Definitions Flashcards
An indigenous inhabitant of Australia
Aborigine
A harmful form of precipitation high in sulfur and nitrogen oxides
- Caused by industrial and auto emissions, this damages aquatic and forest ecosystems in regions such as Eastern North America and Europe
Acid Rain
The rate a moving air mass cools or warms with changes in elevation, which is usually around 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit per 1000 feet or 1 degree Celsius per 100 meters
- Contrasts with environmental lapse rate
Adiabatic Lapse Rate
The forced removal of Africans from their native area and their resettlement throughout the world, especially in the Americas
African Diaspora
A mostly political body that has tried to resolve regional conflicts
- Founded in 1963, the organization grew to include all the states of the continent except South Africa, which finally was asked to join in 1994
- In 2004, the body changed its name from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union
African Union (AU)
A popular but controversial strategy to redistribute land to peasant farmers
- Throughout the 20th century, various states redistributed land from large estates or granted title from vast public lands in order to reallocate resources to the poor and stimulate development
- Occurred in various forms, from awarding individual plots or communally held land to create state run collective farms
Agrarian Reform
The practice of large scale, often corporate farming in which business enterprises control closely integrated segments of food production, from farm to grocery store
Agribusiness
A fan shaped deposit of sediments dropped by a river or stream flowing out of a mountain range
Alluvial Fan
The largest intermountain plateau in the Andes, which straddles Peru and Bolivia and ranges in elevation from 10,000 to 13,000 feet (3,000 to 4,000 meters)
Altiplano
The relationship between elevation, temperature, and changes in vegetation that result from the environmental lapse rate (average 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit for every 1,000 feet [6.5 degrees Celsius for every 1,000 meters])
Altitudinal Zonation
A wide variety of tribal religions based on the worship of nature’s spirits and human ancestors
Animism
An adjective for human caused change to a natural system, such as the atmospheric emissions from cars, industry and agriculture that are causing global warming
Anthropogenic
A landscape heavily transformed by human agency
Anthropogenic Landscape
The policy of racial separateness that directed the separate residential and work spaces for white, blacks, coloureds, and Indians in South Africa for nearly 50 years
- It was abolished when the African National Congress came to power in 1994
Apartheid
A regional political and economic organization focused on Arab unity and development
Arab League
A series of public protests, strikes, and rebellions in the Arab countries, often facilitated by social media, that have called for fundamental government and economic reforms
Arab Spring
The geographic term for description and analysis of how physical or human traits differ within a spatial unit or area on the surface of Earth
Areal Differentiation
The geographic term for description and analysis of how different places or points on Earth interact with each other
Areal Integration
A regional organization designed to encourage economic development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin
Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC)
A supranational geopolitical group linking together the 10 different states of Southeast Asia
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Protection for refugees who are victims of ethnic, religious, or political persecution in other parts of the world
Asylum Laws
A low, sandy island made from coral
- Often oriented around a cultural lagoon
Atoll
A language family that encompasses wide expanses of the Pacific, insular Southeast Asia, and Madagascar
Austronesian
Minor political subunits created in the former Soviet Union and designed to recognize the special status of minority groups within existing republics
Autonomous Areas
In the context of China, provinces that have been granted a certain degree of political and cultural autonomy, or freedom from centralized authority, due to the fact that they contain large numbers of non - Han Chinese people
- Critics contend that they have little true autonomy
Autonomous Region
Key central Siberian railroad connection completed in the Soviet era (1984), which links the Yenisei and Amur rivers and parallels the Trans - Siberian railroad
Bailcal - Amur Mainline (BAM) Railroad
A geopolitical term and concept to describe the breaking up or large political units to smaller ones, the type example being the replacement of the former Yugoslavia with smaller independent states such as Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, and so on
Balkanization
An 1884 conference that divided Africa into European Colonial Territories
- The boundaries created in Berlin satisfied European ambition but ignored indigenous cultural affiliations
- Many of Africa’s civil conflicts can be treated to ill conceived territorial divisions crafted in 1884
Berlin Conference
The array of species, both flora and fauna, found in an ecosystem or bioregion
Biodiversity
Energy sources derived from plants or animals
- Throughout the developing world; world, charcoal, and dung are primary energy sources for cooking and heating
Biofuels
A spatial unit or region of local plants and animals adapted to a specific environment, such as a tropical savanna
Bioregion
This is a Brazilian conditional cash transfer program created to reduce extreme poverty
- Families who qualify receive a monthly check from the government as long as they keep their children in school and take them for regular health checkups
