State: A geographic area with a permanent population, defined borders, and sovereign government, and is recognition by other states.
Sovereignty: The power of a political unit, or government, to rule over its own affairs
Nation: A group of people who have certain things in common.
Nation-State: A sovereign state with a relatively homogeneous population that has a shared language, culture, and history
Multination State: A country that contains more than one nation
Autonomous Regions: A defined area within a state that has a high degree of self-government and freedom from its parent state
Semiautonomous Regions: A geographic that is located within a state but has a moderate degree of self governance.
Stateless Nation: a nation that has a history of self-determination but does not a recognized state
Multistate Nations: A state that has more than one nation within its borders
Nationalism: A nation’s desire to create and maintain a state of its own
Centripetal force: something that unites people within a country
Centrifugal force: a force that divides people
Imperialism: the idea of growing a state or empire by annexing other nations to gain economic and political power
Decolonization: the undoing of colonization (indigenous people reclaim sovereignty over the territory.)
Devolution: the transfer from the central to lower governments (high to low)
Choke Point: a geographically narrow passage where the movement of people, goods, or military forces can be easily restricted or controlled (most important is Straight of Hormuz)
Antecedent Boundary: the boundary was created before human settlement
Defined Boundary: A boundary agreed upon, fixed, and set
Demarcated Boundary: The process of marking a boundary (fence, wall, sign)
Geometric Boundary: A border that follows lines of latitude and longitude (Canada + US & North + South Korea)
Relic Boundary: A boundary that no longer active but still impacts the cultural landscape.
Superimposed Boundary: A boundary that was created by a foreign state or group (Berlin Conference for Africa: didn’t care about cultures in Africa)
Subsequent Boundary: A boundary that develops along with the development along with the development of the cultural landscape
Consequent Boundary: A boundary that was established to settle conflict between opposing cultural, ethnic, or political groups
Frontier: A geographic area where no state has direct power or control over
International Boundaries: Boundaries that separate one sovereign state from another and are established through treaties and agreements between neighboring states
Internal Boundaries: Boundaries that separate different regions within a single state and are often established by the state’s government
Definitional Boundary: A boundary dispute that takes place over the interpretations that defined the boundary
Neocolonialism: The use of political, cultural, or economic power to influence, or control other countries
Shatter-belts: Areas where a country is between two rivaling powers
Delimited: The process of drawing a boundary on a map and phyisically marking it
Locational Boundary Dispute: A boundary dispute over the location of the boundary and the ownership of the land
Operational Boundary Dispute: A boundary dispute on how to manage the boundary and handle different issues/ situations that occur on the boundary
Allocational Boundary Disputes: A boundary dispute that happens use of what is on or in the boundary
EEZ: state with coastline that has control over 200 nautical miles of water
Peanut Hole: Allowed other countries to get resources which depleted the Russian economy
South China Sea: Countries had dispute over the control of the South China Sea because the EEZ overlaps
Census: every 10 years, for House of Representatives
Voting District: A geographic area organized together for the purpose of administering elections
Redistricting: The process of redrawing districts after the census has occurred
Gerrymandering: The process of redistricting a voting district to favor one political party over another
Cracking: The process of spreading like minded voters out across multiple districts
Packing: Combining like minded voters into one district to prevent them from affecting elections in other districts
Stacking: Diluting minority populated district with majority populations
Hijacking: Redrawing two districts in order to force two elected representatives of the same party to run against each other
Kidnapping: Moving an area where an elected representative has support to an area where he or she does not have support
Gerrymandering: is used to try gain an advantage in elections
Unitary State: Power is located in the central or national government (High controls the low)
Federal States: Authority is shared (is a large land area with multiple ethnic groups)
Devolution: The transfer of people from a national government to a regional gov
Self-Determination: The right or desire for a nation
Stateless Nation: A nation that has a history of self determination but does not have a recognized state (Kurds)
Ethnic Cleansing: Genocide
Irrendtism: A movement by a nation to unite another part of its nation that is located in another state
Sovereignty: The authority of a state to make its own decisions
Democratization: A political region becomes more democratic
Supranational Organization: An alliance which consists of multiple countries, that address specific issues/challenges that impact states