Hildebrant, Human Geography for the AP® Course 1e - Module 25

political geography

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

political map

A map that shows the spatial organization of the countries and territories on the entire globe at a given point in time

state or country

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

independent state

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

sovereign state

A state that possesses the sole authority over the land and people within its boundaries

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; one in which the nation's geographic boundaries (a people and its culture) exactly match the state's territorial boundaries (governance and authority)

nation-state ideal

The idea that political authorities govern in the name of all a country's citizens, modern mass communications link all residents, and statebased citizenship rights reinforce the idea of a national identity

nationalism

Sense of belonging to and selfidentifying 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 nations

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

semiautonomous region

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