Political Geography

Question 1

Autonomous region,

Answer 1

an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority

Question 2

Centripetal forces

Answer 2

Forces that tend to unite or bind a country together.

Question 3

Centrifugal forces

Answer 3

forces that divide a state - internal religious, political, economic, linguistic, or ethnic differences

Question 4

Imperialism

Answer 4

A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.

Question 5

Colonialism

Answer 5

the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

Question 6

Decolonization

Answer 6

The acquisition, by colonized peoples, of control over their own territory.

Question 7

Neocolonialism

Answer 7

Economic dominance of a weaker country by a more powerful one, while maintaining the legal independence of the weaker state. In the late nineteenth century, this new form of economic imperialism characterized the relations between the Latin American republics.

Question 8

Cold War

Answer 8

A conflict that was between the US and the Soviet Union. The nations never directly confronted each other on the battlefield but deadly threats went on for years.

Question 9

Boundary

Answer 9

vertical plane between states that cuts through the rocks below, and the airspace above the surface

Question 10

Cultural Boundary

Answer 10

boundaries that mark breaks in the human landscape based on differences in ethnicity

Question 11

Physical Boundary

Answer 11

Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers.

Question 12

Compact State

Answer 12

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.

Question 13

Devolution

Answer 13

The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government.

Question 14

Elongated State

Answer 14

A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape.

Question 15

Federal State

Answer 15

An internal organization of a state that allocates strong power to different units of national, regional and local government

Question 16

Fragmented State

Answer 16

A state that is not contiguous whole but rather separated parts.

Question 17

Geopolitics

Answer 17

study of government and its policies as affected by physical geography

Question 18

Gerrymandering

Answer 18

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Question 19

Irredentism

Answer 19

a policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a country aimed at a group of its nationals living in a neighboring country

Question 20

Microstate

Answer 20

A state that encompasses a very small land area.

Question 21

NAFTA

Answer 21

North American Free Trade Agreement; allows open trade with US, Mexico, and Canada.

Question 22

Perforated State

Answer 22

a state that completely surrounds another one

Question 23

Prorupted State

Answer 23

an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

Question 24

Shatterbelt

Answer 24

an area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values

Question 25

Sovereignty

Answer 25

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

Question 26

Supranationalism

Answer 26

a venture involving 3 or more national states political economic or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives

Question 27

Unitary State

Answer 27

An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials

Question 28

UNCLOS

Answer 28

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea: a code of maritime law approved by the UN in 1982 that authorizes, among other provisions, territorial waters extending 12 nautical miles from shore and 200 nautical mile wide exclusive economic zones.

Question 29

Demarcated boundary

Answer 29

A boundary demarcated (marked) by some visible means on the ground. Ex. wall posts, fences, etc.

Question 30

Delimited boundary

Answer 30

A boundary DRAWN and agreed upon; drawing of a boundary

Question 31

Defined boundary

Answer 31

boundary is created in agreement between two parties in a treaty or other legal document

Question 32

Organic theory

Answer 32

The theory that a state needs expansive land in order to prosper

Question 33

Heartland Theory

Answer 33

Hypothesis proposed by Halford MacKinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.

Question 34

Rimland Theory

Answer 34

Nicholas Spykman’s theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provided the base for world conquest.

Question 35

Autonomous region,

Answer 35

an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority