Unit 4: Political Geography Flashcards
anocracy
a country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types
ex: Cambodia
Arctic Council
a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic
ex: members include Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland
ASEAN
an organization of countries in southeast Asia set up to promote cultural, economic and political development in the region
ex: Association of Southeast Asian Nations
autocracy
a country run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
ex: Aztec Empire
autonomy
the quality or state of being self-governing
ex: balance of power
Baltic states
the first countries to withdraw from the USSR
ex: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
buffer state
a country lying between two rival or potentially hostile greater powers, which by its sheer existence is though to prevent conflict between them
ex: Bhutan & Sikkim
census
a survey that records the population of an area, as well as certain information about that population, such as age, sex, or income
ex: asking every one in the county to report the number of family members in their household
centrifugal forces
forces or attitudes that tend to divide a state
ex: Shiite and Sunni Muslims
centripetal forces
an attitude that unifies people and enhances support for a state
ex: shared sense of common history, a shared language, reliable national institutions
civil liberties
freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment
ex: freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion
COMECON
the supranational organization created in 1949 by members of the Warsaw Pact for trade and the sharing of natural resources
ex: Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
commonwealth
a territory that has established a mutual agreement with another state for the benefit of each
ex: Puerto Rico
confederation
a form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose
ex: United Nations
consequent boundary
where boundary lines coincide with cultural boundaries
ex: Utah Mormons
constitution
the basic principles and laws of a nation, state, or social group that determine the powers and duties of the government and guarantee certain rights to the people in it
ex: US Constitution
constructivism (nationalism)
only when a group/society has agreed on a meaning of a element or object that it will become meaningful
ex: national superiority
delimitation
the translation of the written terms of a boundary treaty into an official cartographic representation
ex: lines on a map
demarcation
boundaries identified by physical objects
ex: noted by physical objects such as walls and fences
democracy
the idea that people are the ultimate sovereign-that is the people, the nation, have the ultimate say over what happens within the state
ex: US and Nigeria
devolution
the transfer of power from one central government to many local or regional governments
ex: Fall of the Soviet Union
electoral geography
the study of the interactions among space, place and region and the conduct and results of elections
ex: subfield of political geography
enclave
a piece of land that is totally surrounded by a foreign territory
ex: San Marino and the Vatican City
ethnonationalism
a form of nationalism in which the “nation” is defined in terms of ethnicity
ex: differentiation between the Gujarat and Punjab tribes of India
European Economic Zone
a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources
ex: known as the EEZ
European Union
a union of some European countries that is based to promote development within the member states through economic cooperation
ex: 27 members including Germany, France, and Italy
excess vote
Type of gerrymandering that concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts
ex: reduces the influence of power from the party
exclave
one which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory
ex: Nakhchivan
failed states
when political or economic system becomes a weak government and is no longer in control
ex: Syria, Somalia, Myanmar
federal states
A country where governmental authority is shared among a central government and various other smaller, regional authorities
ex: sometimes referred to as federalism
forward thrust capital
a capital that is deliberately located, or relocated, to a specific region within a country
ex: Islamabad in Pakistan and Brasilia in Brazil
geometric boundary
a boundary created by using lines of latitude and longitude and their associated arcs
ex: boundary between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea
geopolitics
how geography affects politics and the relations between states
ex: The North American Free Trade Agreement
gerrymandering
a practice intended to establish an unfair political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating district boundaries
ex: North Carolina’s 12th congressional district between 2003 and 2016
Heartland Theory
a geopolitical hypothesis proposed by British geographer Harold Mackinder that states that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain strength to eventually dominate the world
ex: Nazi Party
Imperialism
effort by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic and cultural principles on such territory
ex: British colonies in North America
irredentist movement
a political movement that intends to reunite a nation or reclaim a lost territory
ex: tied to nationalism
landlocked state
a state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea
ex: Bolivia
Law of the Sea
defines the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world’s oceans, establishing guidelines for businesses, the environment, and the management of marine natural resources
ex: connected to NOAA
legislative branch/duties
