Introduction to Political Geography: States, Borders, and Nationalism

Political Geography

A branch of human geography concerned with the spatial analysis of political systems.

State

An independent political unit with a centralized authority that makes claim to sole legal, political, and economic jurisdiction over a region with defined boundaries.

Sovereign State

A state that rules itself and is not subject to the authority of another state.

Nation

A community of people bound to a homeland and possessing a common identity based on shared cultural traits such as language, ethnicity, and religion.

Nation-State

The ideal political geographical unit.

State Idea

The idea that political authority governs in the name of all a country's citizens, modern mass communications link all residents, and state-based citizenship rights reinforce the idea of a national identity.

Nationalism

Sense of belonging to and self-identifying with a national culture; people with a strong sense of nationalism derive a significant part of their social identity from a sense of belonging to a nation.

Stateless Nation

An ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation-state.

Multinational State

A country containing multiple national, ethnic, and religious groups within its boundaries.

Multistate Nation

Ethnic groups territorially divided by one or more international boundaries.

Autonomous Region

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has a degree of self-government, or autonomy, in its decision making.

Dependent Territory

A subdivision or dependent territory of a country that has some degree of, but not complete, self-government.

Self-Determination

A nation's ability to determine its own statehood and form its own allegiances and government; the freedom of culturally distinct groups to govern themselves and form their own states.

Devolution

The movement of power from the central government to regional governing bodies within the state.

Ethnic Nationalism

A form of nationalism in which the nation is defined in terms of ethnic identity.

Neocolonialism

The set of economic and political strategies by which wealthy and powerful countries indirectly maintain or extend their influence over less wealthy areas.

Peripheral States

States that have relatively little industrial development, simple production systems focused mostly on agriculture and raw materials, and low levels of consumption of manufactured goods.

Core States

States that have the most advanced military and industrial technology, complex manufacturing systems, external political power, and the highest levels of wealth and mass consumption.

Fragmentation

Region of continuing and persistent fragmentation due to devolution and centrifugal forces.

Choke Point

A narrow passage that restricts traffic to another region.

Strait

A narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies of water.

Boundary

A clearly demarcated line that marks the limits of a territory, often called a border.

Median-line principle

An approach to dividing and creating boundaries at the midpoint between two places.

Borderland

A region straddling both sides of an international boundary where national cultures overlap and blend to varying degrees.

Frontier

A region at the margins of state control and settlement.

Enclave

A territory surrounded by a country but not ruled by it.

Exclave

Part of national territory separated from the main body of the country to which it belongs.

Delimited Boundary

Describing how boundaries are fixed or defined to identify their limits.

Geometric Boundary

A boundary that has regular often straight lines drawn without regard to existing boundaries.

consequent boundary

A boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing cultural differences.

Buffer State

A politically and economically weak independent country that lies between the borders of two powers.

Satellite State

A nominally independent country that is politically, militarily, and economically controlled by a more powerful state.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

A zone that extends 200 nautical miles from the shoreline in which coastal states have the sole right to exploit, develop, manage, and conserve water resources lying beyond the land.