Political Geography Flashcards
Autonomous region,
an area of a country that has a degree of autonomy, or has freedom from an external authority
Centripetal forces
Forces that tend to unite or bind a country together.
Centrifugal forces
forces that divide a state - internal religious, political, economic, linguistic, or ethnic differences
Imperialism
A policy of extending a country’s power and influence through diplomacy or military force.
Colonialism
the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Decolonization
The acquisition, by colonized peoples, of control over their own territory.
Neocolonialism
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.
Cold War
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.
Boundary
vertical plane between states that cuts through the rocks below, and the airspace above the surface
Cultural Boundary
boundaries that mark breaks in the human landscape based on differences in ethnicity
Physical Boundary
Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers.
Compact State
A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.
Devolution
The process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government.
Elongated State
A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape.
Federal State
An internal organization of a state that allocates strong power to different units of national, regional and local government
