Unit 4 Key Terms Flashcards
What is Political Geography?
the world is divided based on the power a group claims over an area
What is a state?
a country boundary created by humans
What is a nation?
a group with shared traits/identity
What is a Nation-State?
a common group of people that claim a state(like Japan)
What are stateless nations?
demanding separation with legitimate support, but no independence
What is a Multistate Nation?
people who share a dedicated background, but live in various countries
What is a Multinational State?
a country with a variety of ethnicites/cultures within it
What is Sovereignty?
fully independent, ability to make decisions and the chance to defend
What is self-determination?
the people’s right to make decisions
What does it mean to be autonomous?
a region of a country that is given some authority to govern themselves
what does it mean to be semi-autonomous?
areas of the country that operate under specified political differences
What is territoriality?
attempt at claiming an area to influence or control; demonstration of power(“flex”)
What is imperialism?
the push to expand influence into weaker territories
What is Colonialism?
European establishment of power and control starting in the 16th century(colonies)
What is Neocolonialism?
modern day influence(political/economic) in sovereign states
What is a choke point?
a heavily used passageway that promotes conflict/competition - POWER (passes or straits)
What is a shatterbelt?
long standing instability within a state typically caused by outside powers/influence(Balkan Pennisula or Southwest Asia)
What is Devolution?
the powerful nation is removed or falls apart and a sovereign state is created
What is a Delimit?
borders drawn on a map by humans
What is demarcated?
borders based on walls or rivers
What does it mean to administer?
to monitor border passages
What is an antecedent?
a boundary decided upon prior to the arrival of many people (boundary between US and Canada)
What is a Subsequent?
when something is decided by people already living in a location
What is a Consequent?
take into account cultural differences
What does it mean when something is Superimposed?
when an outside group draws borders
What are relics?
borders no longer used
What is Maritime?
a boundary that exists miles off the coastline allowing countries access/resources
What is the United Nations Convention On The Law of the Sea(UNCLOS)
established in 1982 that a Maritime border extends 12 nautical miles out
What are international waters?
the area beyond…
What is a Federal State?
when power is held in regional unit (United States or Canadian Provinces)
What is a Unitary State?
when power is heavily held by a central group (UK or Japan)
What is Theocracy?
when power is guided via a divine being
What is Autocracy?
when one person rules, gained by ruthless military fore or extreme tactics
What are States’ Rights?
in a Federal government, individual states can make their own decision
What is Democratization?
an expanding ideology that promotes people’s representation via elections
What is communism?
elimination of class system (No Rich/poor)
What is the East/West Divide?
PAST seperation of the largely democratic West versus the communist East (Cold War)
What is the Domino Theory?
a Western fear that if one state falls to communism then others will follow
What was the North/South Divide?
wealthy nations in Northern hemisphere versus the poorer nations in the South (money)
What is Reapportionment?
seats in the House of Representatives are relocated when populations change
Who is the Electoral College?
U.S. citizens do not directly elect the president, instead they vote for electors who cast their votes based on majority in their state (538 votes in electoral college / 270 to win)
What is Redistricting?
after each census is complete political boundaries are changed(redrawn)
What is Gerrymandering?
redrawing of district boundaries to benefit a single political party
What is packing and cracking?
Gerrymandering districts to either pack one group into a single district or splitting them into multiple districts ; sway votes and power
What are Majority-Minority Districts
Gerrymandering districts that were designed to be made up of mostly minority groups has led to better balance
What is Ethnic Separatism?
People of a particular ethnicity demand a ‘break-up’ from a sovereign state
What is Balkanization?
the idea based on the separation of one state breaking into smaller states (Balkan Peninsula)
What is Nationalism?
a sense of national pride in one’s state
What is an Enclave?
a separate region with differences surrounded by a bigger region (aka : Microstate)
What is an Exclave?
a portion of a state that is located mostly in another state (Hawaii or Alaska)
What are Buffer States?
a small country between two larger countries that are often at odds with one another
