AP Human Geography: Unit 4 Vocabulary: Political Patterns & Processes

African Union (AU)

A continental organization of African states that seeks to drive Africa’s growth and economic development through cooperation and integration of member states

Antecedent boundary

A boundary that was identified before an area was settled

Arctic Council

An international governmental forum that promotes interaction among the Arctic states and indigenous communities on common Arctic issues, particularly sustainable development and environmental protection

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

A regional intergovernmental organization comprising 10 countries in Southeast Asia to promote intergovernmental cooperation and facilitate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region

autonomous region

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a degree of self-government, or autonomy, in its decision making

Boundary

A clearly demarcated line that marks both the limits of a territory and divisions between territories; often called a border at the global scale

Buffer state

A politically and economically weak independent country that lies between the borders of two powers

Choke point

A narrow passage that restricts traffic to another region

Consequent boundary

A boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing cultural differences

Cracking

Gerrymandering a voting district by dividing opposition votes into many districts, thus diluting the opposition’s vote to ensure it does not form a majority in any district

Delimited

Describing how boundaries are fixed or defined to identify their limits

Demarcated

Describing how boundaries are set apart to distinguish their limits

Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

An area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers, or contending groups forbid military installations, activities, or personnel; usually lies along an established frontier or boundary between two or more military powers or alliances

Devolution

The movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state

Enclave

A territory surrounded by a country but not ruled by it

ETA

Basque separatist organization in Spain that used terrorism in its campaign for an independent Basque state

Ethnonationalism

A form of nationalism in which the nation is defined in terms of ethnic identity

European Union (EU)

A political, economic, and social union of 28 independent European countries that promotes the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital among its members

Exclave

Part of a national territory separated from the main body of the country to which it belongs

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Zone that extends 200 nautical miles from shoreline in which coastal states have the sole right to exploit, develop, manage, and conserve all water resources lying beyond the land

Federal State

An independent country that disperses significant authority among subnational units

Frontier

A region at the margins of state control and settlement

Geometric boundary

A boundary that has regular, often perfectly straight, lines drawn without regard for an area’s physical or cultural features

Gerrymandering

The manipulation of voting district boundaries to favor a particular political party, group, or election outcome

Irredentism

The political claim to territory in another country based on ethnic affiliations and historic borders

Multinational state

A country containing multiple national, ethnic, and religious groups within its boundaries

Multistate nations

Ethnic groups territorially divided by one or more international boundaries

Nation

A community of people bound to a homeland and possessing a common identity based on shared cultural traits such as language, ethnicity, and religion

Nationalism

Sense of belonging to and self-identifying with a national culture; people with a strong sense of nationalism derive a significant part of their social identity from a sense of belonging to a nation

Nation-state

The ideal political geographical unit; one in which the nation’s geographic boundaries (a people and its culture) exactly match the state’s territorial boundaries (governance and authority)

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

A 1994 trade agreement between Canada, the United States, and Mexico; revised as the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) in 2020

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

An intergovernmental military alliance among 29 North American and European countries with the purpose of guaranteeing the freedom and security of its members

Packing

Gerrymandering a voting district by concentrating all of the opposition party into one district, thereby creating a large majority of that party in the district while ensuring that it cannot win any election

Reapportionment

The process by which the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are divided proportionately by population among the 50 states following every U.S. census

Redistricting

The process of drawing new boundaries for U.S. congressional districts to reflect the population changes since the previous U.S. census

Relic boundary

A boundary that no longer functions as an international border

Self-determination

A nation’s ability to determine its own statehood and form its own allegiances and government; the freedom of culturally distinct groups to govern themselves in their own territories and form their own states

Semiautonomous region

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has some degree of, but not complete, self-government

Shatterbelt

Region of continuing and persistent fragmentation due to devolution and centrifugal forces

Sovereign state

A state that possesses the sole authority over the land and people within its boundaries

State or country

An independent political unit with a centralized authority that makes claim to sole legal, political, and economic jurisdiction over a region with defined boundaries

Stateless nation

An ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation-state

Strait

A narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water

Subnational units

The smaller areas into which a larger state is divided (e.g., states in the United States, provinces in Canada)

Subsequent boundary

A political boundary that developed with the cultural landscape

Superimposed boundary

A boundary that is placed on an area without regard to existing boundaries

Supranational organization

International political body that nation-states establish in cooperation with their neighbors for mutual political, military, economic, or cultural gain

Supranationalism

Occurs when a collection of nation-states and their citizens relinquish some sovereign rights to a larger-scale body that exercises authority over its member states

Unitary state

An independent state that concentrates power in the central government and grants little or no authority to its subnational units

United Nations (UN)

International organization that is responsible for maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, achieving international cooperation, and harmonizing the actions of nations

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

Conference organized to define territorial boundaries and rights to the sea

Voting District

A territorial division for casting votes in public elections; generally, only those who live in the voting district are permitted to cast their votes there