Bolsa Familia
A member of the Russian communist movement led by Lenin that successfully took control of the country in 1917
Bolshevik
A coniferous forest found in a high altitude or mountainous environment in the Northern hemisphere
Boreal Forest
Migration of the best educated people from developing countries to developed nations where economic opportunities are greater
Brain Drain
The potential of return migrants to contribute to the social and economic development of a home country with the experiences they have gained abroad
Brain Gain
A private trade organization that acted as an arm of colonial Britain in ruling most of South Asia until 1857, when it was abolished and replaced by full governmental control
British East India Company
A country that is situated between much stronger countries, and which is intended to reduce conflicts between those more powerful countries by preventing them from sharing a common border
Buffer State
An array of nonaligned or friendly states that “buffer” a larger country from invasion
- In Europe, keeping a buffer zone has been a long term policy of Russia (and also of the former Soviet Union) to protect its western borders from European invasion
Buffer Zone
The name given to native malay (literally “sons of the soil”), who are given preference for jobs and schooling by the Malayasian government
Bumiputra
Settlements of temporary and often illegal housing in Indian cities, caused by rapid urban migration of poorer rural people and the inability of the cities to provide housing for this rapidly expanding population
Bustees
The gap between the gross receipts an industry (such as tourism) brings into a developing area and the amount of capital retained
Capital Leakage
A regional trade organization established in 1972 that includes former English colonies in the Caribbean Basin as its members
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM)
The economic flight of Caribbean peoples across the globe
Caribbean Diaspora
The complex division of South Asian society into different hierarchically ranked hereditary groups
- Most explicit in Hindu society but is also found in other cultures to a lesser degree
Caste System
A trade agreement between the United States and Guatemala, El Savador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominion Republic to reduce tariffs and increase trade between member countries
Central American Free Trade Association (CAFTA)
An economic system in which the state sets production targets and controls the means of production
Centralized Economic Planning
A very large South Korean business conglomerate that is composed of numerous smaller companies
Chaebol
A Russian term for dark, fertile soil, often associated with grassland settings in southern Russia and Ukraine
Chernozem Soils
The eastern half of the country of China, where the Han Chinese form the dominant ethnic group
- The vast majority of China’s population is located here
China Proper
Strategic setting where narrow waterways or other narrow passages are vulnerable to military blockade disruption
Choke Point
A thematic map in which areas are colored or shaded to depict differences in whatever is being mapped
Choropleth Map
A social unit that is typically smaller than a tribe or an ethnic group but larger than a family, based on supposed descent from a common ancestor
Clan
The average weather conditions for a place, usually based upon 30 years of weather measurements
Climate
The measured change in climate from a previous state, contrasted with normal variability
Climate Change
A graph of average annual temperature and precipitation data by month and season
Climograph
An agreement signed in 1982 between Australia and New Zealand, designed to eliminate all economic and trade barriers between the two countries
Closer Economic Relationship (CER) Agreement
An ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union that was conducted between 1946 and 1991
Cold War
A Russian led military association that includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
- The CSTO and SCO work together to address military threats, crime and drug smuggling
Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
Formal, established (mainly historical) rule over local peoples by a larger imperialist government for the expansion of political and economic empire
Colonialism
A racial category used throughout South Africa to define people of mixed European and African ancestry
Coloured
A belief based on the writings of Karl Marx
Communism
The promoted the overthrow of capitalism by the workers, the large scale elimination of private property, state ownership and central planning of major sectors of the economy (both agriculture and industrial) and one party authoritarian rule
Conflict Diamonds
A philosophical system based on the ideas of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 6th century bce
- Stresses education and the importance of respecting authority figures, as well as the importance of authority figures acting in a responsible manner
- Historically significant throughout East Asia
Confucianism
The degree to which different locations are linked with one another through transportation and communication infrastructure
Connectivity
A climate region in a continental interior, removed from moderating oceanic influences, characterized by hot summers and cold winters
- In such a climate, at least one month must average below freezing
Continental Climate
Areas where the two tectonic plates moving in opposing directions meet and converge
Convergent Plate Boundary
A conceptualization of the world into two economic spheres
- The developed countries of western Europe, North America, and Japan form the dominant core, with less developed countries making up the periphery
