Political Organization of Space Flashcards
Unit 5
a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under
one government
state
sovereignty
the authority of a state to govern itself or another state
microstate
a very small nation that is an internationally-recognized sovereign state: Also called: mini-state
City-State
a sovereign state, also described as a type of small independent
country that usually consists of a single city and its dependent territories (Ex:
Qatar, Kuwait)
multinational state
a state containing two or more ethnic groups with
traditions of self – determination that agree to coexist peacefully by
recognizing each other as distinct nationalities
stateless nation
an ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state
and is not the majority population in any nation state
boundary
a line or limit where one thing ends and another begins, or something that indicates such a line or limit
Compact State
the distance from the center of the state to any boundary does
not vary significantly (Ex: Poland)
perforated state
surrounds another state/country (Ex: South Africa surrounds
Lesotho)
prorupted/protruded state
has an extension that protrudes from the main
territory (Ex: Thailand)
elongated state
much longer in one direction than the other (Ex: Norway, Chile)
fragmented state
has several noncontiguous pieces of territory (Ex:
Archipelagos like Fiji and Indonesia)
landlocked state
surrounded on all sides by one or more other countries and therefore having no direct access to a coastline providing access to the oceans (Ex: Over 45 countries in the world are landlocked, including Bolivia; largest is
Kazakhstan)
federal systems (state)
government in which power is divided between a central
authority and constituent political units
unitary systems (state)
a system of government or organization in which the powers of the constituent parts are vested in a central body
