AP Human Geography Unit 4

Antecedent Boundary

A boundary that was drawn across an area prior to the area becoming substantially-populated (e.g. border between Malaysia and Indonesia)

Balance of Power

A condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or allies

City-State

A sovereign state comprising of a city and its immediate hinterland (e.g. Singapore)

Colony

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being independent (e.g. British Virgin Islands to Great Britain)

Compact State

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly (e.g. Poland)

Commonwealth

A territory that has established a mutual agreement with another state for the benefit of each (e.g. Puerto Rico)

Cultural Political Boundaries

Political boundaries formed by differences in culture, such as religion or language

Elongated State

A state with a long, narrow shape (e.g. Chile)

Enclave

An enclosed territory with a foreign territory around it (e.g. Lesotho)

Ethnonationalism

The powerful emotional attachment to one's minority nation within a larger state (e.g. Chechens)

European Union (EU)

A supranational organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members

Federal State

An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government (e.g. United States)

Fragmented State

A state that includes several discontinuous territories (e.g. Indonesia)

Geometric Political Boundaries

Boundaries drawn with straight lines and arcs, as opposed to irregular lines and shapes (e.g. the boundaries of most African countries)

Landlocked State

A state without access to the sea (e.g. Bolivia)

Microstate

A state that encompasses a very small area (e.g. Vatican City)

Multinational State

A 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 (e.g. United Kingdom)

Nation

A group of people with common cultural characteristics and identify themselves as a cohesive group (e.g. Kurds)

Nation-State

A state whose territory corresponds to that which is occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality (e.g. Japan)

Neo-Colonialism

The continued economic dependence of new states on their former colonial masters

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

An international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty to provide collective security to its members

Perforated State

A state that completely surrounds another one (e.g. Italy)

Political Geography

The study of geography involving geographic states, borders, and how humans identify with them

Physical Political Boundary

A state's border that corresponds to a natural, real-life boundary (e.g. Rio Grande border between Mexico and the U.S.)

Prorupted State

An adhesive compact state with a large expansion (e.g. Thailand)

Satellite State

A state that is formally independent but heavily influenced by another state (e.g. Bulgaria during the Soviet Union)

Self-Determination

The concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Settlement Empire

An empire intended for longer residence, rather than used for immediate return with resources

State

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs (e.g. France)

Stateless Nation

A nation lacking a territory to call its own (e.g. Hmong, Kurds)

Subsequent Boundaries

Drawn boundaries made with regard to ethnic differences (e.g. border between China and Vietnam)

Superimposed Boundaries

A boundary made through colonization without regard to prior ethnic/cultural patterns (e.g. borders of most African countries)

Theocracy

A government set up around a religious leader

Unitary State

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

United Nations

A supranational organization formed in 1945 to promote peace, security, and international cooperation

Warsaw Pact

The agreement between Communist states established in 1955 that opposed NATO

Ethnicity

Identity with a group of people that share distinct physical and mental traits as a product of common heredity and cultural traditions.

Race

A group of human beings distinguished by physical traits, blood types, genetic code patterns or genetically inherited characteristics.

Nationality

the condition of belonging to a particular nation

Racism

Belief that one race is superior to another

Ethnocentrism

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

Nationalism

pride in one's country

Hispanics

largest minority group in the US; highest distribution in the Southwest

African Americans

Largest non-English group in the colonies; highest distribution today in the south

Asian Americans

In the 1980s, this group became the fastest growing minority population; highest distribution today along the West Coast

Ethnic enclave

a small area occupied by a distinctive minority culture

International migration

Forced vs voluntary

Internal migration

Interregional vs intraregional

Segregation

separation of the races

Ethnic cleansing

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

Genocide

Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

Centripetal vs centrifugal forces

Forces that bring people together vs splitting them apart

Balkanization

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

Shatterbelt

a region 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,...).

Sovereignty

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

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.

Self-determination

Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Devolution

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

Nation-state

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

Multiethnic state

a state with more than one ethnicity

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.

Stateless nation

nation that does not have a state

Multi-state nation

a nation or cultural group that is divided across two or more state borders

Physical boundaries

boundaries created with naturally occurring features

Cultural boundaries

borders based on culture traits, like language and religion

Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

a code of the maritime law approved by the UN in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters expanding 12 nautical miles from shore and 200 mile wide EEZ

Colonialism

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

Berlin Conference

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

Decolonization

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

Imperialism

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

Neo-colonialism

The entrenchment of the colonial order, such as trade and investment, under a new guise.

Autocracy

a system of government by one person with absolute power.

Democracy

government by the people

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.

Gerrymandering

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

Census

population count

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.

Types of gerrymandering

Partisan gerrymandering, Incumbent gerrymandering, Racial gerrymandering, Affirmative racial gerrymandering

Geopolitics

study of government and its policies as affected by physical geography

UN

United Nations

EU

European Union

OAS

Organization of American States

AU

African Union

ASEAN

Association of Southeast Asian Nations

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

Irredentism

any political movement that seeks to claim or reclaim and occupy a land that used to belong to the group/country.

Boundary

An invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory

Relic Boundary

A boundary no longer observed but that still affects the present-day area (e.g. border between West and East Germany in Berlin)

Shatterbelt Regions

Areas that are constantly breaking up and/or fragmenting (e.g. Southeast Asia)

Supranationalism

The term applied to associations created by three or more states for their mutual benefit and achievement of shared objectives

Ethnic Cleansing

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

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.

sharecropper

A person who works fields rented from a landowner and pays the rent and repays loans by turning over to the landowner a share of the crops.

triangular slave trade

A practice, primarily during the eighteenth century, in which European ships transported slaves from Africa to Caribbean islands, molasses from the Caribbean to Europe, and trade goods from Europe to Africa.

Autonomous regions

regions within the world that can make many decisions for themselves without communicating with or relying on the country that officially controls them

subnational political-territorial units

regions within a country that get greater autonomy from the central government, typically as a result of devolution

Military alliances

Agreements between states and their militaries on which states they will support and work with

economies of scale

the advantage that comes to countries when they are able to produce more of a product since the production gets cheaper (and they make more money) as they sell more of the good