Human Geo Ch 8 Flashcards
what is political geography
the study of the political organization of the world
what is a state
a politically organized territory with a permanent population, a defined territory, and a government; must be recognized by other states
what is territoriality
the attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area
what is sovereignty
having a recognized right to control a territory both politically and militarily
what is the peace of westphalia
negotiated in 1648 among princes of the states making up the Holy Roman Empire; made a peace that ended Europe’s most destructive internal struggle over religion during the 30 years’ war; marks beginning of modern state system
what is a nation
a group of people who think of themselves as one based on a sense of shared culture and history, and who seek some degree of political-territorial autonomy
what is a nation-state
when the geographic area of a nation aligns with political boundaries of a state
what are some examples of nation states
japan, egypt, albania
multinational state
a state with even more than one nation inside its borders
multisate nation
when a nation stretches across borders and states
stateless nation
nations that do not have a state
examples of a stateless nation
iroquois, palestine, kurdistan
cons of a stateless nation
Not represented politically (usually)
Spread across borders which can make it hard to gain any political traction
examples of nationless states
Rwanda, US
pros and cons of nationless states
diversity, but conflict
pros of nationstate
easy to represent people
what is colonization
when one state takes political control of another region; Usually includes exploitation of resources (economic)
Also usually includes a shift in cultural/social traits
what is capitalism
in the world economy, individuals, corporations, and states produce goods and services that are exchanged for profit
what is commodification
the process of placing a price on a good, service, or idea and then buying, selling, and trading that item (ex: bottled water)
how do governments attempt to unify states
nation-building
structuring the government in a way that melds the nations within
defining and defending boundaries
expressing control over all of the territory within those boundaries
what are unitary governments
highly centralized states
what is a federal system
a way of organizing a multinational state
organizes state territory into regions, substates, provinces, or cantons
what happens in a strong federal system
regions have much control over policies and funds
what happens in a weak federal system
the central government retains a significant measure of power
what is devolution
the movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state
what sources of internal division do devolutionary forces come from
ethnocultural, economic, territorial
what are examples of ethnocultural devolutionary movements
czechoslovakia and yugoslavia
what are examples of economic devolutionary movements
catalonia - argues that their economy pays more into the spanish government than it receives from the state
Sardina - says they’ve been neglected by the gov in rome
what are centripetal forces
forces that unify the people
what are centrifugal forces
forces that divide the people
what do devolutionary events have in common
they most often occur on the margins of states
which regions are most likely to seek devolution
those far from the national capital; many are separated by water, desert, or mountains and adjoin neighbors that may support separatist objectives