- Implicit in this model is that the core gained its wealth at the expense of peripheral countries
Core - Periphery Model
Highly mobile Slavic speaking Christians of the southern Russian Steppe who were pivotal in expanding Russian influence in 16th and 17th century Siberia
Cossacks
The suppression of a rebellion or insurgency by both military and political means, which includes not just armed warfare but also winning the support of local peoples by improving local infrastructure (schools, roads, ect)
Counterinsurgency
The blending of African, European, and some Amerindian cultural elements into the unique sociocultural systems found in the Caribbean
Creolization
A system in which close friends of a political leader are either legally or illegally given business advantages in return for their political support
Crony Capitalism
A process in which immigrants are culturally absorbed into the larger host society
Cultural Assimilation
A culturally distinctive settlement in a well defined geographic area, whose ethnicity has survived over time, stamping the landscape with an enduring personality
Cultural Homeland
The active promotion of one cultural system over another, such as the implementation of a new language, school system, or bureaucracy
- Historically, this has been primarily associated with European colonialism
Cultural Imperialism
A physical or natural landscape that has been changed considerably by the influences of human settlement
Cultural Landscape
A process of protecting, either formally (with laws) or informally (with social values), the primacy of a certain cultural system against influences (real or imagined) from another culture
Cultural Nationalism
The blending of two or more cultures, which produces a synergistic third culture that exhibits traits from all cultural parents
- Also called cultural hybridization
Cultural Syncretism or Hybridization
An area of historical cultural innovation
Culture Hearth
Learned and shared behavior by a group of people that gives them a distinct “way of life”
- Made up of both material (technology, tools, ect.) and abstract (speech, religion, values, ect.) components
Culture
An alphabet based on the Greek alphabet and used by Slavic languages heavily influenced by the Eastern orthodox church
- It is attributed to the missionary work of St. Cyril in the 9th century
Cyrillic Alphabet
The currently preferred term used to denote the members of India’s most discriminated against (“lowest”) caste groups, those people previously referred to as “untouchables”
Dalit
The process of a former colony’s gaining (or regaining) independence over its territory and establishing (or reestablishing) an independent government
Decolonization
A five stage model of population change derived from the historical decline of the natural rate of increase as a population becomes increasingly urbanized through industrialization and economic development
Demographic Transition Model
The spread of desert conditions into semi arid areas due to improper management of the land
Desertification
The breaking apart or separation within a political unit such as a nation state
Devolution
The scattering of a particular group of people over a vast geographic area
- Originally, the term referred to the migration of Jews out of their homeland, but now it has been generalized to refer to any ethnic dispersion
Diaspora
A geologic boundary where tectonic plates move away from each other, in opposite directions, thereby creating either a rift zone, which is a depression, or in other places, a ridge built of volcanic material
Divergent Plate Boundary
Refers to the state of having different landscapes, cultures, or ideas, as well as the inclusion of distinct peoples in a particular society
Diversity
An economic strategy in which a country adopts in the U.S. dollar as its official currency
- A country can be partially dollarized, using U.S. dollars alongside its national currency, or fully dollarized, in which case the U.S. dollar becomes the only medium of exchange and the country gives up its own national currency
- Panama fully dollarized in 1904
- Ecuador fully dollarized in 2000
Dollarization
The purposeful selection and breeding of wild plants and animals for cultural purposes
Domestication
A U.S. geopolitical policy of the 1970s that stemmed from the assumption that if Vietnam fell to the communists, the rest of southeast Asia would soon follow
Domino Theory
A strictly south Asian language family that includes such important languages as Tamil and Teluga
- Once spoken through most of the region, they are now largely limited to southern South Asia
Dravidian Language Family
A loose confederation of self governing churches in eastern Europe and Russia that are historically linked to Byzantine traditions and to the primacy of the patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul)
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Created by the European Union (EU) in 1999 to facilitate economic matters amongst member states, including usage of a common currency
Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)
An intergovernmental organization that promotes economic integration and security among its 15 member states in West Africa
- It was founded in 1975
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
The notion that globalization will result in the world’s poorer countries gradually catching up with more advanced economies
Economic Convergence
Suburban node of activity that features a mix of peripheral retailing, industrial perks, office complexes, and entertainment facilities
Edge City
An abnormally large warm current that appears off the coast of Ecuador and Peru in December
- During this year, torrential rains can bring devastating floods along the Pacific coast and drought conditions in the interior continents of the Americas
