Vocab for AP Human Geography Unit 4

Unit 4 Vocabulary and Definitions

Key Terms

  • Ethnicity: A group of people (often of the same race) who have a shared culture; the cultural component of race.

  • Ethnonationalism: The desire of an ethnic community to have absolute authority over its own political, economic, and social affairs.

  • Failed state: A country where the government has become so weak it has lost control and can no longer provide basic government functions.

  • Multinational state: A country that has two or more nations of people inside of it.

  • Multistate nation: A nation of people that are separated into two countries where they are the majority.

  • Nation: A very cohesive ethnicity where the distinction between national identity and other affiliations is not clear.

  • Nationalism: Loyalty to a nation even over allegiance to the country, often seen as extreme patriotism.

  • Nation-state: A country where the vast majority of the people are of the same ethnicity (nationality).

  • Semiautonomous region: An area inside of a country that has some power to control itself more than other areas.

  • State: A country that has sovereignty.

  • Stateless nation: A nationality that does not have a country and isn't the majority in any country, implying they "should" have a country of their own.

  • Colonialism: When a more powerful country acquires full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers and exploiting it economically.

  • Devolution: A national government allowing a regional government to govern with more power.

  • Imperialism: When one country dominates colonies far from their home country and often imposes their culture on them.

  • Independence movement: People trying to gain political independence for some area that they think should be its own country.

  • Self-determination: The idea that nations should rule themselves instead of being controlled by others.

  • Separatist movement: A group advocating for independence for a nation inside a state.

  • Sovereignty: The ability of a country to govern itself without outside influence.

  • Choke point: A strategic narrow route providing passage through or to another region.

  • Neocolonialism: Gaining indirect control of another country through economic or cultural pressures (rather than military means).

  • Shatterbelt: A region caught between stronger colliding external forces, under persistent stress, often fragmented by aggressive rivals.

  • Territoriality: The perceived connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land.

Types of Boundaries

  • Antecedent boundary: A border that has divided people since before history was written.

  • Balance of power: When competing forces (or countries) come to a level where no single one is strong enough to dominate the others.

  • Boundary: A border that separates administrative units such as countries or provinces.

  • Consequent boundary: A type of subsequent boundary that tries to divide the existing groups of people between two countries.

  • Geometric boundary: A border that is a straight line and drawn without taking into account the physical and cultural features of the land.

  • Relic boundary: A former border between countries that can still be detected on the cultural landscape.

  • Subsequent boundary: A border drawn after an area is settled.

  • Superimposed boundary: A boundary that is imposed on the cultural landscape which ignores pre-existing cultural patterns.

Additional Key Terms

Zones and Governance

  • Demilitarized zone: An area previously in conflict from which weapons and military forces have been removed.

  • Maritime boundary: The extensions of a country's territory that extend into the oceans around them.

  • Electoral college: The system used in American presidential elections that assigns a number of votes to states by population. It encourages candidates to focus not only on populated areas.

  • Gerrymandering: Redrawing voting district boundaries to favor one political party or class.

  • Redistricting: In the United States, the process of redrawing voting districts after each census due to population changes.

Government Types

  • Democracy: A form of government in which ultimate power rests with the people, usually through their elected representatives.

  • Federal state: A country where the national government is strong and the regional governments are also strong, sharing power.

  • Monarchy: A country ruled by a king or queen.

  • Republic: A system of government where the executive is elected, not a monarch.

  • Theocracy: When a country is ruled by religious leaders.

  • Unitary state: A country where the national government is strong and the regional governments are weak.

Social and Political Issues

  • Ethnic cleansing: A powerful ethnic group pushing aside a weaker one to create an area with only their ethnicity, which can lead to genocide.

  • Genocide: The deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group.

  • Irredentism: A movement to reclaim land by a group who feels they have a claim on that land.

  • Terrorism: Using violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims.

  • Autonomous region: An area inside of a country that has considerable power to control itself more than other areas in the country.

  • Democratization: When a government makes changes to give all citizens a greater voice in the country's governance.

  • Supranationalism: Two or more countries joining together for a common purpose such as economics or defense.

Societal Divisions

  • Centrifugal forces: A cultural trait that divides people within a country.

  • Centripetal force: A cultural trait that adds to the unity of a country.

  • Apartheid: A harsh system of racial segregation enforced in South Africa from 1948-1994.

  • Balkanization: The process of a country breaking into smaller countries because of centrifugal forces.

  • Frontier: A zone that separates two states with neither state having control.

  • Ghetto: A neighborhood where an ethnic minority is forced to live by law or circumstances.

  • Race: A social construct based on the physical differences between groups of people, especially their skin color.

References