Unit 4 Review

State

The largest political unit, also known as the formal term for a country

What are the criteria that need to be met to be defined as a state?

A state must have a defined boundary, contain a permanent population, have sovereignty over domestic and international affairs, and it has to recognized by other states.

What anre examples of a state?

USA and Belgium

Sovereignty

The abilities of a state’s government to rule over its own affairs; having total control over its concerns.

Nation

A group of people who share a common cultural heritage, ideals that can act as centripetal forces, a historic claim to their homeland, and have a desire to establish their own state (country)

Centrifugal Forces

Pull people apart; like a centrifuge

Centripetal Forces

Bring people together; like centripetal force keeping water in the bucket when you swing it

What is an example of a nation?

The Kurds; the Kurds were Jewish people before Israel was created in the 1940s.

Nation-State

A state (country) that is mostly made of one nation

What are some examples of nation-states

One example of a nation-state is Japan, since 99% of Japan’s population are Japanese permanent residents.

Another example of a nation-state is Iceland; 94% of Iceland’s total population are Scandinavian.

Multinational State

A state that is made up of more than one nation

What are some examples of a multinational state

United States: there are several nations within the USA

Canada: 25% of Canadians speak French, 75% speak English

Autonomous Regions

An area within a state that has a high level of self-governance and liberty from it’s state.

Why might some regions be granted autonomy?

States usually grant this authority to places that are geographically, ethnically, or culturally distinct areas.

What are examples of autonomous regions?

Åland, a group of islands in the Baltic Sea; it’s a part Finland, but is an autonomous region because most residents are ethnically Swedish.

Semiautonomous Region

An area that some level of independence, but doesn’t have complete self-rule

What is an example of a semiautonomous region?

The Navajo, an American Indian tribe has claims to 27,000 square miles of federally recognized land. They are exempt from some taxes, however the US doesn’t recognize them as their own state.

Stateless Nation

Sort of like the opposite to a nation-state, it is a nation without a state.

What is an example if a stateless nation?

The Navajo; they are a cultural group without their own country.

Multi-State Nation

A nation that has it’s own state, but has many people who live outside the state.

What is an example of a multi-state nation?

Lots of Hungarians live in Hungary, but many live in the Transylvania region of Romania

Nationalism

A nation’s desire to create and maintain a state of its own; considered a centripetal force.

What are examples of centripetal forces?

A shared language; Roman Catholicism unites Mexicans, external threats; Estonians are united by a fear of Russia, a common language; Japanese share the same language

What are examples of centrifugal forces?

Religion and language divide Belgium, most people in the North speak Flemish and are Protestants while southern Belgium speaks French and tend to be Roman Catholics.

Imperialism

Influencing other countries/group of people, by direct conquest, economic control, or cultural dominance. Colonialism falls under this category.

What did early European colonists want?

Spain, Portugal, France, and Britain established empires in America, they wanted religious influence; spreading their form of Christianity, economic wealth; using the resources of the land and labor, political power; having their influence spread throughout the world.

What did later European colonists want?

Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Germany colonized lands in Africa and Asia to feed factories and sell goods

The Berlin (Congo) Conference

Representatives from major European countries met in Berlin to discuss claims on land in Africa. With these claims, state boundaries were made with little regard to pre-existing boundaries (political, ethnolinguistic, cultural).

What types of influence did European colonies want?

They wanted economical control over natural resources; petroleum and metals, political control over free elections, and social changes; racial equality and religious freedom.

Self-Determination

The right to choose their own sovereign government without outside influence; determining by themselves.

Decolonization

The process of undoing colonization; indigenous people regaining sovereignty over their own land.

Genocide

Organized mass killing based upon race,

Hotspot

Areas of extreme tension

The Cold War

A period of diplomatic, political, and military rivalry between the US and the Soviet Union. They didn’t fight directly against each other, but instead fought by providing support to each other’s enemies.

