Chapter 8 Flashcards
a country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
Autocracy
a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries
Balance of power
an invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory
Boundary
an attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory
Colonialism
a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent
Colony
a state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
Compact state
a country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office
Democracy
a state with a long, narrow shape
Elongated state
an internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government
Federal state
a state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
Fragmented state
a zone separating two sates in which neither state exercises political control
Frontier
the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
Gerrymandering
a state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea
Landlocked state
a state that encompasses a very small land area
Microstate
a state that contains more than one ethnicity
Multiethnic state
a state that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities
Multinational state
a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality
Nation-state
a state that completely surrounds another one
Perforated state
an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension
Prorupted state
the concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves
Self-determination
ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states
Sovereignty
an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs
State
the systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands
Terrorism
an internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials
Unitary state
