Key Issues 8.2

Question 1

Nation

Answer 1

a culturally defined group of people united by common descent, history, culture or language

Examples: Cherokee tribe, Koreans, Kurds, Flemings

Question 2

Nation-State

Answer 2

a politically organized area in which a nation (people) and the state (government/territory) occupy the same space

Examples: Finland, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Japan

Question 3

Nationalism

Answer 3

Common: strong belief that the interests of a particular group are of primary importance

Extreme: strong belief that a particular group is superior to all others

Question 4

Irredentism

Answer 4

when one country seeks to annex (incorporate) territory in another because it has ties to part of the population that lives there

Examples: Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula, Germany’s annexation of Poland during WWII

Question 5

Stateless Nation

Answer 5

a large group of people that does not have a state of its own

Examples: Kurds, Sindhi peoples, Yoruba peoples, Palestinians, Sahrawi

Question 6

State Morphology

Answer 6

the study of how the shape of a country can affect its culture, politics, economy and overall well-being

Question 7

Boundary

Answer 7

invisible and often imaginary/conceptual lines marking the extent of a state or region’s territory and sovereignty

Question 8

Physical Boundary

Answer 8

rivers, deserts, mountain ranges, etc.

Question 9

Cultural Boundary

Answer 9

language, religion, lines of latitude and longitude, etc.

Question 10

Compact State

Answer 10

the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly; theoretical shape would be a circle with the capital in the center

Examples: Poland, Uruguay, Kenya, Rwanda

Question 11

Prorupted State

Answer 11

an otherwise compact state with a large project extension giving it access to resources and/or disrupting communication of rivals

Examples: Namibia, Thailand, Afghanistan, Mozambique

Question 12

Caprivi Strip

Answer 12

300-mile proruption in present-day Namibia; gave German colony access to the Zambezi River and disrupted communications among British colonies in southern Africa

Question 13

Elongated State

Answer 13

state with a long and narrow shape, resulting in poor internal communication and potential cultural isolation of remote regions

Examples: Chile, Italy, Malawi, the Gambia, Norway

Question 14

Fragmented State

Answer 14

a state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory, leading to communication difficulties and making integration of remote residents and regions difficult

Examples: Indonesia, U.S.A., Russia, India, Panama, Japan

Question 15

Exclave

Answer 15

a portion of a state this is separated from the main body of the state

Examples: Alaska (U.S.A.), Nakhchivan Province (Azerbaijan), Cabinda Region (Angola)

Question 16

Enclave

Answer 16

a state completely surrounded by another state, creating a landlocked dependency

Examples: Lesotho, the Vatican City, Brunei

Question 17

Perforated State

Answer 17

a country that completely surrounds another state, creating a dependency relationship

Examples: South Africa (Lesotho), Italy (San Marino, the Vatican City)

Question 18

Frontier

Answer 18

a tangible geographic area – rather than an imaginary line – that separates territories

Examples: Antarctica, Rub’ al Khali (“the Empty Quarter”)