A-Level Geography: Migration, Identity and Sovereignty KEY TERMS Flashcards
Core-periphery systems
The uneven spatial distribution of national population and wealth between two or more regions of a country, resulting from flows of migrants, trade and investment.
Backwash
Flows of people, investment and resources directed from peripheral to core regions. This process is responsible for the polarisation of regional prosperity between regions within the same country.
Diaspora
A dispersed group of people with a shared cultural background who have spread internationally from their original homeland.
Post-colonial migrants
People who moved to the UK from former colonies of the British Empire during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s
Schengen Agreement
An international agreement that aims to make it easier for people to move freely within the EU. Passports do not usually have to be shown by citizens at the borders of 26 EU and non-EU countries that have agreed to this.
Trickle-down
The positive impacts on the peripheral region on wealth creation on core regions. These may include investment (in the form of back offices or branch plants), regional aid and grants, and the diffusion on innovation, technology and infrastructure from the core to the periphery.
Negative externalities
Costs suffered by people and places as a result of changing economic activity. These may be unintended social or environmental impacts, such as unemployment or pollution.
Ethnicity
The shared identity if an ethnic group which may be based on common ancestral roots or cultural characteristics such as language, religion, diet or clothing.
Assimilation
The eventual adoption of the cultural traits belonging to a host or majority community by a migrant or minority community.
Sovereignty
The ability of a place and its people to self-govern without any outside influence.
Homogeneous culture
A society where there is very little cultural or ethnic diversity and most people share cultural traits with one another, including language, religion, dress and diet.
Heterogenous culture
A society where there is a high level of culture and or ethnic diversity among its citizens, often resulting in a multi-lingual and multi-faith community.
Nationalism
The belief held by people belonging to a particular nation that their own interests are much more important that those of people belonging to other nations.
Neo-colonial
The indirect actions by which developed countries exercise a degree of control over the development of their former colonies. This can be achieved through varied means including conditions attached to aid and loans, cultural influence and military or economic support for particular political groups or movements within a developing nation.
Corporate migration
When a TNC changes its corporate identity, relocating its headquarters to a different country.
Transfer pricing
A financial flow occurring when one division of a TNC based in one country charges a division of the same firm based in another country for the supply of a product or a service. It can lead to less corporation tax being paid.
Parent company
The original business that a global TNC has developed around and whose directors still make decisions that affect the organisation as a whole. Both Starbucks and Google are parent companies to global networks of subsidiary businesses.
Tax Haven
A country or territory with a nil or low rate of corporation tax, such as Bermuda.
Expatriate
Someone who has migrated to live in another state but remains a citizen of the state where they were born.
Global governance
The term ‘governance’ suggests broader notions of steering or piloting rather than the direct form of control associated with government. It describes the steering rules, norms, codes and regulations used to regulate human activity at an international level. At this scale, regulation and laws can be tough to enforce however.
Unilateral intervention
Military intervention undertaken by a state (or group of states) outside the umbrella of the UN.
Failed state
A country whose government has lost political control and is unable to fulfil the basic responsibilities of a sovereign state, with severe adverse effects for some or all of its population.
War on terror
The ongoing campaign by the USA and its allies to counter international terrorism, initiated by al-Qaeda’s attacks on the World Trade Centre in New York and the Pentagon on 11 September 2001.
Bretton Woods Institutions
The IMF and the World Bank were founded at the Bretton Woods Conference in the USA at the end of the Second World War to help rebuild and guide the world economy.
Hegemonic power
The ability of a powerful state or player to influence outcomes without reverting to ‘hard power’ tactics such as military force. Instead, control is exercised using a range of ‘soft’ strategies including diplomacy, aid, and the work of media and educational institutions.
Structural adjustment programmes (SAPs)
Since the mid-1980s, the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Facility (ESAF) has provided lending bit with strict conditions and concessions attached.
HIPC policies
The Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative was launched in 1996 by the IMF and World Bank, with the aim of ensuring that no poor country faces a debt burden it cannot manage. Countries must meet certain criteria, commit to poverty reduction through policy changes, and demonstrate a good track record over time.
Economy of scale
If the production of a commodity is expanded then the unit cost price may fall. This is because certain fixed costs are spread over more units of output. As a result, the products can be sold more cheaply, which increases revenues further.
Global commons
Global resources so large in scale that they lie outside of the political reach of any one state. International law identifies four global commons: the oceans, atmosphere, Antarctica and outer space.
Transboundary water
A water resource, including rivers, lakes and aquifers, that occupies a territory shared by more than one state.
Global citizenship
A way of living wherein a person identifies strongly with global-scale issues, values and culture rather than (or in addition to) a narrower place-based identity.
Nationalist
A political movement focused on national independence for the abandonment of policies that are viewed by some people as a threat to national sovereignty or national culture.
Cultural landscape
The distinctive character of a geographical place or region that has been shaped over time by a combination of physical and human processes.
Secession
The act of separation for part of a state to create a new and fully independent country.
Hukou system
Chinese governmental household registration system.
Economic migrant
A person migrating for better employment opportunities or an improved financial position.
Refugee
A person who has left their home country because of (a threat of) persecution.
Asylum Seeker
Person who seeks safety from persecution or serious harm in a country other than his or her own and awaits a decision on the application for refugee status under relevant international and national instruments. In case of a negative decision the person must leave the country and may be expelled, as may any non-national in an irregular or unlawful situation, unless permission to stay is provided on humanitarian or other related grounds.
UN
First post war IGO to be established and has grown in importance; its role in global governance is affected by the different geopolitical visions of members of the security council and its multiple functions in managing global environmental, socio-economic and political problems.
IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international organization that promotes global economic growth and financial stability, encourages international trade, and reduces poverty.
Free Trade Area
No internal trade barriers, but individual members retain their own currencies and economic policies.
Customs Union
No internal trade barriers, common external tariffs.
Single Market
No internal trade barriers, common external tariffs and free movement of labour, common currency.
Political Union
Total unity, nations fuse as one, national boundaries disappear, total freedom of movement of goods and services, common economic and defence policies.
World Health Organisation (WHO)
Branch of the UN which aims to raise standards of health globally.
World Food Programme (WFP)
Branch of the UN that assists people facing hunger worldwide and works with communities to improve nutrition.
UNICEF
Branch of the UN that aims to improve the lives of children in the developing world.
UNHCR
Branch of the UN that protects refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.
Centripetal forces
Forces that bring members together.
Centrifugal forces
Forces that drive organisations or countries apart.
CITES
IGO ensuring that trade of flora and fauna is at sustainable levels.
Montreal Protocol
Intergovernmental framework with the aim of phasing out substances depleting the ozone layer.
Antarctic Treaty
Intergovernmental agreement that limits intervention in Antarctica and aims to protect the area.
(UNDP) Global goals
Introduced in 2015, 17 goals to help people and the environment, showing progress from the Millennium development goals.
