Political Geography Flashcards
Balkanization
The contentious political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries
Antecedent boundaries
A boundary line established before an area is populated
Buffer state
A relatively small country sandwiched between two larger countries; the existence of buffer states may help to prevent dangerous conflicts between powerful countries
Centrifugal forces
Forces that tend to divide a country
Centripetal forces
Forces that tend to unite or bind a country together
Colonialism
The expansion and perpetuation of an empire
Commonwealth of Independent States
Confederacy of independent states of the former Soviet Union that have united because of their common economic and administrative needs
Compact state
A state that possesses a roughly circular, oval, or rectangular territory in which the distance from the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions
Confederation
A form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose
Democratization
The process of establishing representative and accountable forms of gov’t led by popularly elected officials
Devolution
The delegation of legal authority from a central gov’t to lower levels of political organization, such as a state or country
Domino theory
The idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to collapse of political stability in neighboring countries, starting a chain reaction of collapse
East/west divide
Geographic separation between the largely democratic and free-market countries of Western Europe and the Americas from the communist and socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia
Electoral College
A certain # of electors from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state’s pop.; each elector chooses a candidate believing they are representing their constituency’s choice; the candidate who receives a higher proportion of electoral votes within a state receives all the electoral votes for that state
Electoral vote
The decision of a particular state elector that represents the dominant views of that elector’s state
Elongated state
A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape
Enclaves
Any small and relatively homogenous group or region surrounded by another larger and different group or region
European Union
International organization comprised of Western European countries to promote free trade among members
Exclave
A bounded territory that is part of a particular state but is separated from it by the territory of a different state
Federalism
A system of gov’t in which power is distributed among certain geographical territories rather than concentrated within a central gov’t
Fragmented state
A state that is not a contiguous whole but rather separated parts
Frontier
An area where borders are shifting and weak and where ppls of different cultures or nationalities meet and lay claim to the land
Geometric boundary
Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines
Geopolitics
The study of the interplay between political relations and the territorial context in which they occur
Gerrymandering
The designation of voting districts so as to favor a particular political party or candidate
Heartland theory
Hypothesis proposes by Halford Mackinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world
Imperialism
The perpetuation of a colonial empire even after it is no longer politically sovereign
International organization
An alliance of 2+ countries seeking cooperation with each other w/o giving up either’s autonomy or self-determinis
Landlocked state
A state that is completely surrounded by the land of other states, which gives it a disadvantage in terms of accessibility to and from international trade routes
Law of the sea
Law establishing states’ rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the earth’s seas and oceans and their resources
Lebensraum
Hitler’s expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire “living space” for the German ppl
Microstate
A state or territory that is small in both population and area
Nation
Tightly know group of individuals sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes
Nationalism
A sense of national pride to such an extent of exalting one nation above all others
Nation-state
A country who’s pop. possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity
North America Free Trade Agreement
Agreement signed on Jan 1, 1994, that allows the opening of borders between the US, Mexico, and Canada
North Atlantic Treaty Organization
An international organization that has joined together for military purposes
North/south divide
The economic division between the wealthy countries of Europe and N America, Japan, and Australia and the generally poorer countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Organic theory
The view that states resemble biological organisms with life cycles that include stages of youth, maturity, and old age
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
An international economic organization whose member countries all produce and export oil
Perforated state
A state whose territory completely surrounds that of another state
Physical boundary
Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers
Political geography
The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes
Popular vote
The tally of each individual’s vote within a given geographic area
Profited state
A state that exhibits a narrow, elongated land extension leading away from the main territory
Reapportionment
The process of a reallocation of electoral seats to defined territories
Rectangular state
A state whose territory is rectangular in shape
Redistricting
The drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes
Relic boundaries
Old political boundaries that no longer exist as international borders, but that have left an enduring mark on the local cultural or environmental geo
Rimland theory
Nicholas Spykman’s theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provide world domination
Self-determination
The right of a nation to govern itself autonomously
Sovereignty
Supreme or independent political power
State
A politically organized territory that’s administered by a sovereign gov’t and is recognized by the international community
Stateless nation
A group of ppl with a common political identity who do not have a territorially defined, sovereign country of their own
States’ rights
Rights and powers believed to be in the authority of the state rather than the federal gov’t
Subsequent boundaries
Boundary line established after an area has been settled that considers the social and cultural characteristics of the area
Superimposed boundaries
Boundary line drawn in an area ignoring the existing cultural pattern
Supranational organization
Organization of 3+ states to promote shared objectives
Territorial dispute
Any dispute over land ownership
Territorial organization
Political organization that distributes political power in the more easily governed units of land
Theocracy
A state whose gov’t is either believed to be divinely guided or a state under the control of a group of religious leaders
Unitary state
A state governed constitutionally as a unit, without internal divisions or a federalist delegation of powers
United Nations
A global supranational organization established at the end of WW2 to foster international security and cooperation