Satellite States

A state who’s greatly influenced politically and economically by another state, this term is used when talking about the Cold War.

Devolution

The process in which one or more regions are given increased autonomy by the central political until.

Territoriality

The willingness of a person or group to defend space that they claim.

What is an example of territoriality connected to religious conflict?

The religious conflict between the Sunnis and Shiites, which was caused after their leader (Muhammad) died. The group split in two and argue(d) about who the new leader should be. The Sunnis believed that the leader should be elected by the people, while the Shiites believed that it should remain in Muhammad’s bloodline.

What is an example of territoriality connected to economic conflict?

China, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, and Taiwan have claimed sovereignty over the Spratly Islands, leading to tension between these countries. These claims are due to the significant (but unconfirmed) oil reserves, the fish supply, and trade routes that these islands provide.

Neocolonialism

The use of economic, political, or cultural pressures to indirectly influence other countries.

Choke Point

A place of physical congestion between wider areas of movement/interaction (trade); can be valleys, bridges, straits, or canals.

What are examples of chokepoints?

Bab el-Mandeb strait is a chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is incredibly important to trade and transportation. Many countries have tried to gain control of it due to its significance.

The Strait of Hormuz is a chokepoint that is between the Golf of Oman and the Persian Gulf. It’s responsible for the transportation 1/3 of the world’s natural gas and 1/4 of the world’s oil.

Physical Geographic Boundaries

Natural barriers like oceans, deserts and mountains.

What is an example of a physical geographic boundary?

The Himalayan Mountains separate China and India

What are the two major categories of boundaries?

Cultural or physical

Cultural Boundaries

Boundaries that divide people based on a cultural trait like language, religion, or ethnicity.

What are the four genetic (how the were created) types of boundaries

Antecedent, subsequent, superimposed, relic

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary that was already created before the present settlement in that area was occupying the area.

What is an example of an antecedent boundary?

The straight line boundaries of the western states of the USA.

Subsequent Boundary

A boundary created after two or more groups were already they’re based on ethnic, religious, linguistic, or economic differences of groups.

What is an example of a subsequent boundary?

The boundary between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; it was created due to the tension between the mostly Roman Catholics in south Ireland and mostly Scots and Protestant in North Ireland.

Superimposed Boundary

A boundary drawn by outside power, which might ignore existing cultural patterns.

What is an example of a superimposed boundary?

The attendants of the Berlin Conference (European countries) drew new borders in Africa based on claims to the land without considering the existing terrain or cultural borders.

An example would be the border between Mali and Mauritania because it was drawn at the Berlin Conference.

Landlocked States

States (countries) without territory connected to an ocean

Relic Boundary

A boundary that isn’t being used anymore, but evidence of it is still seen on the landscape.

What is an example of a relic boundary?

The Berlin Wall; it’s remnants are still seen in the environment.

What are the boundaries that are classified by what they follow?

Geometric, consequent

Geometric Boundary

A boundary that is a straight arc or line, that is drawn by people. It doesn’t closely follow any physical feature.

What is an example of a geometric boundary?

The boundary between the US and Canada along the 49th parallel.

Consequent Boundary

A type of subsequent border that takes into account of already existing cultural or physical landscapes.

A border that is drawn taking into account language, ethnicity, religion, or other cultural traits is known as a cultural consequent boundary.

What are the two types of boundaries that are based on their protection?

Open and mililatarized

Open Boundary

A boundary that is unguarded and people can easily cross it with little or no political intervention. These types of boundaries can only occur between countries that have maintained friendly relations with each other.

What is an example of a open boundary?

Most states within the EU, there aren’t many border checks between member states, which makes most of the continent effectively border less.

Militarized Boundary

A boundary that is heavily guarded and discourages crossing it.

What is an example of a militarized boundary?

The boundary between North and South Korea (the Korean DMZ).

What are the different ways a boundary can be identified?