El Nino
A city and port that specializes in transshipment of goods
Entrepot
The decline in temperature as one ascends higher in the atmosphere
- On average, the temperature declines 3.5 degrees Farenheit for every 1,000 feet of elevation, or 6.5 degrees Celsius for every 1,000 meters
- Not to be confused with the Adiabatic Lapse Rate
Environmental Lapse Rate
A religion closely identified with a specific ethnic or tribal group, often to the point of assuming the role of the major defining characteristic of that group
- Normally, ethnic religions do not actively seek new converts
Ethnic Religion
A shared cultural identity held by a group of people with a common background or history, often as a minority group within a larger society
Ethnicity
A customs union (paralleling the European Union [EU]) designed to encourage trade as well as closer political ties between member states
- Formed in 2015, the EEU contains five member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan)
Eurasian Economic Union (EEU)
The current association of 28 European countries that are joined together in an agenda of economic, political, and cultural integration
European Union (EU)
The common monetary policy and currency of the European Union; those countries of Europe using the euro as its currency and who are members of the EU’s common monetary system, contrasted to those countries having a national currency and a monetary system
- France is an example of the former, and the United Kingdom of the latter
Eurozone
A portion of a country’s territory that lies outside its contiguous land area
Exclave
An area of the ocean decreed by national law where one local country has more rights to fishing and mineral rights than do other countries
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
A river that issues from a humid area and flows into a dry otherwise lacking streams
Exotic River
Nonnative plants and animals
Exotic Species
An international certification movement to identify primary commodities exported from the developing world in which farmers earn a better price for their product
- Commodities such as coffee, tea, and forest products are certified “fair trade” when small scale producers earn more for their product and production methods are viewed as environmentally and socially sustainable
Fair Trade
Public policies that encourage higher birth rates
- An example would be extended maternity and paternity leaves for parents of a newborn
Family Friendly Policies
Nations that allocate considerable political power to units of government beneath the national level
Federal State
Literally translated into English as “wind water”, it refers to a set of Chinese beliefs based on harmonizing human activities and buildings with the spiritual forces found in the natural environment
- It is closely associated with the religion of Daoism
Feng Shui
An ecologically diverse zone of lands in southwest Asia that extends from Lebanon eastward to Iraq and that is often associated with early forms of agricultural domestication
Fertile Crescent
Flooded, glacially carved valley
- In Europe, they are found primarily along Norway’s western coast
Fjord
A geographic concept used to describe an area where a static and specific trait (such as a language or a climate) has been mapped and described
- Contrasts with a functional region
Formal Region
A capital city deliberately positioned near a contested territory, signifying the state’s interest and presence in this zone of conflict
Forward Capital
Water supplies that were stored underground during wetter climatic periods
Fossil Water
A set of drilling technologies that injects a mix of water, sand, and chemicals underground in order to release and enhance the removal of natural gas and oil
Fracking
A duty free and tax exempt industrial park created to attract foreign corporations and create industrial jobs
Free Trade Zone (FTZ)
A geographic concept used to describe the spatial extent dominated by a specific activity
- The circulation area of a newspaper is an example, as is the trade area of a large city
Functional Region
The social and cultural expressions of male and femaleness, which contrasts with sex, which is the biological distinction between male and female
Gender
The difference in parity or equity between males and females in a specific social or cultural context
- A term often used to describe gender differences in salary, working conditions, or political power
Gender Gap
Refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of people based on their gender
- Typically these are socially constructed gender differences such as access to education, differences in pay, or political participation
Gender Inequality
How female and male behavior differs in a specific cultural context
Gender Roles
A process of urban revitalization in which higher income residents displace lower income residents in central city neighborhoods
Gentrification
A computerized mapping and information system that analyzes vast amounts of data that may include many layers of specific kinds of information, such as microclimates, hydrology, vegetation, or land use zoning regulations
Geographic Information System (GIS)
The spatial science that describes and explains physical and cultural phenomena on Earth’s surface
Geography
The relationship between politics and space and territory
Geopolitics
A policy of greater political openness initiated during the 1980s by then soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev
Glasnost
Originally used to describe a very accurate satellite based location system, but now also used in a general sense to describe smartphone location systems that may use cell phone towers as a substitute for satellites
Global Positioning System (GPS)
The increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the world through converging processes of economic, political and cultural change
Globalization
Combines the idea of globalization with that of local considerations or practices
- For example, a global corporation might market its goods differently depending upon local culture
Glocalization
The world’s second largest opium and heroin producing area, located in Northern Laos, Thailand and Burma
Golden Triangle
A ruler like symbol on a map that translates the map’s cartographic scale into visual terms
Graphic or Linear Scale
The conversion of tropical forest into pasture for cattle ranching
- Typically, this process involves introducing species of grasses and cattle, mostly from Africa
Grassification
A landform that rims southern African from Angola to south Africa
- It forms where the narrow coastal plains meet the elevated plateaus in an abrupt break in elevation
Great Escarpment
The valleys and lakes of east Africa that form on the divergent plate boundary that extends north to south across east Africa
- In this area African plate is in the slow process of splitting in two
Great Rift Valley
The four large Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hisponiola, and Puerto Rico
Greater Antilles
An organization created in 2005 by 17 members of the Arab League that is designed to eliminate all intraregional trade barriers and spur economic cooperation
Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA)
Highly productive agricultural techniques developed since the 1960s entail the use of new hybrid plant varieties combined with large applications of chemical fertilizers and pesticides
- The term is generally applied to agricultural changes in developing countries, particularly India
Green Revolution
The natural process of lower atmospheric heating that results from the trapping of incoming and reradiated solar energy by water moisture, clouds, and other atmospheric gases
Greenhouse Effect
Those atmospheric gasses, both natural and human caused, that trap reradiated solar energy, warming the lower layers of the atmosphere
- Human generated GHGs such as carbon dioxide and methane are causing Earth to warm, resulting in changes to the planet’s climates
Greenhouse Gasses (GHGs)
The total value of goods and services produced within a given country (or other geographical unit) in a single year
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
The value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders (gross domestic product) plus the net income from abroad (formerly referred to as gross national product)
Gross National Income (GNI)
The figure that results from dividing a country’s GNI by the total population
Gross National Income (GNI) Per Capita
A collection of powerful countries - United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, France, Italy, and Russia - that confers regularly on key global economic and political issues
Group of Eight (G8)
A collection of soviet era labor camps for political prisoners, make famous by writer Aleksanar Solzhenitsyn
Gulag Archipelago
An Islamic religious pilgrimage to Makkah
- One of the five essential pillars of the Muslim creed to be undertaken once in life, if an individual is physically and financially able to do it
Hajj
Literally meaning the “flow of Korea”, it refers to the popularity of south Korean music, films, and television shows in other Asian countries and increasingly across the rest of the world as well
Hallyu (“Korean Wave”)
Light skinned Europeans or U.S. citizens in the Hawaiian islands
Haoles
Large, elevated islands, often focused around recent volcanic activity
High Islands
An Indo-European language with more than 480 million speakers, making it the second largest language group in the world
- In India, it is the dominant language of the heavily populated north, specifically the core area of the Ganges plain
Hindi
A contemporary “fundamental” religious and political movement that promotes Hindu values as the essential and exclusive fabric of Indian society
- As a political movement, it appears to be less tolerant of India’s large Muslim minority than do other political movements
Hindu Nationalism
Refers to the main religion of India and Nepal, which developed in the south Asian subcontinent over the past several thousand years
- As many beliefs and religious practices vary significantly from one Hindu community to another, some scholars think of it as more of a family of closely related religions than a single faith
Hinduism
The northeastern corner of sub-Saharan Africa that includes the states of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti
- Drought, famine, and ethnic warfare in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in political turmoil in this area
Horn of Africa
An official record used in China to identify a specific person as a resident of a particular place
- This system is used in China to control the movement of people, particularly from rural areas to cities
Hukou
For the past three decades, the United Nations has tracked social development in the world’s countries through this, which combines data data on life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, gender equity, and income
Human Development Index (HDI)
The branch of geography aligned with the social sciences
- It deals with the human settlement of the Earth, its peoples, settlement patterns, cultures, economies, social systems and interactions with the environment across space and at different scales
Human Geography
A practice in which women are lured or abducted into prostitution
Human Trafficking
A storm system with an abnormally low pressure center, sustaining winds of 75 miles per hour (121 km/hour) or higher
