Unit 4 Political Geography

Flashcards for vocabulary review.

Boundary

A line that marks the limits of an area; a dividing line.

Frontier

A zone where no state exercises complete political control.

Boundary

A line that marks the limits of an area; a dividing line.

Frontier

A zone where no state exercises complete political control.

Relic Boundary

A boundary that no longer functions but still leaves a visible mark on the landscape.

Superimposed Boundary

A boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern.

Subsequent Boundary

A boundary line that is established after the area in question has been settled and that considers the cultural characteristics of the bounded area.

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary line that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place while people moved into occupy the surroundings.

Consequent Boundary

A boundary line that coincides with some cultural divide, such as religion, language, or ethnicity.

Physical/Natural Boundary

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

Geometric Boundary

Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines or arcs.

Cultural Boundary

A boundary line that coincides with differences in ethnicity, such as language and religion.

Defined Boundary

A boundary established by a legal document (e.g., treaty) that divides one entity from another (invisible line).

Delimited Boundary

A boundary that is drawn on a map.

Demarcated Boundary

A boundary that is physically marked on the landscape.

Administered Boundary

A boundary that is actively managed and enforced by a government.

Demilitarized Zone

An area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or personnel.

Buffer State

A small neutral state between two rival powers.

Satellite State

A country that is economically and politically dependent on another country.

UNCLOS - United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

A code of maritime law approved by the United Nations in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and exclusive economic zones extending 200 nautical miles from shore.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

Sea zone prescribed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea over which a state has special rights regarding the exploration and use of marine resources, including energy production from water and wind.

International Waters

The area of the sea beyond the territorial sea which is open to all states.

Territorial Seas

The area of sea around a country's coast recognized as under its jurisdiction.

Definitional (Positional) Dispute

A boundary dispute that focuses on the legal interpretation of boundary agreements.

Locational (Territorial) Dispute

A boundary dispute that centers on the exact location of a boundary.

Operational (Functional) Dispute

A boundary dispute involving the functions of the boundary.

Allocational (Resource) Dispute

A boundary dispute involving conflicting claims to the natural resources of a border region.

Sovereignty

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

Self-Determination

The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves.

Colonialism

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

Imperialism

Control of a territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society.

Devolution

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

Core Area

The nucleus or heart of a state, containing its most developed economic base, densest population, and clearest sense of national identity.

Effective Sovereignty

The practical ability of a state to wield its power legitimately within its territory.

Geopolitics

Study of government and its policies as affected by physical geography.

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 defended.

Decolonization

The action of changing from colonial to independent status.

Neocolonization

Control by a powerful country of its former colonies (or other less developed countries) by economic pressures.

Shatterbelt

A region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals.

Irredentism

A political movement that intends to reunite a nation or reclaim lost territory.

Choke Points

A strategic strait or canal which could be blocked or controlled to the detriment of one's enemy.

Strait

A narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water.

Balance of Power

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

Organic Theory

The theory that a state needs expansive land in order to prosper.

Heartland Theory

A geopolitical hypothesis that any political power that controls the "heartland" (Eastern Europe) could control the world.

Rimland Theory

A geopolitical theory that the control of the rimland (the coastal areas of Eurasia) is crucial for controlling the world.

Subnational Units

Regional divisions within a country, such as states, provinces, or counties.

Federal States

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

Unitary States

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

Governance

The process of governing.

Annexation

Legally adding land area to a city in the United States.

Devolution

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

Balkanization

The contentious political process by which a state may break apart along cultural lines.

Ethnic Separatism

Advocacy of or support for the separation of a particular group within a country.

Ethnic Cleansing

Process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region.

Terrorism

The use of violence by a group in order to intimidate or coerce a population or government into granting its demands.

Morphology

The study of the size, shape, form, and structure of animals, plants, and microorganisms and of the relationships of their constituent parts.

Compact State

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

Elongated State

A state with a long, narrow shape.

Prorupted State

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension.

Perforated State

A state that completely surrounds another one.

Fragmented State

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.

Enclave

A small bit of foreign territory lying within a state.

Exclave

A piece of national territory separated from the main body of a country by the territory of another country.

Landlocked States

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

Electoral Geography

The study of the interactions among space, place, and region and the conduct and results of elections.

Electoral College

A body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Internal Boundaries

Boundaries within a state, such as those of counties, cities, and voting districts.

Voting Districts

A territorial subdivision for electing members to a legislative body.

Redistricting

The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

Gerrymandering

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

Reapportionment

The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives among the states based on the results of the census.

Census

A complete enumeration of a population.

Cracking

Dispersing a group into several districts to prevent a majority.

Packing

Concentrating partisan voters in a single district in order to maximize the number of representatives that can be elected by the opposition in other districts

Political Geography

The study of the spatial and ecological aspects of political organization and political behavior.

Political Map

A map showing countries, states, and their boundaries; capital cities are normally shown.

City-State

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediately surrounding countryside.

State

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

Nation

A group of people with a common culture occupying a particular territory, bound together by a strong sense of unity arising from shared beliefs and customs.

Nation-State

A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality.

Stateless Nation

A nation that does not have a state.

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.

Multiethnic States

A state that contains more than one ethnicity.

Multistate Nation

Nation that stretches across borders and across states.

Autonomous Region

An area inside a country that has been given a degree of political and economical independence from the central government.

Semi-Autonomous Region

Area where a group has some political autonomy, but is not fully independent.

Subnational Political Units

Internal divisions of a country, such as states, provinces, or regions.

Alliances

A union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations.

Supranationalism

A venture involving three or more states political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives.

Supranational Organizations

An international group or union in which the power and influence of member states transcend national boundaries or interests to share in decision making and vote on issues concerning the collective body.

Democratization

The introduction of a democratic system or democratic principles.

United Nations (UN)

An organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance of European and North American democracies founded after World War II to strengthen international ties between member states—especially the United States and Europe—and to serve as a counter-balance to the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

European Union (EU)

An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

A political and economic organization of ten Southeast Asian countries, formed in 1967 to promote regional stability and economic growth.

Arctic Council

An intergovernmental forum addressing issues faced by the Arctic governments and indigenous people.

African Union

An organization of African states established in 2002 to promote unity, economic development, and cooperation.

Transnational Corporations

A company that conducts research, operates factories, and sells products in many countries, not just where its headquarters or shareholders are located.

Economies of Scale

Factors that cause a producer's average cost per unit to fall as output rises.

Regional Trading Bloc

Agreements made among geographically proximate countries that reduce trade barriers in order to better compete with other global markets.

Balance of Power

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