Ultimate AP Vocab - Flashcards

Mrs. Hansen's 2025 ultimate vocab flashcards

Irredentism

A political and nationalist ideology that seeks to reclaim & reoccupy a territory that the government adherents believe rightfully belongs to their nation.

Shatter Belt

Regions that are politically fragmented and often subjected to external pressures and conflicts, typically located between larger, more powerful nations.

The Law of the Sea

A body of customs, treaties, and international agreements by which governments maintain order, productivity and peaceful relations on the sea.

Unitary State

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

Federal State

A type of political organization where power is shared between a central government and regional or local government.

Centrifugal Force

A cultural value that tends to pull people apart.

Centripetal Force

A cultural value that tends to unify people.

Devolution

The transfer of power from a central government to a lower level of government, such a regional or local government.

African Union

A continental union aiming to promote and defend Africa common positions on issues of interest to the continent and its peoples.

Arab League

A regional organization, formally the League of Arab States, dedicated to promoting peace, security, and stability by preventing conflicts, resolving disputes, and acting in a spirit of solidarity and unity.

NATO

A military alliance of European and North American countries that works to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.

EU

A supranational political and economic union with a purpose to improve the lives of its citizens by promoting democratic values, economic cooperation, and social standards.

NAFTA

A free trade zone in North America established by Mexico, Canada, and America

OPEC

An organization enabling the cooperation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit

United Nations

An international organization committed to maintaining international peace on security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living conditions and human rights.

Apartheid

A system of legalized racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the South African government from 1948 - 1994.

Gerrymandering

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

Demarcation

The action of fixing the boundary or limits of something

Delination

The act of physically marking a boundary.

Relic Boundary

A former political political boundary that no longer exists but still leaves a noticeable impact on the cultural landscape.

Superimposed Boundary

A political border drawn by an outside power that completely ignores existing divisions within a region , often leading to conflict due to its disregard for the local populations demographics

Subsequent Boundary

A political border that is drawn after a significant period of settlement, essentially reflecting the existing cultural and ethnic divisions that have developed over a time within a region.

Antecedent Boundary

A political boundary that was established before a significant human population settled in the area

Enclave

A piece of land belonging to a country that is completely surrounded by the territory of another.

Exclave

A portion of a country’s territory that is completely detatched from the main body, usually surrounded by another country

Fragmented State

A country whose territory is physically divided into several, non-contigous ports, usually separated by water, making it difficult to govern.

Preforated State

A state that completely surrounds another states, essentially “punching a hole” through its territory.

Prorupted State

A state within a main, compact body that has a narrow extension, a “tail”

Elongated State

A territory that is very long and narrow, making communication and transportation very hard (Chile)

Compact State

A state with a relatively small, centralized territory, loosely circular

Multilaterism

A system where multiple countries collaborate and work together to address a shared global issues.

Unilaterism

A foreign policy approach where a country takes action independently, without seeking approval or cooperation from other nations

Extraterritoriality

A legal concept where a country’s laws and jurisdiction can apply to individuals or situations outside of its even territorial boundaries

Merchantilism

An economic system where a nation aims to maximize its wealth and power by promoting exports and limiting imports, often through government regulation, with the goal of accumulating precious metals, typically achieved by establishing colonies to extract raw materials and then selling finished goods back to them, creating a favorable balance of trade.

Neocolonialism

The practice where former colonial powers to expert economic, political and cultural influence over newly independent countries.

Imperialism

The policy of a powerful state extending its political, economic, and military power over other nations, often through colonization, to establish control and influence over foreign territories, sometimes achieved through force or diplomacy, resulting in the domination of another country’s culture and systems.

Sovereignty

The political authority of a state to govern itself within its own territory.

Self Determination

The process by which a country determines its own statehood and forms its own allegiances and governments.

Stateless Nation

A group of people who identify as a distinct nation but lack their own sovereign state.

Multi-nation State

A country where multiple nations coexist within a single political boundary.

Nation-State

A political entity where the boundaries of a state closely align with the cultural boundaries of a nation.

Nation

A group of people who share a common culture, language, history, and identity, often feeling a sense of belonging to a particular territory, even if they don’t have a recognized political state of their own.

State

A politically defined area with established boarders, a permanent population, and a government that has sovereignty over its territory.

Xenophobia

The intense fear or hatred of foreigners or people from other cultures.

Ethnonationalism

A political ideology where a nation’s identity is primarily defined by a shared ethnicity.

Frontier vs. Territoriality

Frontiers are areas of weak or no political control, while territoriality reflects the desire and strategies used to assert control over a space.

Ethnophobia

The intense fear or hatred for a particular ethnic groups.

Balkanization/Balkanized

A region that has been fragmented into smaller, often hostile political units, usually due to deep ethnic, religious, or cultural divisions.