- Each year during hurricane season (July-October), a half dozen to a dozen hurricanes form in the warm waters of the Atlantic and the Caribbean, bringing destructive winds and heavy rain
Hurricane
A set of drilling technologies that injects a mix of water, sand, and chemicals underground in order to release and enhance the removal of natural gas and oil
Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking)
The interplay of water resource issues and politics
Hydropolitics
A writing system in which each symbol represents not a sound but a concept
Ideographic Writing
Foreign workers (generally south Asians) contracted to labor on Caribbean agricultural estates for a set period of time, often several years
- Usually the contract stipulated paying off the travel debt incurred by the laborers
- Similar arrangements have existed in most world countries
Indentured Labor
The historical and contemporary propensity of Indians migrate to other countries in search of better opportunities
- This has led to large Indian populations in south Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific Islands, along with western Europe and North America
Indian Diaspora
The name frequently given to south Asia in reference to its largest country
- It forms a distinct landmass separated from the rest of the Eurasian continent by a series of sweeping mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, the highest mountains in the world
Indian Subcontinent
That period of time in the 18th century when European factories first changed from using animate power (human and animals) to inanimate power (water and coal) to power machines
Industrial Revolution
A much debated concept that presupposes a dual economic system consisting of formal and informal sectors
- This sector includes self employed, low wage jobs that are usually unregulated and untaxed
- Street vending, shoe shining, artisan manufacturing, and self built housing are considered part of this sector
- Some scholars include illegal activities such as drug smuggling and prostitution in this economy
Informal Sector
A measure of solar radiation often expressed in units of solar energy received over a specific area (square foot or square meter) over a specified period of time
Insolation
A political rebellion or uprising
Insurgency
The practice of planting multiple crops in the same field
Intercropping
Groups and individuals who flee an area due to conflict or famine but still remain in their country of origin
- These populations often live in refugee like conditions but are difficult to assist because they technically do not qualify as refugees
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
A term coined by British leader Winston Churchill during the cold war to define the western border of soviet power in Europe
- The notorious Berlin wall was a concrete manifestation of this
Iron Curtain
A state or national policy of reclaiming lost lands or those inhabited by people of the same ethnicity in another nation state
Irredentism
Also Isis or Islamic State
- A violent Sunni extremist organization that has expanded its influence in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere as it attempts to create a new religious state (a caliphate) in the region
ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)
A movement within both the Shiite and Sunni Muslim traditions to return to a more conservative, religious based society and state
- Often associated with a rejection of western culture and with a political aim to merge civic and religious authority
Islamic Fundamentalism
A political movement within the religion of Islam that challenges the encroachment of global popular culture and blames colonial, imperial, and western element for many of the regions problems
- Adherents of Islamism advocate merging civil and religious authority
Islamism
A concept that explores the contradictory position of the Caribbean states, which are physically close to North America and economically dependent upon that region but also have strong loyalties to locality and limited economic opportunities
Isolated Proximity
A religious group in south Asia that emerged as a protest against orthodox Hinduism around the 6th century bce
- Its ethical core is the doctrine of non-injury to all living creatures
- Today, the people of this religion are noted for their nonviolence, which prohibits them from taking the life of any animal
Jainism
Melanesian agricultural workers imported to Australia, historically concentrated along Queensland’s “sugar coast”
Kanakas
Literally, “Red (or Communist) Cambodians”, the left wing insurgent group that overthrew the royal Cambodian government in 1975 and subsequently created one of the most brutal political systems the world has ever seen
Khmer Rouge
A state where corruption is so institutionalized that politicians and bureaucrats siphon off a huge percentage of a country’s wealth
Kleptocracy
An international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions
- It was enacted in 1997 and expired in 2015 when it was replaced by the Paris Treaty of 2015
Kyoto Protocol
An economic system in which the state has minimal involvement and in which market forces largely guide economic activity
Laissez-faire
A large estate or landholding in Latin America
Latifundia
The angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the Earth’s surface
- It is measured from 0 at the equator to go at the poles
Latitude (Parallels)
Most maps have these
- They define the meaning of the symbols and colors used on a map to represent some aspect of the real world
Legend
The arc of small Caribbean islands from St. Maarten to Trinidad
Lesser Antilles
The eastern Mediterranean region
Levant
An agreed upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics such as international business, politics, sports or entertainment
Lingua Franca
