Power and Borders

Question 1

Independence

Answer 1

a situation in which the people of a country exercise self-government and sovereignty over their state territory having gained political freedom from outside control.

Question 2

Secession

Answer 2

Transfer of part of a state’s area and population to another state.

Question 3

Territory

Answer 3

Extent of land under the jurisdiction of a sovereign state.

Question 4

International border

Answer 4

Geographical boundary of a sovereign state, defined and recognised by international law, and identified on the political map of the world.

Question 5

State

Answer 5

Area of land, of an independent country, with well-defined boundaries, within which there is a politically organised body of people under a single government.

Question 6

Sovereignty

Answer 6

The absolute authority that independent states exercise in the government of the land and peoples in their territory.

Question 7

Self-determination

Answer 7

Right of a group with a distinctive territorial identity to freely determine its political status and freely pursue its economic, social and cultural development.

Question 8

State apparatus

Answer 8

Set of state institutions and organisations through which state power is exercised; these include legal mechanisms, administrative organisations, police and armed forces, and health, education and welfare services.

Question 9

Resilience

Answer 9

The degree to which an area can recover from the impacts of a hazard. The level of vulnerability affects a community’s resilience.

Question 10

Nation

Answer 10

Large group of people with strong bonds of identity, united by shared descent, history, traditions, culture and language.

Question 11

Nation-state

Answer 11

A nation which has its own independent state; the boundaries of the state coincide with the area inhabited by the nation.

Question 12

Nation building

Answer 12

Processes by which a state government promotes nationality, for example through its education system or the media.

Question 13

Territorial integrity

Answer 13

Principle that the defined territory of a state, over which it has exclusive and legitimate control, is inv

Question 14

Norms

Answer 14

Moral principles, customs and ways of living that are universally accepted as standard behaviour.

Question 15

Intervention

Answer 15

Actions of a state, group of states or international organisations in a foreign territory to end gross violations of human rights. This includes military force, economic sanctions and the assistance of NGOs

Question 16

Geopolitics

Answer 16

Term used in the early twentieth century in the ‘Heartland’ work of Sir Halford Mackinder, referring to ways in which geographical factors were central in shaping international politics.

Question 17

Advanced countries (ACs)

Answer 17

Countries that share a number of important economic characteristics, including well-developed financial markets, high degrees of financial intermediation and diversified economic structures with rapidly growing service sectors.

Question 18

Emerging and developing countries

Answer 18

Countries that do not share all the economic development characteristics required to be advanced, and also are not eligible for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust, identified by the IMF.

Question 19

Low-income developing countries

Answer 19

Countries that are eligible for financial support from the IMF through the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust.

Question 20

International community

Answer 20

All countries whose identity and sovereignty are recognised under the auspices of the UN, plus other international organisations that choose to participate in global discussions and decision-making and which act collectively to resolve humanitarian issues.

Question 21

Global governance

Answer 21

Intervention by the global community, attempting to regulate issues, such as human rights, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Question 22

Westphalian model

Answer 22

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) marked the formal recognition of states as sovereign and independent political entities. It established the principle of sovereign equality of states, forming the basis of international law that governs the global political system today.

Question 23

Separatism

Answer 23

Claims for, or practice of, separation of a group of people from a larger state on the basis of their ethnicity or unified national culture, traditions, religion and language.

Question 24

Transnational Corporation

Answer 24

Very large company with factories and offices in more than one country, which markets products and services worldwide.

Question 25

Corporate social responsibility

Answer 25

Commitment and initiative of a corporation to assess and take responsibility for its social and environmental impact. This includes its ethical behaviour towards the quality of life of its work force, their families and local communities, and its contribution to economic development and the natural environment.

Question 26

UN Global Compact

Answer 26

Initiative that invites companies to align their strategies and operations according to universal principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and to take actions that advance societal goals.

Question 27

Treaty

Answer 27

Formally concluded and ratified agreement between states.

Question 28

International law

Answer 28

Body of law that governs international relations between states or nations. This provides the framework for the obligations of states to be maintained.

Question 29

Global commons

Answer 29

The Earth’s shared natural resources, eg the oceans and the atmosphere.

Question 30

Cyber conflict

Answer 30

Use of the internet, cellular technologies and space-based communications for malevolent and/or destructive purposes in order to change or modify political, military and economic interactions between entities such as states, corporations and individuals.