APHUG Unit 4 -- Political Patterns and Processes

state

state

the largest political unit, the formal term for a country.

Criteria:

-has a defined boundary

-contains a permanent population

-maintains sovereignty over its domestic and international affairs

-is recognized by other states

Examples: Belgium, Nigeria, United States

sovereignty

a political unit or government having the power to rule over its own affairs

nation

group of people with similiarities

Common things:

-common cultural heritage

-set of beliefs and values that UNIFY them

-traditional claim to a particular space as their homeland

-desire to establish their own state or express self-rule

Examples: Kurds (in Middle East), Catalans (in Spain), Scots (in the UK)

nation-state

one nation of people that realize the qualifications of state form

Examples: Iceland, Japan

multinational state

country with more than one nation

Example: Canada

autonomous region

a defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government and freedom

Example: Aland islands (Finland)

semiautonomous region

A state that has a degree of, but not complete self-rule

Example: Navajo (United States)

stateless nation

A cultural group that has no independent political entity

Examples: Navajo, Basques (in Spain), Palestinians

multistate nation

nation that stretches across borders and across states

nationalism

nation's desire to start and continue a state of its own

centripetal forces

unity because of nationalism

centrifugal forces

division because of nationalism

Berlin Conference (Congo Conference), 1884

meeting between European officials in which the distribution of Africa to European control was decided. sought to bring an end to scramble for africa

self-determination

the right of people to choose their own form of government

decolonization

action of changing from colonial to independent status

genocide

Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

Example as a result of decolonization: Rwanda, 1994

Cold War

period of diplomatic, political, military rivalry - United States and USSR (Soviet Union) between 1945-1991.

IMPORTANT: The U.S. and Soviet Union never actually fought each other, but fought several proxy wars

proxy wars

(bonus concept)

US or Soviet Union provided military and financial support to countries involved in wars during the Cold War- in order to try and extend their sphere of influence

satellite state

country which is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country.

Example: Eastern European countries under Soviet control in the Cold War

devolution

one or more regions within a state are given increased autonomy by the central political unit

geopolitics

The study of the relationship between geography and politics between states

territoriality

Defense of a space by one or a group, against encroachment by others

neocolonialism

economic, political, or cultural control indirectly exerted over developing countries

choke points

a place of physical congestion between wider regions of movement and interaction

Example: Strait of Hormuz (between Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf)

physical geographic boundaries (natural boundary)

physical landscape that separates entities, like mountains or rivers

cultural boundary

one based on human traits of behaviors, often happens over long period of time

antecedent boundary

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

Example: Pyrenees Mountains in Spain/France

subsequent boundary

A boundary drawn after a cultural landscape is already in place

Example: Northern Ireland (in the UK)

ethnographic

usually related to cultural phenomena

superimposed boundary

a boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern, usually drawn by outside powers

Examples: Mali/Mauritania border (current)

Berlin Conference in the "Scramble for Africa" (historical)

landlocked states

a state without territory connected to an ocean

relic boundary

they no longer exist as international boundaries but can still be seen as a cultural boundary

Example: West/East Germany boundary

geometric boundary

straight line that doesn't follow any physical features often follows latitude and longitude lines

Example: U.S./Canada border

consequent boundary

A type of subsequent boundary that takes into account already existing cultural or physical landscapes

Example: India/Pakistan boundary

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

an unguarded boundary that people are free to move across easily

Example: European Union (Schengen Area)

militarized boundary

A boundary that is heavily guarded and discourages crossing and movement.

