Studied by 3 people
state
An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.
microstate
A state that encompasses a very small land area.
centripetal force
forces that tend to unify a country
centrifugal force
forces that tend to divide a country
Sovereignty
Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.
nation-state
A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality
city-state
A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland.
Self-determination
Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves
Multiethnic state
A state that contains more than one ethnicity
multinational state
State that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities.
stateless nation
a type of stat whereby a group of people have a shared identity but lack a sovereign state
colony
A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent.
Colonialism
An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.
boundry
An invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory
frontier
A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.
compact state
A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.
elongated state
A state with a long, narrow shape.
Prorupted State
an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension
Perforated State
a state that completely surrounds another one
fragmented state
A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.
landlocked state
A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea.
Democracy
A country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office
Autocracy
A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
Anocracy
A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types.
Unitary State
An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials
Federal State
An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government.
Devolution
The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy; resulting in the loss of central government power
Reapportionment
Process by which representative districts are redistributed according to population shifts; occurs after each census
Gerrymandering
Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.
Balance of Power
Condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries.
supranational organization
A venture involving three or more nation-states involving formal political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives. The European Union is one such organization
Terrorism
The systematic use of violence by a group calculated to create an atmosphere of fear and alarm among a population or to coerce a government into actions it would not otherwise undertake or refrain from actions it wants to take
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