Ap human geography unit 4

Balkanization

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

Binational or Multinational State

State that contains more than one nation (usually no one single dominant ethnic group)

Boundary

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

Centripetal Force

An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

Centrifugal Force

a force that divides people and countries

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.

Colonies

a group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation.

Compact States

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly

Core Area

the portion of a country that contains its economic, political, intellectual, and cultural focus.

Core-Periphery

A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region.

Cultural Boundary

an invisible boundary made by the certain cultural beliefs and traits that make the culture

Democratization

the spread of representative government to more countries and the process of making governments more representative

Locational Disputes

Conflict over location, usually associated with physical boundaries.

Territorial Disputes

A disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states, or over the possession or control of land

Allocation Disputes

disagreements over the control or use of shared resources, such as boundary rivers or jointly claimed fishing grounds

Operational Disputes

disagreements 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.

Electoral Geography

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

Elongated States

A state with a long narrow shape

Enclave

A distinct region or community enclosed within a larger territory

Exclave

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

Ethnic Force

where an ethnic group shares a well-developed sense of belonging to the same culture

European Union

An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

Federal Systems

government systems that divide the powers between the national government and state or provincial governments

Fragmentation

Adherence to or embracing of regional and even local political authority, economic development, social and cultural associations, ethnic or national divisions.

Fragmented States

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory

Frontier

A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.

Geometric Boundary

Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines.

Gerrymandering

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

Geopolitics

An interest in or taking of land for its strategic location or products

Government

the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed

Heartland Theory

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

Imperialism

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

Internal Boundaries

boundaries that divide the interiors of a country into sections

Landlocked States

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

Median-Line Principle

lines made to distribute water ways when states are within 200 miles of each other

Microstate

A state or territory that is small in both size and population.

Minority Districting

rearranging districts to allow a minority representative to be elected

Majority Districting

area in which the majority of the constituents in the district are racial or ethnic minorities. used to sway electoral votes

Nationalism

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

Nation-State

A country who's population share a common identity.

Perforated States

a state that completely surrounds another

Physical Boundary

boundary defined by a physical land mark like a river or a lake

Friedrich Ratzel

father of modern political geography, he created the Organic Theory

Rimland Theory

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

Security Council

Five permanent members( US, UK, France, China, USSR) with veto power in the UN. Promised to carry out UN decisions with their own forces.

Sovereignty

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

Stateless Nation

A nationality that is not represented by a state.

State

A politically organized territory that is administered by a sovereign government and is recognized by the international community.

Supranational Organization

Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives.

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.

Unitary State

A state in which most political power exists at the national level, with limited local authority.

Organic Theory

The view that states resemble biological organisms with life cycles that include stages of youth, maturity, and old age.

Sea Power Theory

Mahan; late 1800s; argued that control of the sea lanes would lead to national strength.

Fortified Boundary

A boundary created by building a physical structure

Irredentism

The policy of a state wishing to incorporate within itself territory inhabited by people who have ethnic or linguistic links with the country but that lies within a neighboring state.

Terrorism

the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

Subnational

Derivatives of the federal system. Designated portions of a country