Example: North/South Korea DMZ (demilitarized zone)

defined boundary

(invisible line) established by a legal
document, such as a treaty to separate from another

delimited boundary

line drawn on map that shows limit of space

demarcated boundary

line identified by physical objects placed on landscape

definitional boundary

two or more groups that disagree on legal documents or maps that determine boundaries

locational boundary dispute (aka territorial dispute)

Conflict over the location or place of a boundary

irredentism

occurs when a country wants to add territory in another because it has ties

operational boundary dispute (aka functional dispute)

dispute centers on HOW a boundary functions

allocational boundary dispute (aka resource dispute)

boundary that separates natural resources that can be used by both countries

administered boundary

The enforcement and maintaining of a boundary by a government

controlled boundary

boundaries that have checkpoints where a passport or visa are required to enter the country

exclaves

Territories that are part of a state, yet geographically separated from the main state by one or more countries

Example: Alaska

political enclaves

states, territories, or parts of a state or territory that are completely surrounded by the territory of another state

Example: Lesotho (surrounded by South Africa)

shatterbelt

a place that suffers instability because it is located between two very different regions

United Nations Conventions on the Law of the Sea

major treaty signed by more than 150 countries; addressed water boundaries

territorial sea

a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles from the baseline of a coastal state

contiguous zone

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

Exclusive Economic Zone

area in which resources found up to 200 nautical miles offshore belong exclusively to the geographically bordering country

high seas

the portion of the oceans considered common territory, not under any kind of exclusive state jurisdiction

Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

200-mile EEZ is very valuable economically, controls nearly 30 percent of all oceans & seas, and EEZ are much larger

electoral geography

using spatial thinking techniques and tools to analyze elections and voting patterns

voting district

Internal boundaries that divide a country's electorate into subnational regions

electorate

All of the people entitled to vote in a given election

census

the official count of a population

Note: How often a census occurs will vary by country. In the United States, it is every ten years

reapportionment

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

redistricting

The drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes.

gerrymandering

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

cracking

spreading voters of one type over many districts to prevent a majority

packing

combining like-minded voters into one district to prevent them from affecting elections in other districts

stacking

weaken 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 a district where an elected representative has support to an area where they do not have support

federal state

shared between central government and provincial, state, and local government, multiple levels of power and ethnic groups

unitary state

held by central government with very little power given to local governments, no hierarchy, few cultural differences

annexation

Legally adding land area to a city

ethnic separatism

The advocacy of full political separation (or secession) from the larger group along cultural, ethnic, tribal, or governmental lines

Ex: Catalan (Catalonia) in Spain

ethnic cleansing

the forced removal of a minority ethnic group from a territory, usually by violent or terror-inspiring means.

terrorism

organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets that is intended to create fear in furtherance of political aims

subnationalism

describes people who have a primary allegiance to a traditional group or ethnicity, rather than the the state they are within

Example: French speaking people in Quebec in Canada

balkanization

fragmentation of a state or regions into smaller, often hostile, units along ethno-linguistic lines

supranationalism

the practice of multiple countries forming an organization for the benefit of all members

Examples of economic supranationalism

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

European Union (EU)

United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA)

transnational corporation

companies that conduct business on a global scale

Example of Military/Strategic Supranationalism

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

democratization

transition from autocratic (ruler with all power) to more representative forms of politics

time-space compression

the social and physiological effects of faster movement over space in a shorter period of time

regionalism

belief or practice of regional administrative systems rather than central systems

ethnonationalism

support for the political interests of a particular ethnic group, especially its national independence or self-determination

nationalism

strong feeling of patriotism towards one's country

BONUS TERM:

M:territoriality

Defense of a space by one or a group, against encroachment by others

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organic theory

Ratzel's idea that states need nourishment and living space to survive

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heartland theory

Sir Halford Mackinder developed a theory that land-based power was needed to gain world domination

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rimland theory

power is gained from controlling planned marine areas of the world

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compact state

distance from center does not vary, efficient trade, travel, communication from center

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elongated state

potential isolation at borders, difficult communication, travel, challenge to govern and defend

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prorupted state

compact area w/ extension, limited access, since surrounded by another state issues may rise

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perforated state

state that surrounds another one, surrounded state dependent on perforated state for travel and trade

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fragmented state

scattered islands, problems w/ trade, communication, travel, and distribution of power