Politcal Organization Vocab Flashcards
Sovereignty
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state
State
a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government
Federal State
a country where governmental authority is shared among a central government and various other smaller regional authorities
Unitary State
a state where laws are administered uniformly by one central government (there are no regional authorities)
Political Boundaries
an imaginary line separating one political unit such as a country or state from another
Physical Boundaries
a naturally occurring barrier between two or more areas. They include oceans, cliffs, or valleys.
Human Made Borders
lines drawn by governments, states, counties, or cities. Most of the time you can’t see them. They’re imaginary lines drawn on a map
Autonomy
an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from external authority
Self Determination
the ability of a government to determine their own course of their own free will (sovereignty is a government free from external control)
City-State
a sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside
Nation
a group of people with common cultural characteristics
Nation State
a state in which the cultural borders of a nation correspond with the state borders of a country
Stateless Nation
a nation of people without a state that it considers home
Alliances
a union or association formed for mutual benefit, especially between countries or organizations
Globalization
the expansion of economic, political, and cultural processes to the point that they become global in scale and impact
Supranatural Organization
a multinational union or association in which member countries cede authority and sovereignty on at least some internal matters to the group, whose decisions are binding on its members (EU, UN)
Terrorism
the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes
Gerrymandering
the process wherein political officials redraw electoral districts to favor a certain political party, ethnic group, coalition, or social class
Colonialism
the process by which one nation exercises near complete control over another country.
