AP Human Geography- Unit 4 Vocab

State

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Sovereignty

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Nation

a group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity

Nation-State

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

Stateless Nation

a group of people with a common political identity who do not have a territorially defined, sovereign country of their own

Multinational State

state with more than one nation within its borders

Autonomous Region

an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority

Semiautonomous region

an area inside of a country that has some power to control itself more than other areas in the country

Multistate nation

when a nation stretches across borders and across states

nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

Centripetal forces

Forces that tend to unite or bind a country together

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that tend to divide a country.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory

Berlin Conference

A meeting from 1884-1885 at which representatives of European nations agreed on rules colonization of Africa

Self-Determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Decolonization

The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.

Genocide

Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

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.

Satellite States

Eastern European states under the control of the Soviet Union during the Cold War

Devolution

Transferring responsibility for policies from the federal government to state and local governments.

Geopolitics

study of government and its policies as affected by physical geography

Territoriality

In political geography, a country's or more local community's sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended.

neocolonialism

Also called economic imperialism, this is the domination of newly independent countries by foreign business interests that causes colonial-style economies to continue, which often caused monoculture (a country only producing one main export like sugar, oil, etc).

choke point

a strategic, narrow waterway between two larger bodies of water

Physical Geographic Boundary

natural barriers between areas such as oceans, deserts, and mountains

Cultural Boundary

a geographical boundary between two different cultures

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary line established before an area is populated

Subsequent Boundary

A boundary drawn after a cultural landscape is already in place

Ethnographic

relating to the scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences.

relating to the scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs, habits, and mutual differences.

a boundary that is imposed on the cultural landscape which ignores pre-existing cultural patterns (typically a colonial boundary)...

Landlocked States

state surrounded by other land with no direct outlet to the sea

Relic Boundary

A boundary no longer observed but that still affects the present-day area (e.g. border between West and East Germany in Berlin)

Geometric Boundary

Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines

Cultural consequent boundary

a border that is drawn taking into account language, ethnicity, religion, or other cultural traits

Physical Consequent Boundary

a division that uses already-existing natural features that divide a territory such as rivers, deserts, or mountains

Open Boundary

a boundary where crossing is unimpeded

Militarized Boundary

a boundary that is heavily guarded and discourages movement; N & S Korea

Defined boundary

one established by a legal
document, such as a treaty

Delimited Boundary

A boundary DRAWN and agreed upon; drawing of a boundary

Demarcated Boundary

A boundary demarcated (marked) by some visible means on the ground. Ex. wall posts, fences, etc

Definitional Boundary Dispute

Conflict over the language of the border agreement in a treaty or boundary contract

Locational Boundary Dispute (Territorial Dispute)

Conflict over the location or place of a boundary, and how it is delimited and/or demarcated

Irredentism

a policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a country aimed at a group of its nationals living in a neighboring country

Operational Boundary Dispute (Functional Dispute)

Conflict over the way a boundary should operate or function, such as the conflict over allowing migration across the border

Allocational Boundary Dispute (Resource Dispute)

a dispute that occurs when a boundary separates natural resources that may be used by both countries

Administered Boundary

The enforcement and maintaining of a boundary by a government

Demilitarized Zone

A zone from which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited

Controlled Border

a country places significant restrictions on noncitizens entering the country

Exclave

a part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory.

Political Enclave

A state, or part of a state, that is completely surrounded by another state

Shatterbelt

a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals (e.g., Israel or Kashmir today; Eastern Europe during the Cold War,...).

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

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 Sea

Up to 12 nautical miles of sovereignty; commercial vessels may pass, but non-commercial vessels may be challenged.

International Waters

the areas of the sea that are not under the jurisdiction of any country

Contiguous zone

Between 12 and 24 nautical miles from shore, a state may enforce laws concerning pollution, taxation, customs, and immigration

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

High Seas

Areas of seas considered beyond territorial waters

Small Island Developing State (SIDS)

group of small developing island states, control nearly 30% of all oceans and seas

Internal Boundary

type of boundary within a state, for administrative purposes or to mark off cultural regions

Electoral Geography

the study of the geographical elements of the organization and results of elections

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

Electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

Census

A complete enumeration of a population

Reapprotionment

the reassignment of seats, in the house of representatives after each year a census gains or losses in a states population

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

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power

Cracking

spreading voters of one type over many districts where they will comprise minorities that are unable to influence elections

Packing

concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts

Stacking

diluting a minority populated district with majority populations

hijacking

redrawing two districts in order to force two elected representatives of the same party to run against each other

kidnapping

moving an area where an elected representative has support to an area where he or she does not have support

Federal State

allocates strong power to units of local government within the country

Unitary State

An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials

Ethnic Separatism

when an ethnic group desires to separate from the larger group

Ethnic Cleansing

the mass expulsion or killing of members of an unwanted ethnic or religious group in a society

Terrorism

Acts of violence designed to promote a specific ideology or agenda by creating panic among an enemy population

Subnationalism

Identification with small ethnic and regional groups within a nation

Balkanization

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

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope

Supranationalism

three or more countries agree to give up a degree of autonomy in order to pursue common goals. (ex. European Union)

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a group of 28 countries that has agreed to protect each other in case of attack; founded in 1949

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

trade treaty among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

a trade alliance that promotes trade and economic integration among member nations in Southeast Asia

Arctic Counsel

alliance aimed at promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among Arctic states, Arctic indigenous communities and other Arctic inhabitants on issues of sustainable development and Environmental protection in the Arctic members: U.S., Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia

African Union

organization formed in 2002 to promote unity among African states and to foster development and end poverty

World Trade Organization (WTO)

International organization that regulates international trade.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

an international economic organization whose member countries all produce and export oil

Transnational Corporation

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.

Democratization

A process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one

Regionalism

loyalty to a local area

Ethnonationalism

the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence. A fundamental centrifugal force