all the ap human geo vocab!

Apartheid

Laws (no longer in effect) in South Africa that physically separated different races into different geographic areas.

Balkanization

A small geographic area that could not successfully be organized into stable countries because it was inhabited by many ethnicities with complex, long standing antagonisms toward each other. EX: Albania

Blockbusting

A process by which real estate agents convince white property owners to sell their houses at low prices because of fear that persons of color will soon move into the neighborhood

Caucasus Region

This region straddles the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian Seas. Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia are here. Kurds live here

centripetal force

An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

centrifugal force

a force that divides people and countries

Ethnocentrism

Belief in the superiority of one's nation or ethnic group.

Ethnicity

identity with a group of people who share the cultural traditions of a particular homeland or hearth. EX: President Obama's ethnicity is African American

ethnic cleansing

A purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violence and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic or religious group from certain geographic areas.

ethnic enclave

A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct from those in the surrounding area

ethnic exclave

a portion of an ethnic group that is separated from the main group and surrounded by other ethnicities

Genocide

the mass killing of a group of people in attempt to eliminate the entire group from exsistence.

multi-ethnic state

A state that contains more than one ethnicity

Nationalism

A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country

nationality

identity with a group of people who share legal attachment to a particular country. EX: Italian

race

identity with a group of people who are perceived to share a physiological trait such as skin color. EX: caucasian

Racism

Belief that one race is superior to another

Shatterbelt

an area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values

Territoriality

In political geography, a country's or more local community's sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended.

Berlin Conference

A meeting from 1884-1885 at which representatives of European nations agreed on rules colonization of Africa, they divided it up with no remorse for ethnic groups

Balance of Power Theory

Equal power would prevent one monarchy from becoming too powerful

civil divisions

Governmental divisions that divide citizens

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

compact state

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

Core-Periphery Model

A model of the spatial structure of development in which underdeveloped countries are defined by their dependence on a developed core region.

cultural boundary

defines a geographic area wherein a group of people share the same cultural practices and traditions.

Decolonization

the action of changing from colonial to independent status

Democratization

A process of transition as a country attempts to move from an authoritarian form of government to a democratic one.

Devolution

the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

Elongated State

A state with a long, narrow shape.

failed state

a state whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.

fragmented state

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.

Federal State

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

frontier

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

Gerrymandering

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Heartland Theory

Hypothesis proposed by Halford MacKinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.

Imperialism

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Irredentism

a policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a country aimed at a group of its nationals living in a neighboring country

Microstate

A state that encompasses a very small land area.

multinational state

State that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities.

multi-state nation

nation that stretches across borders and across states

nation state

A country who's population share a common identity.

Perforated State

a state that completely surrounds another one

physical boundary

Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers.

Prorupted State

an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

Rimland Theory

Nicholas Spykman's theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provided the base for world conquest.

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities 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 with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

stateless nation

A nationality that is not represented by a state.

supranational organization

Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives.

Terrorism

Acts of violence designed to promote a specific ideology or agenda by creating panic among an enemy population

Unitary State

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

united nations

An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)

consists of territorial waters, contiguous zones, and exclusive economic zones, dividing up the worlds water.

absolute distance

The distance that can be measured with a standard unit length, such as a mile or kilometer.

relative distance

Approximate measurement of the physical space between two places.

Geographic Information System (GIS)

a computer system that can capture, store, query, analyze, and display geographic data

remote sensing

The acquisition of data about Earth's surface from a satellite orbiting the planet or other long-distance methods.

absolute location

Exact location of a place on the earth described by global coordinates

relative location

The position of a place in relation to another place

Distance Decay

The diminishing in importance and eventual disappearance of a phenomenon with increasing distance from its origin.

time-space compression

through processes such as globalization time is accelerated and the significance of space is reduced

environmental determinism

the physical environment determines the actions humans will take

EX: what we wear, where we build towns

Possibilism

people have the ability to adjust to their physical environment

EX: adapting to weather with AC or heating

scale

the relationship between the portion of Earth being studied and Earth as a whole

Functional Region

An area organized around a node or focal point

EX: school districts, and transportation such as buses

formal region

An area in which everyone shares in one or more distinctive characteristics

EX: common language or economic activity such as production of a certain crop

Vernacular/Perceptual Region

an region that people believe exists as part of their cultural identity

EX: southern accents

place

A specific point on Earth distinguished by a particular character.

region

an area of Earth defined by one or more distinctive characteristics

site

The physical character of a place

situation

the location of a place relative to other places

Geographic Scale

A more general concept that refers to a conceptual hierarchy of spaces, from small to large, that reflects actual levels of organization in the real world.

Cartographic Scale

refers to the way the map communicates the ratio of its size to the size of what it represents

Choropleth Map

uses colors to signify changes in info that is being presents

isoline map

Proportional Symbol Map

use of varying sizes to display the information about a location

Dot Distribution Map

uses dots to represent data and show concentration of info in certain locations

Cartogram map

a map that distorts the shape of land to show who represents the largest value of whatever data is being displayed

symbolization map

a map that uses few symbols to show location of material, resources, etc in a location

Cartography

The science of making maps

Mercator Projection

a map projection of the earth onto a cylinder

Geographic Positioning System (GPS)

A system that determines the precise position of something on Earth through a series of satellites, tracking stations, and receivers.

Diffusion

The process of spread of a feature or trend from one place to another over time

relocation diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend through bodily movement of people from one place to another.

EX:immigrants bringing their religion traditions to the US

Expansion Diffusion

The spread of a feature or trend among people from one area to another in a additive process.

Hierarchical Diffusion

the spread of an idea from persons or nodes of authority or power to other persons or places

EX: spread of ideas from political leaders

Contagious Diffusion

The rapid, widespread diffusion of a CHARACTERISTIC or trend throughout a population.

EX: social media infulencers

Stimulus Diffusion

The spread of an underlying principle, even though a specific characteristic is rejected.

EX: AirPods/ bluetooth headphones

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope.