Political Geography - AP Human Geography Unit 4

nation

An ethnic group; A culturally defined group of people that share the same beliefs, language, history, religion, and region.

state

A country that has a sovereign government, defined borders, and is recognized by other states.

nation-state

A state dominated by one ethnic group.

stateless nation

An ethnicity that is dispersed as a minority across more than one state.

microstate

a state or territory that is small in both population and area

colony

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent.

sovereignty

State control; Independence; Authority in internal domestic affairs.

physical border

natural boundaries: rivers, lakes, oceans, mountains, or deserts

cultural border

boundaries between nations or ethnic groups - along religious, language lines.

geometric border

boundaries of straight lines that do not conform to natural or ethnic boundaries; Usually along lines of latitude or longitude.

superimposed border

A border defined by an outside force that may not reflect the cultural landscape

relic border

No longer a boundary because of political changes; Still leaves an imprint on the physical or cultural landscape.

supranational organization

An organization that operates across multiple states for political, economic, or military cooperation; States transfer some sovereignty to the union by joining.

UN

United Nations, a supranational organization.

EU

European Union, an economic/political supranational organization.

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a supranational organization.

NAFTA

North American Free Trade Agreement, an economic supranational organization.

OPEC

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, a supranational organization.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a supranational organization based on mutual security.

Europe

Birthplace of the modern nation-state; i.e. England and France.

colonialism

Policy by which a nation administers a foreign territory and develops its resources for the benefit of the colonial power.

imperialism

A policy in which a strong nation seeks to dominate other countries politically, socially, and economically.

nationalism

Identifying with, becoming attached to, and pledging loyalty to one's nation.

centripetal force

Phenomena that bring a nation together to support the state.

centrifugal force

Phenomena that divide the state.

unitary state

Power concentrated in the hands of central government officials.

federal state

Shared power between a central government and local governments. Two levels of government

devolution

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

voting districts

generic term adopted by the Bureau of the Census to include the wide variety of small polling areas, such as election districts, precincts, or wards, that State and local governments create for the purpose of administering elections

gerrymandering

Redistricting for the benefit of one political party or group.

Cyprus

An island state in the eastern Mediterranean Sea that is split between Greek and Turkish nations.

Laos

Landlocked state in Southeast Asia

landlocked state

A state without access to ocean resources.

compact

State shape that is most efficient. About equidistant from center to boarders

elongated

State shape that can be challenging for communication because of its long form.

prorupted

State shape that has a protrusion in order to give the state access to resources.

perforated

State shape that completely surrounds another state.

fragmented

State shape that has separations either by ocean (islands) or an intervening state.

enclave

A state that is surrounded by another state or states.

autocracy

A state that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people; Where stability is the primary function of the state.

democracy

A state in which citizens vote and run for election in government.

Balkanization

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

Boundary

invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory

Genocide

systematic killing of a racial or cultural group

ethnic cleansing

Process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

a code of maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and 200-nautical-mile-wide exclusive economic zones

Territorial Zone of the Law of the Sea

12 nautical miles - all laws apply

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

the seazone extending 200 nautical miles from the coast over which a state has special rights as to the exploration and use of marine resources

Subsequent Boundary Origin

a boundary that was created before today's cultural landscape.

Ex. Ireland and Northern Ireland

Antecedent Boundary Origin

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

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Nunavut Territory

territory was created by the Canadian government as a homeland for the Inuit people

Locational Boundary Dispute

Conflict over the location or place of a boundary

functional boundary dispute

a disagreement between neighboring states over policies to be applied to their common border; often induced by differing customs regulations, movement of nomadic groups, or illegal immigration or emigration.

Heartland Theory

Hypothesis proposed by Halford MacKinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.

Rimland Theory

Nicholas Spykman's theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provided the base for world conquest.

Organic Theory

The theory that a state needs expansive land in order to prosper

Cold War

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Domino Theory

A theory that if one nation comes under Communist control, then neighboring nations will also come under Communist control.

wasted vote

spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority also called cracking

excess vote

concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts also called packing