Chapter 8- Political Geography Flashcards
Sovereignty
Independence from control of internal affairs by other states.
•To be qualified as a state the area must have this
State
An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs
Microstate
A state that has a very small land area.
Colony
A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.
Colonialism
The effort by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on such territory.
Imperialism
The control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society.
(Empire-building)
Why did European states establish colonies globally?
Three motives
•God (promote Christianity)
•Gold (provided resources)
•Glory (more land = more power)
Balance of Power
A condition of roughly equal strength between opposite alliances
Boundary
An invisible line marking the extent of a state’s territory
City-state
A sovereign state compromising a city and it’s immediate hinterland.
Compact state
The distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
•establishes better communications between all regions
Elongated state
States with a long and narrow shape
•example: Italy (extends 700 miles northwest)
Federal state
An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government.
•example: the U.S. has a federal government system
Fragmented state
Includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
Frontier
A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control