The promotion of one language over others that is, in turn, linked to shared notions of nationalism
- In India, some Hindu nationalists promote Hindi as the national language, yet this is resisted by many other groups in which that language is either not spoken or does not have the same central cultural role as in the Ganges valley
- The lack of a national language in India remains problematic
Linguistic Nationalism
The outer layer of Earth’s interior where the convection cells that drive plate tectonics are located
Litosphere
The various influences that explain why an economic activity takes place where it does
Location Factor
A fine, wind deposited sediment that makes fertile soil but is very vulnerable to water erosion
Loess
These lines run north-south from pole to pole, and measure distance east or west from the prime meridian (0 degrees) located in Greenwich, England near London
Longitude (Meridians)
Flat, low lying islands formed by coral reefs, and contrasting with high islands that were formed from volcanic eruptions
Low Islands
A region in northwestern Africa that includes portions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia
Maghreb
Regional Hindu royalty, usually a king or prince, who ruled specific areas of south Asia before independence but who was usually subject to overrule by British colonial advisors
Maharaja
A tough and scrubby eucalyptus woodland of limited economic value that is common across portions of interior Australia
Mallce
Refers to the specific variety of Marxism that was developed by the Chinese leader Mao Zedong in the mid twentieth century - Unlike mainstream Marxism, this regards peasants rather than industrial workers as forming the main potentially revolutionary class that can help create in a communist society
Maoism
Indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand
Maori
The cartographic and mathematical solution to translating the surface of a rounded globe (usually Earth) to a flat surface (usually a piece of paper) with a minimum of distortion
Map Projections
The relationship between distances on a mapped object such as Earth and depiction of that space on a map
- Large ones cover small areas in great detail, whereas small ones depict less detail but over large areas
Map Scale
Assembly plants on the Mexican border built by foreign capital
- Most of their products are exported to the United States
Maquiladora
A moderate climate with cool summers and mild winters that is heavily influenced by maritime conditions
- Such climates are usually found on the west coasts of continents between the latitudes from 45 to 50 degrees
Marine West Coast Climate
A climate moderated by proximity to oceans or large seas
- It is usually cool, cloudy, and wet and lacks the temperature extremes of continental climates
Maritime Climate
Runaway slaves who established communities rich in African traditions throughout the Caribbean and Brazil
Maroons
A class of mammals found primarily in the southern hemisphere with the distinctive characteristic of carrying their young in a pouch - Kangaroos are perhaps the best known ones, with wallabies, koalas, wombats, and the Tasmanian devil also found in Oceania
Marsupial
A philosophy developed by Karl Marx, the most important historical proponent of communism
- This philosophy, which has many variants, presumes the desirability and, indeed, the necessity of a socialist economic system run through a central planning agency
Marxism
An urban landscape from 900 to 1500 CE, characterized by narrow, winding streets, and three or four story structures (usually in stone, but sometimes wooden), with little open space except for the market square
- These landscapes are still found in the centers of many European cities
Medieval Landscape
The original urban core of a traditional Islamic city
Medina
A unique climate, found in any five locations in the world, that is characterized by hot, dry summers with very little rainfall
- These climates are located on the west side of the continents, between 30 and 40 degrees latitude
Mediterranean Climate
A large urban region formed as multiple cities grow and merge with one another
- The term is often applied to the string of cities in eastern North America that includes Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and Boston
Megalopolis
A pacific ocean region that includes the culturally complex, generally darker skinned peoples of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji
Melanesia
The southern common market, established in 1991, which calls for free trade among member states and common external tariffs for nonmember states
- Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela are members
- Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Columbia are associate members
Mercosur
A person of mixed European and Indian ancestry
Mestizo
A pacific ocean region that includes the culturally diverse, generally small islands north of Melanesia
- It includes the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia
Micronesia
Usually independent states that are small in both area and population
Microstates
A large, state constructed urban housing project built during the soviet period in the 1970s and 1980s
Mikrorayon
A program of the United Nations, in collaboration with the world bank, that aims to reduce extreme poverty by focusing resources on improving basic education, healthcare, and access to clean water in developing countries
- The targeted goals are based on 1990 baselines and are supposed to be reached by 2015
- Many countries in the developing world will reach their targets; it appears that many sub-Saharan African countries will not
Millennium Development Goals
A small landholding farmed by peasants or tenants who produce food for sustenance and the market
Minifundia
Agriculture based on a single crop
