AP Human Geography Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes Flashcards

Flashcards covering political entities, boundaries, processes, and challenges in modern states based on the human geography lecture transcript.

To be defined as a state, a political unit must have a defined boundary, a permanent population, be recognized by other states, and maintain __________ over its domestic and international affairs.

sovereignty

The People's Republic of China views the island of __________ as a renegade province, which poses a challenge to its claim of sovereignty.

Taiwan

A nation of people who fulfill the qualifications of a state form a __________, with Japan and Iceland being prime examples.

nation-state

Canada is considered a __________ state because it contains more than one nation, such as the French-speaking population in Quebec.

multinational

In an effort to provide autonomy to the Inuit people, the Canadian government created the territory of __________ in $1999$.

Nunavut

A defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government, such as the __________ Islands in Finland, is known as an autonomous region.

Aland

Native American reservations in the United States, such as the one controlled by the __________, are considered semiautonomous regions because they possess tribal sovereignty but not complete independence.

Navajo

A cultural group that has no independent political entity, such as the Palestinians or the Basques, is called a __________ nation.

stateless

The largest stateless nation in the world is the __________ people, who are spread across six states in southwest Asia.

Kurdish

A __________ nation occurs when a nation has a state of its own but stretches across the borders of other states, such as the Hungarians or Koreans.

multistate

A __________ force, such as a shared religion or a common language, helps to unify people within a country.

centripetal

A __________ force, such as linguistic or religious differences in Belgium, tends to divide people or break states apart.

centrifugal

European powers justified their colonial conquests through the legal concept of __________, which means "land belonging to no one."

terra nullius

The __________ of $1884$ and $1885$ resulted in the formation of superimposed state boundaries in Africa with little regard for existing cultural groups.

Berlin Conference

The right of people to choose their own sovereign government without external influence is known as __________.

self-determination

Organized mass killing targeted at a specific race, religion, or ethnicity, such as the conflict in Rwanda in $1994$, is called __________.

genocide

During the Cold War, Eastern European countries occupied by the Soviet army became __________ states, dominated politically and economically by the USSR.

satellite

The process in which one or more regions are given increased autonomy by a central political unit is known as __________.

devolution

A(n) __________ is a place that suffers instability because it is located between two very different and contentious regions, such as the Caucasus.

shatterbelt

A movement to unite people who share cultural elements but are divided by a national boundary is called __________.

irredentism

A __________ is a strategic maritime area of physical congestion, such as the Strait of Hormuz, that is vital for global trade.

choke point

A(n) __________ boundary, such as the Andes Mountains separating Chile from Argentina, preceded the development of the cultural landscape.

antecedent

The division between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland is a __________ boundary because it was drawn to accommodate religious differences.

subsequent

A line of latitude or longitude that does not follow a physical feature, such as the $49$th parallel between the U.S. and Canada, is a __________ boundary.

geometric

A(n) __________ boundary, like the Great Wall of China, has been abandoned for political purposes but is still evident on the landscape.

relic

The Korean __________ (DMZ) is a heavily guarded buffer zone that serves as a militarized boundary between North and South Korea.

demilitarized zone

Territories like Alaska that are part of a state but geographically separated from the main body of the country are called __________.

exclaves

States like San Marino or Vatican City, which are completely surrounded by the territory of another state, are known as political __________.

enclaves

Under UNCLOS, the __________ allows a coastal state to explore and manage natural resources up to $200$ nautical miles from its coast.

exclusive economic zone (EEZ)

The practice of redrawing boundaries for political districts to protect or increase the power of the party in control is called __________.

gerrymandering

A __________ state, like France or Japan, is one where most of the governing power is held primarily by the national government.

unitary

The fragmentation of a state or region into smaller, often hostile units along ethno-linguistic lines is called __________.

balkanization

The practice of multiple countries forming an organization for collective benefits, such as NATO or the EU, is known as __________.

supranationalism

The rise of __________ corporations has weakened state sovereignty because these companies can move business operations globally to exploit lower costs.

transnational

The social and psychological effects of faster information movement over space in shorter periods of time is called __________.

time-space compression