A state is the  largest political unit, the formal term for a country. To be defined as a state, a country must have a defined boundary, contain a permanent population, maintain sovereignty, and be recognized by other states. Sovereignty is the power of a political unit or government to rule over its own affairs. In order for a political unit to have legitimacy over it’s domestic and international affairs it must maintain sovereignty over its own land. In the modern world a state must have defined borders that have been legally established. No political unit can exist to claim sovereignty without a permanent population within its borders.

A nation is a group of people who have certain things in common such as a common cultural heritage, a set of beliefs and values that unify them, a traditional claim to a particular space as their homeland, and a desire to establish their own state or express self-rule in another way. A nation of people who fulfill the qualifications to become a state is a nation state. A multinational state is a country that contains more than one nation. An autonomous region is a defined area within a state that has a high degree of self government and freedom from its parent state. A semi autonomous region is a state that has a degree of but not complete self rule. A stateless nation is a cultural group that has no independent political entity. A multi state nation occurs when a nation has a state of its own but stretches across borders of other states.

Nationalism is a nation's desire to create and maintain a state of its own. Nationalism commonly unifies people so it is considered a centripetal force. Some common centripetal force examples are shared religion, external threats, and common language. The counter of a centripetal force is a centrifugal force. Which is a force that tends to divide people. Imperialism is a broader concept that includes a variety of ways of influencing another country or group of people by direct conquest, economic control m or cultural dominance. Colonialism is a particular type of imperialism which people move into and style on the land of another country.

Satellite states are states dominated by another politically and economically.  The process in which one or more regions are given increased autonomy by the central political unit is known as devolution.

Geopolitics is the study of the effects of geography on politics. The willingness by a person to defend a space they claim or territoriality is a key concept in geopolitics. Territoriality has many connections to culture such as religious conflicts. Territoriality also has ties to economic issues resulting in economic conflicts.

Neocolonialism is the indirect control of economic, political, and cultural powers over developing countries. A choke point is a place of physical congestion between wider regions of movement and interaction, Landbased choke points can be natural valleys or bridges. However most vital choke points in the world today are predominantly water based, such as straits or canals.

Physical geographic boundaries are natural barriers between areas such as oceans, deserts and mountains. However cultural boundaries divide people according to cultural division.

Types of boundaries

Antecedent: boundary established before a large population was present

Subsequent: boundary drawn to accommodate religious, ethnic,linguistic or economic differences.

Superimposed: a boundary drawn by outside powers

Relic: a boundary that no longer exists but is still evident on the landscape

Geometric: a straight line or arc drawn by people that does not closely follow any physical feature

Consequent: a type of subsequent boundary that takes into account existing cultural or physical landscapes.

An open boundary is an unguarded boundary that people can cross easily with no political intervention. Vice versa, a militarized boundary is a heavily guarded boundary that heavily discourages crossing.

Formation of boundaries

Defined boundaries are boundaries established by a legal document, such as a treaty, that divides one entity from another.

Delimited boundaries are drawn on a map by a cartographer to show the limits of space.

Demarted boundaries are identified by physical objects placed on the landscape. It can be as simple as fences and walls

Boundary disputes

Definitional boundary dispute: The countries argue about how to interpret the legal documents or maps that Identify the boundary.

Locational: arguing about where the boundary is located

Operational: how the boundary should be run

Allocational: arguing over the natural resources the boundary covers.

Boundaries that have checkpoints where a passport or visa are required to enter a country are called a controlled boundary.

Exclaves are territories that are part of a state yet geographically are separated by the mainstate by one or more countries. Ex: alaska

Political enclaves are states, territories, or parts of a state that are completely surrounded by the territory of another state.

A shatterbelt is a place located between two different and contentious regions.

Electoral geography is the use of spatial thinking techniques and tools to analyze elections and voting patterns. Internal boundaries that divide a country’s electorate into subnational regions are called voting districts From census information, the US uses info to reapportion the amount of representatives per state and redraw state lines to contain a similar number of people known as redistricting.  Gerrymandering is the redrawing of boundaries in favor of a certain political party in order to boost votes.