Mono Crop Production
A religious belief in a single God
Monotheism
A proclamation issued by U.S. president James Monroe in 1823 that the United States would not tolerate European military action in the western hemisphere
- Focused on the Caribbean as a strategic area, the doctrine was repeatedly invoked to justify U.S. political and military intervention in the region
Monroe Doctrine
The seasonal pattern of changes in winds, heat, and moisture in south Asia and other regions of the world that is a product of larger meteorological forces of land and water heating, the resultant pressure gradients, and jet stream dynamics
- Produces distinct wet and dry seasons
Monsoon
Continental scale winds that flow from high to low pressure
- In south, southeast Asia and in North America’s southwest monsoon winds are associated with rainy weather
Monsoon Wind
The powerful Muslim state that ruled most of northern south Asia in the 1500s and 1600s
- The last vestiges of this dynasty were dissolved by the British following the rebellion of 1857
Mughal (or Mogul) Empire
A relatively homogeneous cultural group (or nation) with its own political territory (the state)
Nation State
A bill by the Australian legislation signed in 1993 that provides Aborigines with enhanced legal rights regarding land and resources within the country
Native Title Bill
Economic and political strategies by which powerful states indirectly (and sometimes directly) extend their influence over other, weaker states
Neocolonialism
Economic policies widely adopted in the 1990s that stress privatization, export production, and few restrictions on imports
Neoliberalism
Tropical ecosystems of the Americas that evolved in relative isolation and support diverse and unique flora and fauna
Neotropics
A statistic that depicts whether more people are entering or leaving a country
Net Migration Rate
An urban design movement stressing higher density, mixed use, pedestrian scaled neighborhoods where residents might be able to walk to work, school, and local entertainment
New Urbanism
A pattern of migration in which people leave large cities and suburbs and move to smaller towns and rural areas
Nonmetropolitan Growth
Those energy sources such as oil and coal with finite reserves
Nonrenewable Energy
An agreement made in 1994 between Canada, the United States, and Mexico that established a 15 year plan for reducing all barriers to trade among the three countries
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
Initially NATO was a group of North Atlantic and European allies who came together in 1949 to counter the soviet threat to western Europe
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
An ice free channel along Siberia’s northern coast that will grow in importance given sustained global warming
Northern Sea Route
New and previously unseen assemblages of plants and animals resulting from human modification of the environment, including climate change
Novel Ecosystems
A major world subregion that is usually considered to include New Zealand and the major island regions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia
Oceania
Financial services offered by islands or microstates that are typically confidential and tax exempt
- As part of a global financial system, these have developed a unique niche, offering their services to individual and corporate clients for set fees
- The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands are leaders in this sector
Offshore Banking
A small group of wealthy, very private businessmen who control (along with organized crime) important aspects of the Russian economy
Oligarchs
Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Washington, DC, an organization that advocates hemispheric cooperation and dialogue
- Most states in the Americas, except Cuba, belong to this
Organization of American States (OAS)
An international organization (formed in 1960) of 12 oil producing nations that attempts to influence global prices and supplies of oil
- Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela are members
Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
The influence of mountains on weather and climate, usually referring to the increase of precipitation on the windward side of mountains, and a drier zone (or rain shadow) on the leeward or downwind side of the mountain
Orographic Effect
Enhanced precipitation over uplands that results from lifting and cooling of air masses as they are forced over mountains
Orographic Rainfall
A large, Turkish based empire (named for Osman, one of its founders) that dominated large portions of southeastern Europe, North Africa, and southwest Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries
Ottoman Empire
Australia’s large, generally dry, and thinly settled interior
Outback
A business practice that transfers portions of a company’s production and service activities to lower cost settings, often located overseas
Outsourcing
A quasi governmental body that represents Palestinian interests in the west bank and Gaza
Palestinian Authority (PA)
The supercontinent of tightly clustered tectonic plates that existed 250 million years ago
Pangea
A traditional subsistence agricultural system in which practitioners depend on the seasonal movements of livestock within marginal natural environments
Pastoral Nomadism
Nomadic and sedentary peoples who rely on livestock (especially cattle, camels, sheep, and goats) for sustenance and livelihood
Pastoralists
A program of partially implemented, planned economic reforms (or restructuring) undertaken during the Gorbachev years in the Soviet Union and designed to make the soviet economy more efficient and responsiveness to consumer needs
Perestroika
A cold climate condition in which the ground remains permanently frozen
Permafrost
