Ch 4: Political Patterns and Processes Vocab Flashcards
Antecedent Boundary
A boundary line established before an area is populated.
Balkanization
A contentious political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries.
Buffer State
A relatively small country sandwiched between two larger powers. The existence of buffer states may help to prevent dangerous conflicts between powerful countries.
Centrifugal Forces
Forces that tend to divide a country.
Centripetal Forces.
Forces that tend to unify a country.
Colonialism
The expansion and perpetuation of an empire.
Commonwealth of Independent States
Confederacy of independent states of the former Soviet Union that have united because of their common economic and administrative needs.
Confederation
A form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose.
Democratization
The process of establishing representative and accountable forms of government led by popularly elected officials.
Devolution
The delegation of legal authority from a central government to lower levels of political organization, such as a state or country.
Domino Theory
The idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to the collapse of political stability in neighboring countries, starting a chain reaction of collapse.
East/West Divide
Geographic separation between the largely democratic and free market economies of Western Europe and the Americas from the communist and socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.
Electoral College
A certain number of electors from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state’s population. Each elector chooses a candidate, believing they are representing their constituency’s choice.
Electoral Vote
The choice expressed collectively by the electoral college to determine the president and vice president of the United States.
Enclave
Any small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by another larger and different group or region.
European Union
International organization comprising Western European countries to promote free trade among members.
Exclave
A bounded territory that is part of a particular state but is separated from it by the territory of a different state.
Federalism
A system of government in which power is distributed among certain geographical territories rather than concentrated within a central government.
Frontier
An area where borders are shifting and weak and where peoples of different cultures or nationalities meet and lay claim to the land.
Geometric Boundaries
Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines.
Geopolitics
The study of interplay between political relations and the territorial context in which they occur.
Gerrymandering
The designation of voting districts so as to favor a particular political party or candidate.
Heartland Theory
Hypothesis proposed by Halford Mackinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.