White Flight

The large-scale migration of white people from urban areas to suburban areas

Red Lining

A discriminatory practice where financial institutions refuse to provide loans or other services to residents of certain neighborhoods, usually based on racial demographics

Block Busting

A discriminatory real estate practice where agents use fear tactics to convince white homeowners to sell their properties at low prices by claiming that minority groups are moving into the neighborhood then reselling at inflated prices to the minority.

Site Factors

The physical characteristics of a specific location that influence its suitability for settlement, industry, or other human activities

Situation Factors

The external elements surrounding a location that influence its development and growth, especially in relation to accessibility and transportation

Dispersed/Scattered

A spatial pattern where objects or phenomena are spread out across an area with significant space between them

Agglomerated/Clustered

Refers to the concentration of similar economic activities or settlements in a specific areaRelocation Diffu

Relocation Diffusion

Cultural traits, ideas, or innovation spread as people move to new locations, carrying them with them

Toponym

The name of a place

Hierarchical Diffusion

The spread a culture trait or innovation from a top-down approach, starting with influential people or places and then filtering down to less influential ones.

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of a cultural traits or idea where the original trait is modified or adapted as it is adopted din a new area

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid spread of a cultural idea, trait, or innovation from one person to another

Distance Decay

The phenomenon where the interaction between two places diminishes as the distanced between them increases

Formal/Uniform Region

A geographic area defined by one or more shared characteristics that are relatively consistent throughout the region

Functional/Nodal Region

An area defined by a central point, or node, around which activities like economic interactions, transportation, or communications flow

Vernacular/Perceptual Region

A geographic are a defined by people’s perceptions and feelings, not by formal boundaries

Space-Time Compression

How advancements in transportation and communication technologies make the world seem smaller and more connected

Demography

The study of human population, focusing on their size, structure, and distribution.

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her life time, assuming she experiences current age-specific fertility rates.

Degenerative Diseases

Medical conditions that result in the gradual deterioration of health or function, often increasing with age.

Absolute Location

A specific point on the Earth's surface defined by coordinates, such as latitude and longitude.

Acculturation

The process of changes in a culture that result from the meeting of two groups, each of which retains distinct cultural features.

Assimilation

The process through which individuals or groups of differing ethnicity or culture are absorbed into a dominant culture, often losing original cultural traits.

Choropleth Map

A type of map that uses differences in shading or coloring to indicate the value of a particular variable across a geographic area.

Climate

The long-term average of weather conditions in a specific region, including temperature, precipitation, and seasonal changes.

Cultural Landscape

The visible imprint of human activity and culture on the physical environment, including architecture, agricultural patterns, and land use. It reflects the interactions between people and their environment.

Density

The measure of the number of people or things in a given area, often expressed as individuals per unit of area.

Diffusion

The process by which cultural customs, ideas, or innovations spread from one society or area to another, often through migration or trade.

Distribution

The arrangement of features or items across a given area, indicating how they are spaced or spread out in relation to one another.

Environmental Determinism

The theory that the physical environment, especially the climate and geography, shapes human behavior and societal development.

Expansion Diffusion

A type of diffusion where an idea or innovation spreads outward from its origin, typically through hierarchical or contagious means.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

A computer system that captures, stores, queries, and displays geographic data.

Globalization

The process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale, impacting culture, economy, and social structures.

Hearth

The place of origin or starting point of an idea, innovation, or cultural trait, from which it spreads to other areas.

Map Scale

The ratio of a distance on a map to the actual distance on the ground, indicating how much the real world has been reduced in size in the representation.

Possibilism

The theory that the environment sets certain constraints or limitations, but people have the ability to adjust and adapt to the physical environment to create different outcomes.

Region

An area defined by certain unifying characteristics, whether physical, cultural, or political, that distinguishes it from other areas.

Remote Sensing

The acquisition of data about an object or area from a distance, typically using satellite or aerial imagery, to gather information for analysis.

Scale

Refers to the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole, often expressed in ratio, fraction, or graphic representation.

Site

The specific physical characteristics of a location, including its absolute and relative characteristics, which influence human presence and activities.

Situation

Refers to the location of a place relative to other places.

Sustainability

The capacity to endure or maintain practices that do not deplete resources, ensuring that future generations can meet their own needs.

Syncretism

The blending of cultural and religious beliefs, resulting in new practices and ideas that incorporate elements from different traditions.

Transnational Corporation

A large company or organization that operates in multiple countries, often with a global reach and influence, transcending national boundaries in its operations and business strategies.

Uneven Development

The increasing gap in economic conditions between core and peripheral regions as a result of globalization of the economy

Agricultural Density

The ratio of the number of farmers to the amount of arable land

Antinatalist Policy

A policy designed to reduce birth rates

Arable Land

Land suitable for agriculture

Arithmetic Density

The total population of a region divided by the total land area

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely without being degraded.

Crude Birth Rate (CBR)

The number of live births per 1,000 people in a given year.

Crude Death Rate (CDR)

The number of deaths per 1,000 people in a given year.