Ap Human Geography-Unit 4 Vocab

State

political unit with a permanent population and boundaries that are recognized by other states that allows for the administration of laws, collection of taxes, and provision of defense

Nation

people who think of themselves as one based on a sense of shared culture and history and who desire political autonomy

                   e.g. Japanese, German, French, Hmong

Nation-State

A state with a singhle nation(very few exist)

e.g. Japan, Iceland, Armenia, Lesotho

Stateless nation

:  a nation who do not have their own independent state

                               e.g. Palestinians, Basque, Kurds, Hmong

Multi-national state

a state with two or more nations (includes most states)                                                                    

                                        e.g. Germany, France, Mexico, China, U.S., Russia

multi-state nation: 

  a nation living across states

                                    e.g. Koreans, Kurds, Basque, Russians

autonomous region:

an area which governs itself, but is not an independent country

                                      e.g. Greenland, The Azores, Hong Kong, Catalonia and Basque region (Spain

sovereignty:

final authority over a territory and the right to defend territorial integrity against incursion

colonialism:

rule by an autonomous power over a subordinate people and place that creates unequal cultural and

                      economic relations

imperialism:    

the drive toward creation and expansion of an empire and then once established, its perpetuation        

                                e.g.  Spain, Portugal, Great Britain, Japan, China, Russia

self-determination:

the process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and

                                  government

independence movements:

an area that believes that it should be its own country

                                                        e.g. colonized people against their colonizers

political power:

expressed geographically as control over people, land, and resources

government:

political system with governing authority

authoritarian government:

gov’t with a strong central power, no constitutional accountability, no individual freedoms

e.g.absolute monarchy(Saudi Arabia), dictatorship (North Korea), fascism (Germany)

democracy

: government where power resides with the majority (Ancient Greece)

republic:

government where power resides in a body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by elected representatives 

                 responsible to them and governing according to law (U.S., Germany, France)

democratization

the process of moving from a non-democracy (authoritarian rule, colonial rule) to a democratic system

neocolonialism:

form of indirect control through the use of economic/political pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former colonies in which they continue to be exploited

Shatterbelt

: region endangered by local conflicts within the state or between countries in the area, as well as the involvement of opposing great powers outside the region

 e.g. Eastern Europe, Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Russia)

choke points

geographical feature (sea OR land) that has significant strategic importance

 e.g. Straits of Gibraltar, English Channel, Panama Canal, Suez Canal

human territoriality:

the connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land creating a desire for ownership over a defined space

boundary:

line that determines the limit of state jurisdiction that is a vertical plane that cuts through the subsoil and extends into the airspace above and often coincides with cultural, national or economic divisions

         boundary definition:

        phase in which the boundary is negotiated and legally described

         boundary delimitation

: phase in which the boundary is drawn on the ma

         boundary demarcation:

phase in which markers are placed on the ground (signs, walls, fences)

boundary administration:

  phase in which the boundary is maintained

boundary dispute:

disagreement over the location of a boundary/movement across the boundary (migration/smuggling) and can cause conflict

irredentism:

: when a state wants to annex territory whose population is ethnically similar

                                      e.g. Russia annexation of Crime

antecedent boundary:

 boundary in the natural landscape that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place as people moved in

i.e.  rain forest between Malaysia and Indonesia

 i.e. mountains between France & Spain

 i.e. lakes between U.S. & Canada

consequent boundary:

  boundary that coincides with cultural groups (religion, language)

 i.e.  Europe

subsequent boundary:

boundary that evolves as the cultural landscape of an area takes shape and changes as cultural landscape changes

i.e.  Northern Ireland and Ireland

 i.e.  Pakistan and India

 i.e. Sudan and South Sudan

superimposed boundary: 

boundary that is drawn by powerful outsiders (e.g. colonizers) and ignores existing cultural groups

 i.e. Israel and Palestine

 i.e. Yugoslavia

 i.e. Africa

relict (relic) boundary: 

boundary that no longer exists as an international border, but remnants of its existence remain

 i.e.  North and South Vietnam

 i.e.  Berlin Wall

 

geometric boundary:

boundary that follows a straight line or arc

 i.e.  U.S. and Canada, western U.S.

i.e.  North and South Korea

i.e.  colonial boundaries in Africa (Berlin Conference)

Berlin Conference:

a meeting (1884-1885) between European nations to divide Africa among them for colonization with the intent of preventing conflict over the process

colonization in Africa:

from the 17^th to 19^th centuries, large parts of Africa were divided according to which pieces of land belonged to which European colonizer and not by the existing patterns of different tribal people/ethnicities living on the land

 

de-colonization in Africa:

the superimposed boundaries of Africa remained in place after independence, which has led to much of the current conflict and lack of ability to establish effective leadership

demilitarized zone (DMZ):

a buffer zone created by treaties/agreements between two or more military powers that falls on either side of the actual boundary

e.g. DMZ between North Korea and South Korea

international agreements:

establishment of formal commitments between countries on world related issues that can either encourage interactions (trade) or discourage disputes (resources)

 e.g. trade, environment, economic development, refugees, boundaries/borders

international sanctions:

policies or actions designed to induce states to change their behavior

e.g.  embargo (ban) on military, technological, and luxury goods with North Korea/Cuba

e.g.  freeze on Iranian assets

e.g.  boycott of trade with South Africa over Apartheid: racial discrimination policy

Law of the Sea (UNCLOS):

established rights and responsibilities of states concerning ownership/use of oceans/seas and their resources as developed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 

Territorial Sea:

zone of water adjacent to a state’s coast (12 miles) in which a state has sovereignty 

Contiguous Zone:

zone of water adjacent to Territorial Sea (24 miles) in which state can enforce customs, immigration, and sanitation laws

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ):

zone of water adjacent to Contiguous Zone (200 miles) in which a state has the right to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage resources

 international waters (High Seas):

ocean beyond the EEZ, in which all states have equal access

median-line principle: 

method used to divide the waters between states that do not have 400 miles between them

voting district:

subdivision for electing members to a legislative body

redistricting

when voting districts are redrawn due to changes in population

gerrymander: 

redistricting that is unfair and gives an advantage to a particular political party by concentrating voting strength

unitary state:

state that is governed as a single unit with a central top down

form of form of governance where local territories only have

power that is granted by the central government

 e.g. U.K., France, Spain, China, Italy

federal state:

state where there is a division in power between a central

government and local territories/provinces/States/oblasts

 e.g. Canada, U.S., Russia

semi-autonomous region:

an area that can govern itself in certain areas, but does not have complete power to govern

e.g. Nunavut (Canada), Native American reservations (U.S.)

devolution:

the transfer of decision-making power from a central government to a lower level

supra-nationalism:

political and/or economic alliance of three or more states that is formed for mutual benefit to promote shared goals and resolve disputes, but can limit the economic or political actions of member states creating a challenge to state sovereignty

military alliance:

: alliance between two or more states who agree on mutual protection and support in case of a crisis

                                e.g. NATO formed to defend against threats by communist countries after WWII

                                  

trade agreement:

treaty between two or more states who agree on trade, tariffs, taxes, and often includes investment guarantees

economies of scale:

cost advantages gained by an increased level of production

The Paris Agreement:

establishment of protocols dealing with greenhouse gas emissions by the United Nations

political change:

advances in communication technology have facilitated devolution, supranationalism, and democratization