Defined, delimited, or demarcated

Defined Boundary

A boundary that is established by a legal document like a treaty; it could be for a country all the way to a plot of real estate.

Delimited Boundary

A boundary that is drawn on a maps to show the limits of space.

Demarcated Boundary

A boundary that is identified by physical objects planted on the landscape.

What are the four types of boundary disputes?

Definitional, locational, operational, and allocational

Definitional Boundary Dispute

A dispute that occurs when two or more parties disagree on how a legal document that identifies the boundary should be interpreted.

What is an example of a definitional boundary dispute?

The boundary between Chile and Argentina; the crests of the Andes Mountains are the border, but there is argument over the lower parts of the mountain because they weren’t accurately mapped.

Locational (Territorial) Boundary Dispute

A dispute on where a should be, how it is mapped, or demarcated (identify).

What is an example of a locational boundary dispute?

The dispute between the post WW1 boundary between Germany and Poland. Germans controlled the land before the war and the border left many people who identified as German on the Polish side. This lead to irredentism.

Irredentism

A type of expansion when one country tries to annex territory in which it has cultural ties to the population or a historic claim to the land.

Operational (Functional) Boundary Dispute

A dispute on how a border functions; trade, transportation, or migration allowance/un-allowance.

What is an example of a operational boundary dispute?

In 2011, Syrian refugees attempted to enter Europe, however Europeans viewed their boundaries differently. Interior countries thought that the boundary shouldn’t be used for refugees to cross over while others thought that the border should be open for the refugees to cross.

Allocational Boundary Dispute

A dispute on how a boundary separates resources that both countries use

What is an example of a allocational boundary dispute?

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait because it claimed that Kuwait was drilling too many wells using directional drilling (they go underground and get oil from the other country). Other disputes can be over fresh water, minerals, and fishing rights.

Exclaves

Territories that are part of a state (country), but are geographically separated from their homeland

What is an example of a exclave?

Alaska; part of USA, separated by Canada

Political Enclaves

States, territories, or parts of a state that are completely surrounded by a territory of another state.

What is an example of a political enclave?

Lesotho, Vatican City, San Marino

Shatterbelt

A region located between two opposing countries

What is an example of a shatterbelt?

Eastern Europe during WW1, the two opposing sides were Russia and the Western Powers.

How is language affected as a result of boundary change?

New dialects can form when people who are originally part of one language, get separated and create a dialect of their old language and their new language.

How can superimposed boundaries create conflict?

If a superimposed boundary is drawn where it changes the border of two countries, a locational boundary dispute can occur.

What is an example of how superimposed boundaries can cause conflict?

In Sri Lanka, there are two major ethnic groups: the Sinhalese (majority Buddhist) and the Tamil (mostly Hindu). The Tamil felt that they were being treated poorly by the Sinhalese, which caused fighting to break out.

Law of the Sea

A treaty signed by over 150 countries, you need to know two zones; territorial sea: up to 12 nautical miles of sovereignty (total control), exclusive economic: can explore, extract minerals, and manage natural resources

How can we apply the Law of the Sea?

The Law of the Sea shows conflict about boundaries in the water.

Why are islands important?

The Law of the Sea states that an island can extend the EEZ by 200 miles.

Blue Economy

The new economic opportunities based on the ocean for SIDS (small island developing states) in the world’s oceans.

Internal Boundaries

Boundaries that are used to divide countries into smaller units.

What are some examples of internal boundaries?

States (like the USA kind), counties, cities, townships, and voting districts

Electoral Geography

A form of geography that uses spatial think techniques ands tools to analyze elections and voting patterns

Voting Districts

Internal boundaries that divide a country’s elector population into sub national regions

Electorate

The people who are eligible to vote

Reapportionment

The changing of the number of representatives that a state gets due to population changes.

Redistricting

The process in which voting districts are redrawn so that each district has a relatively equal population

Why is the census important?

Since it keeps track of the population, when boundaries are redrawn or the amount of representatives are effected by it.