AP Human Geography- Unit 4 Vocab

Human Geography unit 4 Vocab terms!

Autonomous Region

An area of a country that has degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority.

Buffer State

Zone of separation or a territorial “cushion” that keeps rivals apart from each other.

Centrifugal forces

Forces that divide a state through internal, religious, political, economic, linguistic, or ethnic differences.

Centripetal forces

Forces that unify a state such as national culture, shared ideological objectives, common faith.

Choke Point

A narrow passage that restricts traffic to another region

Colonialism

The attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose political and economic control and principles on another land.  Often associated with the European movement beginning in the 16^th c., which created unequal cultural and economic relations; also led to massive depopulation due to the spread of disease and through conquest.

Core Country

High levels of development, a capacity at innovation and a convergence of trade flows, usually Stage 4 countries.

Periphery Country

Usually have less development and are poorer countries, usually Stage 2 countries.

Devolution

Process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government

EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)

A sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources stretching 200 nautical miles from the coast. The country that controls the EEZ has rights to the fishing, whaling, etc., as well as the raw material resources.

Electoral districts

The different voting districts that make up local, state, and national regions.

Enclave

A small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by a larger and different group or region.
(e.g., Nagorno-Karabagh (part of Armenia surrounded by Azerbaijan)

European Union

Union of 27 democratic member states of Europe; began with the formation of Benelux by the end of WWII, then with the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) years later. The EU's activities cover most areas of public policy, from economic policy to foreign affairs, defense, agriculture and trade.

Exclave

Part of a national territory separated from the main body.

Federal State (Federalism)

The system in which the power to govern is shared between the national, state, and local governments.  All levels of government have some level of control over laws and taxes with the national government having the most power. Considered the most geographically expressive of all states systems.

Frontier

The extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness, especially referring to the western US before Pacific settlement.

Gerrymander

The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power. The process is usually used to turn “too close to call” states into a party’s favor.

Irredentism

The position that a state should be annexed because of ethnicity of prior historical possession.

Landlocked

A country with no direct access to a sea or ocean.

Nation

A large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.

Nation-State

A state whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity.

Reapportionment

The process on how house of representative seats are reassigned among states to reflect population changes, usually due to census results.

Satellite State

A political term that refers to a country which is formally independent, but under heavy influence or control by another country.

Self-Determination

A principle that explains that all people have the right to freely determine their political statue and freely pursue their economic, social, and cultural development.

Shatterbelt

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

Sovereignty

The exclusive right to complete control over an area of governance, people, or oneself.

State

Politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government, with a permanent population, and recognized by the international community. (Other word for Country.)

Stateless Nation

A nation without a state. (e.g., Kurds, Palestinians, …)

Supranationalism

A venture of three or more states (sometimes two or more) involving formal economic, political, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives.

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

The international agreement that resulted for the third UNCLOS, which took place from 1973 through 1982. The Law of the Sea Convention defines the rights and responsibilities of nations in their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources.

Unitary State

A state governed constitutionally as a unit, without internal divisions or a federalist delegation of powers.