Unit 4 Check In Quiz Flashcards
Political Geography
the study of the ways in which the world is organized as a reflection of the power that different groups hold over territory
◦ The government of China does not recognize the island of Taiwan, off China’s east coast, as a separate country, but the United States considers Taiwan to be independent
States
created by humans as a way to organize and manage themselves, it is politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population, in other words a country
◦ Iraq, South Africa, and Canada, are all states
Sovereignty
the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders, if a state is not recognized as an independent country by other states, it is not considered sovereign
◦ Some large sovereign states include China and Canada, smaller ones include Belize and Togo
Nations
are cultural entities, meaning that they are made up of individuals who have fogged a common identity through a shared language, religion, ethinicity, or heritage (often all four)
◦ In the western US, the Navajo people are a nation bound by tradition, history, and a common language
Nation-state
the territory occupied by a group who view themselves as a nation is the same as the politically recognized boundaries of the state they call their own
◦ Estonia, following its independence from the Soviet Union, is often viewed as a nation-state because most of its people share a common identity in theirs of ethnicity and language
Multistate Nation
consists of people who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country
◦ Ethnic Russians are considered to be a multistate nation, because sizeable numbers of them live outside of Russia
Irredentism
attempting to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation
◦ The on-going war between Russia and Ukraine is a case of irredentism, from the side of Russia
Autonomous or Semiautonomous
they are given some authority to govern their own territories independently from the national government
◦ In China, the territory of Hong Kong has been autonomous, using a system of government and currency that differs from the ones used throughout the rest of the country
Stateless Nation
describes a people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state
◦ Tribal nations in the US are stateless nations
Territoriality
the attempt by an individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area
◦ Countries control their land by forming borders, and they establish a national identity in a variety of ways, including through their names, flags, anthems, and citizenship requirements
Neocolonialism
endures in the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies
◦ In 2014, the Kenyan government agreed to pay a company owned by the Chinese government to build a railroad line from Nairobi, the capital, to the city of Mombasa, the project cost was $3.8 billion, which will place Kenya in debt to China for many years, as well as giving them control of when and how to build it
Choke Point
a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass, choke points can be sources of power, influence, and wealth for the countries that control them
◦ Thermopylae, a mountain pass in Greece where a Greek force estimated at 7,000 men was able to hold off an invading Persian army of between 70,000 and 300,000 soldiers for three days in 480 B.C.E
Shatterbelt
states form, join, and break up because of ongoing, sometimes violent, conflicts among parties and because they are caught between the interest of more powerful outside states
◦ The Balkan Peninsula is an example of this, conflict has repeatedly broken out in this region as the influence of outside powers has strengthened internal divisions
State
A politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population (aka. Country)
Nation
a cultural entity made up of individuals who share a common identity through shared language, religion, ethinicity, or heritage
Multination state
a nation that spreads over multiple states
Nation state
developed in the late 1700s, early 1800s, territory occupied by a group of people who view themselves as a nation (shared culture) with matching politically-recognized boundaries
Monarchy
A political system in which supreme power or authority is held a monarch, who usually inherits the position through heredity
Territoriality
Individual or group attempt to delineate and control a geographic area
1. Delineation: the creation of borders
2. The power that people try to exert over land and people
3. The political spaces they create
4. An expression of a group’s historic and personal links to place (cultural and economic systems)
Self-determination
the right of all people to choose their own political status
◦ The Balkan Peninsula Shatterbelt is a consequence of nations fighting for self-determination against outside powers and against their neighbor
The Kurds
◦ Even through the Kurdish people have a long history as a distinct ethnic group and view themselves as a nation, they do not have their own state, despite years of trying
◦ After World War One, a new treaty was proposed including a Kurdish state, however it was made without them including only Turkey, Greece, and the Allied powers
◦ Continuing to work for a sovereign state, during the last decades of the 20th century, thousands of Kurdish men, women, and children were killed with poison gas under the rule of President Saddam Hussein
◦ Currently they can be described as a stateless action, because they don’t have an independent country to call their own, and a multinational state, because they live in a region that spans multiple countires
Devolution
occurs when the centeral power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders
◦ The former Soviet Union devolution led to the creation of 15 independent states
Defining
when countries explicitly state in legally binding documentation such as a treaty where their borders are located, using reference points such as natural features or lines of latitude and longitude
◦ In 1859, Guatemala had achieved its independence from Spain, but Belize was still a British colony called British Honduras, at the time the Bristish and Guatemalan governments signed a treaty establishing the boundary between the two states, which is currently in the process of changing
Deliminating
when countries delimit boundaries by drawing them on a map in accordance with a legal agreement
◦ The United States did this in its 1848 treaty with Mexico
Demarcating Borders
when boundaries are demarcated with physical objects such as stones, pillars, walls, or fences
◦ In the 21st century, the United States government has been debating whether its entire border with Mexico can or should be fenced with a wall, the border would be over 1,900 miles long, the cost per mile ranges between $17.3 and $36.3 million
The DMZ
◦ Between 1950 and 1953, North Korea and South Korea fought a war that ended with no victor when an armistice agreement was signed, which ended the fighting and established a boundary called the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)
◦ This buffer has kept the two counties at peace for almost seven decades, the two counties still use the site for meetings and negations
◦ The north side was supported by China and the Soviet Union while the south was supported by the United Nations and United States
◦ In recent years they have been able to form some connections and there is hope for the future!
Antecedent Boundaries
are established before many people settle into an area
◦ The boundary between the United States and Canada, established in 1846, before most European American settlers moved into the territories that became the northern states
Subsequent Boundaries
are drawn in areas that have been settled by people and where cultural landscapes already exist or are in the process of being established, most common
◦ Many boundaries in Europe are examples of this, having evolved over centuries between neighboring states, more specifically France and Germany
Consequent Boundaries
a type of subsequent boundary, take into account the differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups that have distinct languages, religions, ethnicities, or other traits
◦ The borders between many of the newly formed countries in the former Yugoslavia may be called consequent because they follow ethnic and cultural divisions in the region
Superimposed Boundaries
drawn over existing accepted borders, by an outside or conquering force
◦ Occurred in Africa when European colonial powers met at the Berlin Conference, the European empires drew up the boundaries of the new countries they conquered with no regard to the culture or ethnicity of the former boundaries
Exclusive Economic Zone
an area of coastal water within 200 nautical miles of a country’s coastline to which they claim exlusive rights to fishing, drilling, and other economic activities, but they are required to maintain the living resources in this zone and not put them in danger by over exploitation
◦ China has laid claim to territory that according to the rule, falls within international waters, to solidify this claim they are building artificial islands on top of reefs in the South China Sea, but there is concern that this could result in military conflict