House and Senate, known collectively as the Congress; makes all laws, declares war, regulates interstate and foreign commerce and controls taxing and spending policies
ex: Publishing Office and Library of Congress related gov. agencies
liberties
the responsible use of freedom under the rule of law without depriving anyone else of their freedom
ex: freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion
microstates
A country that is small in both population and area
ex: aka ministate
multi-ethnic states
a state that contains more than one ethnicity
ex: Brazil, Canada, China
multinational states
state that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities
ex: Afghanistan, Belgium, Bolivia
multistate nations
a group of people who share a common characteristic and live in multiple states
ex: Basque, Russian, Korean
NAFTA
a set of trade liberalization agreements between the United States, Canada, and Mexico, went into effect on January 1, 1994
ex: The North American Free Trade Agreements
nations
a group of people with common cultural characteristics, whereas a state is an area with defined boundaries that has sovereignty within its borders
ex: Flemings, Kurds, Lakota
nation-states
a country whose political boundaries correspond with its cultural boundaries
ex: France, Egypt, Germany, and Japan
NATO
unify and strengthen the Western Allies’ military response to a possible invasion of western Europe by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies
ex: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, founded on the principle of collective defense
neocolonialism
control by a powerful country of its former colonies (or other less developed countries) by economic pressures
ex: Françafrique
OAS
1962 international organization that promotes peace and economic progress in the Americas
ex: Organization of American States
OAU
to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonization and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity amongst African States
ex: Organization of African Unity
periphery (countries)
countries that usually have low levels of economic productivity, low per capita incomes, and generally low standards of living
ex: Africa(except South Africa), parts of South America, and Asia
political turmoil
a state of confusion, uncertainty, or disorder in regards to the political wellbeing of a state
ex: Ethiopia, India, Lebanon
Primordialism
nations or ethnic identities are fixed, natural and ancient
ex: works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann Gottfried Herder
reapportionment
the process and outcome of a reallocation of electoral seats to defined territories
ex: congressional seats to states of the United States
redistricting
the drawing of a new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes
ex: roughly every ten years
regionalism
a foreign policy that defines the international interests of a country in terms of particular geographic areas
ex: free-trade areas, customs unions, common markets
republic
state in which the sovereign power resides in the whole body of the people and is exercised through elected representatives elected by them
ex: Rome
Rimland Theory
Nicholas Spykman’s theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provide the base for world conquest
ex: influential mainly during the Cold War
Sea Power Theory
believed that control of sea lanes would lead to national power
ex: evidenced by European colonial takeover strategies
self-determination
the ability of a government to determine their own course of their own free will
ex: Taiwan and Somaliland
separatists
English Christians who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church in the 16th and 17th centuries
ex: Pilgrims
shatterbelts
a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals
ex: southeastern Europe (Balkan Peninsula)
sovereignty
a principle of international relations that holds that final authority over social, economic, and political matters should rest with the legitimate rulers of independent states
ex: United States
stacked vote
links liked-minded, distant voters with oddly-drawn boundaries
ex: 2010 Maryland stacked in favor of the democrats, winning the house
state morphology
the study of how the shape of a country can affect its culture, politics, economy, and overall well being
ex: fragmented, compact, elongated
stateless nations
a nation of people without a state that it considers home
ex: Kurds, Basques, Palestinians
states
a politically bound area controlled by an established government that has authority over its internal affairs and foreign policy
ex: Iraq, South Africa, Canada (aka country)
supranational organizations
organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives
ex: The World Bank,
The World Health Organization,
World Trade Organization
territoriality
the attempt by and individual or group to affect, influence, or control people, phenomena, and relationships, by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area
ex: Italy, which completely surrounds San Marino and the Vatican, and South Africa, which completely surrounds Lesotho (more vulnerable)
terrorism
The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes
ex: Madrid train bombings in 2004
the Caucasus states
Large region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea that forms part of the traditional border between Europe and Asia
ex: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia
unitary states
a system of political organization in which most or all of the governing power resides in a centralized government, in contrast to a federal state
ex: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
wasted vote
a wasted vote is any vote which is not for an elected candidate or, more broadly, a vote that does not help to elect a candidate
ex: A, B and C receive 6000, 3100 and 701 votes. A wins, 6700 out of 9801
