymander

Redistricting practice to give one political party electoral advantage by concentrating opposition voting strength in as few districts as possible.

Heartland/Rimland/Organic

Heartland: central region of a country or continent. Rimland: maritime fringe. Organic (Ratzel): state growth akin to organism growth, must grow to survive.

Iron Curtain

Division between Western European states (democracy, capitalism) and Eastern European states (totalitarianism, communism).

Irredentism

Claiming right to territories of another state based on common ethnicity or prior historical possession.

Israel/Palestine

State of Israel established in 1948, referring to conflict between Zionist pioneers and Arab population in Palestine under Ottoman or British rule.

Landlocked

Enclosed by land with no direct access to the sea.

Law of the Sea

Legal framework establishing states' rights and responsibilities regarding the earth's seas, oceans, and resources.

Mackinder, Halford

Founding father of Geopolitics, known for heartland theory.

Median-Line Principle

Lines created to distribute waterways when states are within 200 miles of each other.

Microstate

Small state or territory in both size and population.

Nation

Group of people sharing common customs, origins, history, and language.

Nation-State

Coexistence of a state and a nation within its borders.

Reapportionment

Process of reallocating House of Representatives seats among states based on population changes after the census.

Regionalism

Process of dividing a country into smaller regions and transferring power from central government to these regions.

Religious Conflict

Extremism leading to violence in the name of religion.

Reunification

Act of coming together again, often referring to divided territories or states.

Satellite State

Country formally sovereign but dominated by a larger hegemonic power.

Self-Determination

Principle in international law allowing people to determine their own governmental forms free from external influence.

Shatterbelt

Region of instability between areas with opposing political and cultural values.

Sovereignty

Exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, free from external control.

State

Politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government and recognized internationally.

Stateless Nation

Nation without a state of its own.

Supranationalism

Cooperation among three or more national states for shared political, economic, or cultural objectives.

Territorial Morphology (Compact, Fragmented, Elongated, Prorupt, Perforated)

Different shapes of states: Compact (circular/oval), Fragmented (not contiguous), Elongated (long and narrow), Prorupt (with protrusion), Perforated (surrounding another state).

Territoriality

Act of gaining and defending a fixed and exclusive area by an individual or group.

Theocracy

State where government is controlled by a ruler considered divinely guided.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

Maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982, defining territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.

Unitary

Form of government with power held by a central authority.

USSR Collapse

Event in 1991 marking the end of the Cold War, breakup of USSR into 14 independent countries.

Boundary disputes - locational

Disputes that arise when the definition of the border is not questioned but the intention of the border is, as when the border has shifted (ex., a river shifts its course, changing the landscape).

Boundary disputes - Operational

Disputes that arise from two abutting or adjacent countries disagreeing about a major functionality of the border, as when the United States and Mexico disagree over the issue of illegal immigration into the United States.

Boundary disputes - allocational

Disputes that usually involve conflicting claims to the natural resources of a region and the drilling or mining of it.