P&B KQ1 Flashcards
Independence
When a country is free to govern itself without political control from outside its borders
Territory
Extent of land under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state
Secession
Transfer of part of a state’s area and population to another state
State
Sovereignty
The absolute authority that independent states exercise in the government of the land ans people in their territory
Territorial integrity
The principle that there is a defined area of land of a state, over which it has exclusive and legitimate control
Nation
A group of people who see themselves as a cohesive and coherent unit based on shared cultural or historical criteria. These can cross political boundaries.
Intervention
The action of an international organisation at a supranational level to resolve conflict, humanitarian conflict and challenges to territorial integrity or sovereignty.
Failed state
When the state can no longer provide its basic functions (e.g. to protect and provide for its citizens) and the government is losing its authority.
International boarder
A frontier area or dividing line separating states, these are socially and politically constructed, can change over time and can be disputed.
Geopolitics
The influence of human and physical geography on government activities, law making, and decision making
Norms
These are accepted standards and expectations that have developed over time and shape the way people, states, institutions behave and operate.
Annexation
The acquisition of land by a country
Decolonisation
The action or process of a state withdrawing from a former colony, leaving it independent
Unification
Bringing together a number of states into a sing national state
Physical boundary
Based on landforms - created before settlements and based on physical features; mountain ranges, rivers etc (e.g. Rio Grande river seperates the USA from Mexico
Superimposed boundaries
Drawn on an area by a conquering or colonising power that ignores existing cultural patterns
Subsequent boundaries
Established after the settlement in an area. It changes as the cultural landscape changes and is drawn to accommodate developments due to a certain event, such as war
Consequent boundary
Dawn in order to seperate groups based on ethnic, linguistic, or economic differences
Geometric boundaries
Drawn using straight lines, they have little concern for physical or cultural differences
Internal soveriegnty
Exclusive sovereignty within its territory, no-one can intervene in its domestic politics
External sovereignty
Recognised by other sovereign states (a state connot simply proclaim soverienty)
Outline the four characteristics which make up a ‘state’
- Be an internationally recognised territory
- Have sovereignty exercised by the government throughout its territory
- Have a government be recognised by other states
- Be a self-governing state with a permenent population
Outline Article 2.1 of the UN Charter
It establishes the principle of the sovereign equality of all its members - each member state is considered equal in the eyes of the UN and international law
