AP Human Geography - Political Geography Unit Notes
AP Human Geography – 2025-26 School Year: Unit 4 – Political Geography
Overview
Each student is responsible for maintaining a record of all entries in this packet, including all appropriate due dates for any assignments and quizzes/tests.
Student Name: __
Class Period: _
Unit 4: Political Patterns and Processes (Chapters 8, 9, 10)
Vocabulary
Textbook Vocabulary (Vocabulary Quiz #1)
Autonomous Regions: Regions with a degree of independence from the central government.
Colonialism: The practice of acquiring full or partial control over another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically.
Devolution: The transfer of power from a central authority to local or regional authorities.
Kidnapping: Taking someone away by force or fraud, often for ransom or other criminal purposes.
Self-Determination: The process by which a group of people defines its own political status and seeks to achieve independence.
Annexation: The incorporation of a territory into another geo-political entity.
Cold War: A period of political tension between the Soviet Union and the United States after World War II, marked by ideological conflict.
Ethnographic: Pertaining to the scientific study of the character and activities of a culture or a social group.
Microstates: Very small sovereign states.
Semiautonomous region: A region which has a degree of autonomy but is not fully independent.
Balance of Power: A situation in which nations of the world have roughly equal power.
Cracking: A gerrymandering technique that dilutes the voting power of a particular group.
Federal State: A union of partially self-governing states or regions under a central federal government.
Militarized Boundary: A border that is heavily guarded and fortified.
Sovereignty: The authority of a state to govern itself or another state.
Berlin Conference: A meeting in 1884-1885 where European powers divided Africa among themselves.
Cultural Boundary: A boundary line that coincides with some cultural divide, such as religion or language.
Frontier: A zone where no state exercises complete political control.
Multistate Nation: A nation that crosses borders and is divided among more than one state.
Stacking: A gerrymandering strategy that concentrates voters from a particular group into a few districts.
Decolonization: The process of a state withdrawing from a colony or acquiring independence.
Genocide: The intentional action to destroy a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group.
Multinational State: A state that contains two or more nations.
State: A politically organized body of people occupying a defined territory.
City-State: A sovereign state that consists of a city and its dependent territories.
Defined Boundary: A boundary established by a legal document.
Gerrymandering: The manipulation of electoral district boundaries to favor one party.
Nationalism: A strong feeling of pride in and devotion to one's country.
Stateless Nation: A nation that does not have a state of its own.
Centrifugal Force: A force that divides people and countries.
Delimeted Boundary: A boundary drawn on a map to show the limits of a space.
Geometric Boundary: A boundary defined by straight lines.
Nation-State: A state in which the two coincide. The term is often used to refer to a culturally homogeneous region.
Terrorism: The unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in pursuit of political aims.
Centripetal Force: An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state.
Demarcated Boundary: A boundary marked by some physical object on the landscape.
Hijacking: The unlawful seizure of an aircraft, ship, or vehicle.
Packing: A gerrymandering technique that concentrates voters from a particular group into a single district.
Uneven Development: A condition in geography where development is not occurring uniformly across geographical areas.
Census: The official count of a population.
Neocolonialism: A form of indirect control over other countries by dominating their economies.
Imperialism: A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Physical Boundary: A boundary defined by significant geographic features like mountains or rivers.
Unitary State: A state governed as a single entity, where the central government holds most of the power.
Supplementary Vocabulary (Vocabulary Quiz #2)
Political Geography: The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes.
Administered Boundary: The enforcement of a boundary by government or people.
Antecedent Boundary: A boundary established before an area is populated.
Choke Point: A geographical land feature such as a valley or waterway that can greatly decrease combat for an armed force.
Consequent Boundary: A boundary that coincides with some cultural divide.
Demilitarized Zone: An area in which military activity is prohibited.
Failed State: A state where the government cannot provide basic public services.
Maritime Boundaries: Conceptual divisions of the earth's oceans and seas.
Relic Boundary: A boundary that has ceased to function but can still be detected.
Subsequent Boundaries: A boundary established after settlement that considers social/cultural characteristics.
Superimposed Boundaries: Boundaries drawn in an area ignoring existing cultural patterns.
East/West Divide: A historical separation reflecting differing political and economic systems.
North/South Divide: An economic division between wealthy and poorer countries.
Supranationalism and Devolution Vocabulary Terms
African Union: Organization aimed at encouraging cooperation for economic development and political stability among African countries.
Arctic Council: Composed of 8 Arctic States addressing issues faced by the Arctic and its indigenous peoples.
Association of SE Asian Nations (ASEAN): A union formed in 1967 to accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in Southeast Asia.
Shatterbelt: An area of instability between regions with opposing political/cultural values.
Confederation: An international organization that brings autonomous states together.
International Organization: An alliance of countries that cooperates while retaining autonomy.
Irredentism: The doctrine that an area should be controlled by a country to which they are ethnically related.
Supranational Organization: A organization formed from three or more states to promote shared goals.
Commonwealth of Independent States: A union of former Soviet states pursuing common economic needs.
European Union: An economic and political union promoting free trade among European member states.
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA): An agreement promoting free trade between USA, Canada, and Mexico.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): A military alliance formed to counter Soviet aggression during the Cold War.
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): An economic organization of countries that produce and export oil.
United Nations: A global organization fostering international security and cooperation.
Geopolitical Theory Vocabulary Terms
Democratization: The transition towards a more democratic government.
Domino Theory: The idea that political instability in one country can lead to instability in neighboring countries.
Enclave: A territorial unit that is completely surrounded by another.
Exclave: A territory that is part of a particular state but separated from it by different territory.
Exclusive Economic Zones: Areas where a state has exclusive rights to marine resources.
Geopolitics: The study of how geography influences politics.
Law of the Sea: Laws governing states' rights to use and claim the earth's oceans and seas.
Lebensraum: Hitler's concept of acquiring