APHG - Unit 4

State: An entity with a defined territory exercising sovereign control, currently about 200 states exist. The number of states has grown by over 100 in the past century.
Commonwealth: A territory under mutual agreement with another state.
Colony: A territory legally tied to a sovereign state; the level of control can vary.
Colonialism: The practice of establishing settlements and imposing political, economic, and cultural principles on territories.

European states established colonies primarily for three intertwined motives summarized as "God, Gold, and Glory":

Imperialism: The effort to control territories already inhabited by indigenous populations.
The United Kingdom had the largest empire with the phrase "The sun never sets on the British Empire."
Colonies transitioned to independence in differing manners depending on colonial policies (e.g., France's assimilation approach vs. Britain's decentralized governance).

Organic Theory: Proposed by Friedrich Ratzel, states must grow continually to thrive, similar to living organisms.
Religious Colonialism: Major religions like Christianity and Islam aimed to expand through colonization.
Economic Colonialism: Focused on wealth acquisition through resource exploitation.
Self-determinism: The right of people to govern themselves is often preferred over external colonial governance.

Land Empire: Characterized by military conquest (e.g., Spanish conquests in Mexico).
Sea Empire: Utilized naval power to control coastal areas and extract resources (British and French practices).
Settlement Empire: Intended for long-term settlement leading eventually to independence.

Central government holds the majority of power, ideal for states with minimal cultural differences. However, it can marginalize minority groups.
Examples include several African nations imposing dominant ethnic rule.

Distributes significant power to local government authorities, suitable in larger states where local identities exist.
Examples include the U.S., Canada, and India, where local governments can set certain laws.

Reapportionment: Redrawing district boundaries every ten years based on census results to reflect population changes.
Gerrymandering: Manipulation of electoral district boundaries to benefit a political party. Types include:
- Wasted Vote: Spreads opposition supporters across many districts to minimize their impact.
- Excess Vote: Concentrates opposition voters in a few districts to maximize their strength in fewer areas.
- Stacked Vote: Links like-minded voters across odd-shaped districts.

Nation: A group of people share cultural attributes (language, ethnicity, etc.), leading to nationalistic feelings that can override state loyalty.
- Examples include Kurds, Zulus, and Basques.
Nation-state: Political unit where the nation and state boundaries align, prominent cases include Japan and Denmark.

Sovereignty refers to a state's ability to regulate its affairs. Nationalities without a state, like the Kurds, struggle for autonomy and identity.
- Notable groups include the Basques in Spain and the Zulus in South Africa, both seeking recognition and self-governance.

Heartland Theory: Proposed by Halford Mackinder, suggesting control of Eastern Europe and Western Asia is crucial for global dominance.
Rimland Theory: Nicholas Spykman emphasized the importance of alliances to counteract control of the Heartland.
Domino Theory: Political instability in one country can lead to turmoil in neighboring nations.
Irredentism: Encourage separatism in another country to achieve national ambitions.

Centripetal Forces: Elements that unite a state such as nationalism and patriotism; these can sometimes have negative aspects.
Centrifugal Forces: Divisive elements like regionalism and ethnic conflict that may destabilize a country.

Balkanization: The fragmentation of a state into smaller, independent entities often due to ethnic or cultural identities.
Devolution: Central governments granting powers to subnational authorities leading to increased regional autonomy.

Supranationalism: Political entities formed by multiple countries to promote cooperation (e.g., European Union).
Democratization: The transition toward a more democratic political structure characterized by competitive and fair elections.

The world economy operates on a global division of labor:
- Core: Regions with advanced technology and higher wealth generation.
- Semi-periphery: Areas experiencing both core and periphery processes, acting as buffers.
- Periphery: Regions with lower economic development struggling with limited wealth generation.