Political

Sovereighty

Internationally regongized control a place has over the people and territory within its boundries (often the core of everything people want as a nation)

Nation

Refers to a group of people who share a common culture and identify as a cohesive group

Autonomous and Semi-Autonomous Regions

Sections of a state that have independence from a Mainland or larger political entity and has thier own distinct identity

State

Refers to countries-political units with a population, territorial boundries recongnized by other states, a goverment, and economy, and sovereighty

Stateless Nation

A nation that does not have a territory to call its own

Multinational State

A state that contains more than one nation withit its borders

Nation-State

A state where the boundries of the political state match where a nation lives

Relic Boundaries

No longer function. They are only a reminder of a line that once divided space

Definition

First phase of boundary creation in which the exact location of a boundary is legally described and negotiated

Territoriality

People’s deep cultural and economic connection to their land and can be intrinsic to their core identity

Xenophobia

Fear of foreigners

Subsequent Boundaries

Divides space as a result of human interaction and negotation after significant settlement has occured

Demilitarized Zones

Areas established through treaties among states or warring militaries

Superimposed Boundaries

Foribly put on the landscape by outside parties such as invaders or an organization such as the UN

Choke Point

A geographic feature such as a strait, a valley, or a bridge located at a stratigic point defining political power

Geometric Political Boundaries

Straight-line boundaries that do not relate to the cultural or physical feature of the territories involved

Administered

Enforced by a government or the people of a boundary that has been created

Self-determination

Recognizing that people have equal rights and that they have the right to choose their own sovereignty

Antecedent Boundaries

Existed before human cultures developed into their current forms

Consequent Boundaries

Created to seperate territory according to features in the cultural landscape, such as boundaries that divide territories according to where the religous groups live

Shatterbelt

A group of states that exist within a sphere of competition between larger states and is often culturally, economically, and politically fragmented

Neocolonialism

(post-colonial dependency) The continued economic deoendence of new states on their former colonial masters.

Imperialism

The process of establishing political, social, and economic dominace over a colonized area

Delimited

Second phase of boundary creation where the boundary is drawn on a map

Devolution

The process of transvering some power from the central government to one or more regions, often to prevent ethonational violence or secession

Colonialism

One state’s control over another place

Ethnonationalism

Where the nation’s identity is defined by ethnicity

Berlin Conference

Organized late 19th century by Germany and lead to the carving up of Africa among Western European colonial powers seeking to imperalize African lands

UNCLOS

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas

Territorial Sea

A sovern territory of the state and extends to the airspace over and seaped below

Exclusive Economic Zone (EZZ)

Where a coastal state can claim up to 200 nautical miles of territory beyond its shoreline

Median Line Principle

Two or more countries will divide the water evenly when there is not enough water for each country to have 200 miles (EEZ)

Landlocked State

Without costal access to a body of water

Redistricting

The process of drawing electoral district boundaries

Gerrymandering

Redrawing electoral boundaries to give a political party an advantage

Unitary Governmental Structure

There is one main governmental decision making body for the entire state

Federal Governmental Structure

There is a central government and strong regional governments that share power with the central goverment

Irredentism

A movement by a nation to reunite its parts when they have been spread across other borders

Terrorism

Using extreme violence to cause political change. Another cause of devoutionizing factor

Ethnic cleansing

The systematic genocide of a particular ethnic group, can lead to the complete devolution of a state

Ethnic Separatism

An ethnicity’s advocacy for autonomy, often tied to territoriality, can lead to devolutoin pressures

Supranationalism

The growing trend to organize political and economic affairs at the international level rather than at the national level

Centrifugal Forces

Forces that cause tenstion and potentially division within a state

Centripetal Forces

Unify a state’s people and regions

Demarcated

To set boundries