APHG Unit 4- Political Geography Vocab 2025

autonomous

A region of a country with the authority to govern their own territories independently from the national government

semiautonomous

A region of a country with the authority to govern aspects of their own territories independently from the national government

stateless nation

A people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state

nations

Cultural entities made up of individuals who have forged a common identity through a shared language, religion, ethnicity, or heritage- often all four of these

nation-state

The territory occupied by a group who view themselves as a nation is the same as the politically recognized boundaries of the state they call their own

multistate nation

people who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country

irrendentism

a policy attempting to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation

multinational state

a country (state) with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders

state

a politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, a permanent population-in short, a country.

political geography

the study of the ways in which the world is organized as a reflection of the power that different groups hold over a territory

sovereignty

the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders

chokepoint

A narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass

neocolonialism

the endurance of colonialism through the use of economic, political, cultural or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies

territoriality

an attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area

colonialism

the practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories

shatterbelt

instability in the form of the formation of a state, joining of a state, breaking up of a state due to ongoing, sometimes violent, conflicts among parties and because they are acute between the interests of more powerful outside states

devolution

the process that occurs when the central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders

imperialism

the push to create an empire by exercising force or influence to control other nations or peoples

self-determination

the right of all people to choose their own political status and/or to govern themselves

superimposed boundary

boundaries drawn over existing accepted borders by an outside force, ignoring an existing cultural pattern

antecedent boundary

Borders that are established before there has been major settlement by people in a territory.

geometric boundary

a mathematically drawn boundary that typically follows lines of latitude and longitude or is a straight-line arc between two points

subsequent boundary

borders drawn in areas where cultural landscapes already exist or are being established

consequent boundary

type of subsequent border that takes into account differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups with distinct cultural characteristics

relic boundary

a former boundary line that is still discernible and marked by some cultural landscape features but no longer serves its original purpose or function

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

A country's maritime boundary that extends 200 nautical miles from its coast

delimit

when a country draws their boundaries on a map in accordance with a legal agreement

defining

When countries explicitly state in legal binding documentation such as a treaty where their borders are located, using reference points such as natural features or lines of latitude and longitude

demarcated boundaries

boundaries that are signified through physical objects such as stones, pillars, walls, or fences.

administer

when a country takes steps to manage the way in which their borders are maintained and how goods and people cross them

federal state

a state that allocates strong power to units of local government within the country

unitary state

a state in which power is held by the central government that maintains authority over all of its internal territories, regional units and people

gerrymandering

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

reapportionment

the process of reassigning representation based on population, after every census

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.

majority-minority districts

In the context of determining representative districts, the process by which a majority of the population is from the minority.

ethnic separatism

A factor that contributes to devolution, in which people of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly as members of their ethnic group than as citizens of the state

ethnic cleansing

the state government attacks an ethnic group and tries to eliminate it through expulsion, imprisonment, or killing

supranational organization

an alliance of three or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals or to address an issue or challenge that these countries share

economies of scale

an economy where more goods and services can be produced for less money on average

centripetal force

a force that unites groups of people and countries

centrifugal force

a force that divides people and countries

ethnonationalism

when people of a country identify as having one common ethnicity, religion, an language

ethnic nationalism

A sense of pride and identity that is tied to the territory in which someone lives due to the people of the country having a common ethnicity, religion, and language