Unit 8 AP Human Geography Political Geography

Anocracy

A country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic but rather displays a mix of the two types

Autocracy

A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people

Balance of power

A condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries

Boundary

An invisible line that marks the extent of a states territory

City-state

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediately surrounding countryside

Colonialism

An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic and cultural principals in another territory

Colony

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent

Compact state

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

Democracy

A country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office

Elongated state

A state with a long narrow shape

Federal state

An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government

Fragmented state

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory

Frontier

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

Gerrymandering

The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power

Landlocked state

A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea

Microstate

A state that encompasses a very small land area

Multinational state

A state that contains two or more cultural groups with traditions of self determination that agrees to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities

Nation

A large group of people who are united by common cultural characteristics such as language and ethnicity or by shared history

Nation-state

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular nation

Perforated state

A state that completely surrounds another one

Prorupted state

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

Self-determination

The concept that ethnicity’s have the right to govern themselves

Sovereignty

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

State

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

Terrorism

The threatened or actual use of illegal force and violence by a non state actor to attain a political, economic, religious or social goal through fear and intimidation

Unitary state

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

Weapons of mass destruction

A nuclear, biological, chemical or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to structures and the world