Unit 4: Political Organization

Nation

People who have a shared heritage, beliefs/values, claim space, & desire for own state... EX: Kurds, Native Americans, Catalans, First Nations

Nation-State

Country with most people the same ethnicity (90+% of population)....single nation of people who fulfill the qualifications for a state.... EX: Koreas, Japan, Denmark, Iceland

Stateless Nation

No state of their own but often have political organization....EX: Kurds, Palestinians, Basque

Multinational State

Country with more than one cultural groups or ethnic groups that are under a single government....typically there is one dominant nation (people) that controls most political power....has a history of self determination, EX: Canada (Quebec), Belgium (Flemish & Wallons)

Multistate Nation

nation that has a state of its own, but stretches across borders and across states....EX: Hungarians, Koreans

Autonomous Region

a defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government and freedom from its parent state.....granted authority to geographically, ethnically, or culturally distinct regions.... EX: Aland Islands in Finland, First Nations in Canada

Semi-Autonomous Region

Granted autonomy with regard to internal affairs only, by a controlling nation, organization etc....EX: American Indian Reservations, Hong Kong

Sovereignty

The full right and power of a state to govern its territory without interference over its internal affairs from outside states.

Self-Determination

Concept that people 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

a policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force.... to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

Neocolonialism

Also called economic imperialism, this is the domination of newly independent countries by foreign business interests that causes colonial-style economies to continue... A new form of global power relationships... EX: China in Africa

Devolution

the transfer of power from central government to regional governments (or subnational governments) within the state....EX: Spain, Belgium, Canada, Nigeria,

Ethnic Separatism

desired regional autonomy expressed by a culturally distinctive group within a larger, politically dominant culture....EX: Catalans in Spain

Terrorism

the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.

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.....EX: Russia annexing Crimea from Ukraine

Democratization

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

Trade Agreements

Intergovernmental agreements designed to manage and promote trade activities for specific regions.

Supranationalism

three or more countries agree to give up a degree of sovereignty in order to pursue common political, economical, cultural, environmental goals...EX: European Union (EU), United Nations (UN), North Atlantic Treaty Org (NATO), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Article Circle, African Union (AU)

United Nations (UN)

an organization formed in 1945 of the world's countries that promotes peace and security around the globe

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a group of 28 countries that has agreed to protect each other in case of attack; founded in 1949.

European Union (EU)

(syn Common Market) an economic association established in 1957 by a number of Western European countries to promote free trade among its members

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

a trade alliance that promotes trade and economic integration among member nations in Southeast Asia

Arctic Council

1996....Members include countries with territory in the Arctic....Promotes sustainable development.....Dedicated to protecting the regions environment

African Union (AU)

An organization of African nations pursuing greater political and economic integration across the continent

United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement (USMCA)

Replaced NAFTA....an agreement that supports North American manufacturing and mutually beneficial trade. Will create more balanced, reciprocal trade that supports high-paying jobs for Americans and grows the North American economies.

Shatterbelt

a region of instability caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals (e.g., Israel or Kashmir today; Eastern Europe during the Cold War,...).

Satellite State

A political term that refers to a country which is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country....EX: Eastern Europe during the Cold War

Choke Points

strategic setting where narrow waterways or other narrow passages are vulnerable to military blockade disruption....EX: Suez Canal to Bab el-Madeb, Strait of Gibralter, Bosphorus Strait, Strait of Hormuz, Strait of Malacca,

Territoriality

a country's or community's sense of property and attachment toward its territory, as expressed by its determination to keep it inviolable and strongly defended......Connection to land (people, economic, cultural)

Relic Boundary

a boundary that no longer exists, but evidence of it still exists on the landscape....EX: boundary between East and West Germany

Superimposed Boundary

a boundary line drawn by outside powers that is placed over and ignores existing cultural patterns.....EX: Berlin Conference in Africa

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 established before the area in question is well populated....EX: Boundary between US and Canada along the 49th parallel

Geometric Boundary

straight line boundary....EX: Libya/Egypt

Consequent Boundary

A type of subsequent boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing linguistic, cultural, or religious boundaries

Defined Boundary

one established by a legal document, such as a treaty.

Delimited Boundary

is a line drawn on a map to show the limits of a space.

Demarcated Boundary

A boundary marked) by some visible means on the ground.... EX:. wall posts, fences, etc.

Allocational Boundary Dispute

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

Operational Boundary Dispute

Conflict over the way a boundary should operate or function, such as the conflict over allowing migration across the border

Locational Boundary Dispute

Conflict over the location or place of a boundary

Definitional boundary dispute

Conflict over the language of the border agreement in a treaty or boundary contract

Demilitarized Zone

A zone from which military forces or operations or installations are prohibited....EX: DMZ 38th Parallel between North and South Korea

Berlin Conference

A meeting from 1884-1885 at which representatives of European nations agreed on rules colonization of Africa

Maritime Boundary

An international boundary that lies in the ocean. Like all boundaries, it is a vertical plane, extending from the seafloor to the upper limit of the air space in the atmosphere above the water.

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

international agreement that resulted from the third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS III), which took place between 1973 and 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

International Waters

the areas of the sea that are not under the jurisdiction of any country

Territorial Zones

is a belt of coastal waters extending at most 12 nautical miles (22.2 km; 13.8 mi) from the baseline (usually the mean low-water mark) of a coastal state

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

as established in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a zone of exploitation extending 200 nautical miles seaward from the a coastal state that has exclusive mineral and fishing rights over it

Median Line Principle

an approach to dividing and creating boundaries at the mid-point between two places....according to the UNCLOS, the EEZ for maritime countries located closer to each other than 200 miles is located halfway in between.

Voting Districts

generic term adopted by the Bureau of the Census to include the wide variety of small polling areas, such as election districts, precincts, or wards, that State and local governments create for the purpose of administering elections

Reapportionment

the process of reassigning House representation based on population, after every 10 year 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.

Gerrymandering

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

Unitary State

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

Federal State

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

Ethnic Nationalist Movements

Nationalism is an idea and movement that promotes the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), especially with the aim of gaining and maintaining the nation's sovereignty (self-governance) over its homeland

Cultural Cohesion

The capacity of different national and ethnic groups to make a mutual commitment to live together as citizens of the same state.

Apartheid

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

Balkanization

Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Decolonization

The collapse of colonial empires. Between 1947 and 1962, practically all former colonies in Asia and Africa gained independence.

Enclave

a distinct region or community enclosed within a larger territory

Exclave

a part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign territory.

Forward Capital

symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons. A forward capital is sometimes used to integrate outlying parts of a country into the state....EX: Brasília in Brazil

Annexation

The adding of a region to the territory of an existing political unit.

Buffer State

a small neutral state between two rival powers

Ethnic Cleansing

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

Centripetal Force

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

Centrifugal Force

a force that divides people and countries