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US Human Geography > Unit 4: Political Geography > Flashcards

Unit 4: Political Geography Flashcards

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1
Q

anocracy

A

a country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types
ex: Cambodia

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2
Q

Arctic Council

A

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

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3
Q

ASEAN

A

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

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4
Q

autocracy

A

a country run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
ex: Aztec Empire

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5
Q

autonomy

A

the quality or state of being self-governing

ex: balance of power

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6
Q

Baltic states

A

the first countries to withdraw from the USSR

ex: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania

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7
Q

buffer state

A

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

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8
Q

census

A

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

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9
Q

centrifugal forces

A

forces or attitudes that tend to divide a state

ex: Shiite and Sunni Muslims

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10
Q

centripetal forces

A

an attitude that unifies people and enhances support for a state
ex: shared sense of common history, a shared language, reliable national institutions

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11
Q

civil liberties

A

freedoms to think and act without government interference or fear of unfair legal treatment
ex: freedom of conscience, freedom of press, freedom of religion

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12
Q

COMECON

A

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

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13
Q

commonwealth

A

a territory that has established a mutual agreement with another state for the benefit of each
ex: Puerto Rico

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14
Q

confederation

A

a form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose
ex: United Nations

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15
Q

consequent boundary

A

where boundary lines coincide with cultural boundaries

ex: Utah Mormons

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16
Q

constitution

A

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

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17
Q

constructivism (nationalism)

A

only when a group/society has agreed on a meaning of a element or object that it will become meaningful
ex: national superiority

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18
Q

delimitation

A

the translation of the written terms of a boundary treaty into an official cartographic representation
ex: lines on a map

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19
Q

demarcation

A

boundaries identified by physical objects

ex: noted by physical objects such as walls and fences

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20
Q

democracy

A

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

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21
Q

devolution

A

the transfer of power from one central government to many local or regional governments
ex: Fall of the Soviet Union

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22
Q

electoral geography

A

the study of the interactions among space, place and region and the conduct and results of elections
ex: subfield of political geography

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23
Q

enclave

A

a piece of land that is totally surrounded by a foreign territory
ex: San Marino and the Vatican City

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24
Q

ethnonationalism

A

a form of nationalism in which the “nation” is defined in terms of ethnicity
ex: differentiation between the Gujarat and Punjab tribes of India

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25
Q

European Economic Zone

A

a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources
ex: known as the EEZ

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26
Q

European Union

A

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

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27
Q

excess vote

A

Type of gerrymandering that concentrates opposition supporters into a few districts
ex: reduces the influence of power from the party

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28
Q

exclave

A

one which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory
ex: Nakhchivan

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29
Q

failed states

A

when political or economic system becomes a weak government and is no longer in control
ex: Syria, Somalia, Myanmar

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30
Q

federal states

A

A country where governmental authority is shared among a central government and various other smaller, regional authorities
ex: sometimes referred to as federalism

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31
Q

forward thrust capital

A

a capital that is deliberately located, or relocated, to a specific region within a country
ex: Islamabad in Pakistan and Brasilia in Brazil

32
Q

geometric boundary

A

a boundary created by using lines of latitude and longitude and their associated arcs
ex: boundary between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea

33
Q

geopolitics

A

how geography affects politics and the relations between states
ex: The North American Free Trade Agreement

34
Q

gerrymandering

A

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

35
Q

Heartland Theory

A

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

36
Q

Imperialism

A

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

37
Q

irredentist movement

A

a political movement that intends to reunite a nation or reclaim a lost territory
ex: tied to nationalism

38
Q

landlocked state

A

a state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea

ex: Bolivia

39
Q

Law of the Sea

A

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

40
Q

legislative branch/duties

A

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

41
Q

liberties

A

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

42
Q

microstates

A

A country that is small in both population and area

ex: aka ministate

43
Q

multi-ethnic states

A

a state that contains more than one ethnicity

ex: Brazil, Canada, China

44
Q

multinational states

A

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

45
Q

multistate nations

A

a group of people who share a common characteristic and live in multiple states
ex: Basque, Russian, Korean

46
Q

NAFTA

A

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

47
Q

nations

A

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

48
Q

nation-states

A

a country whose political boundaries correspond with its cultural boundaries
ex: France, Egypt, Germany, and Japan

49
Q

NATO

A

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

50
Q

neocolonialism

A

control by a powerful country of its former colonies (or other less developed countries) by economic pressures
ex: Françafrique

51
Q

OAS

A

1962 international organization that promotes peace and economic progress in the Americas
ex: Organization of American States

52
Q

OAU

A

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

53
Q

periphery (countries)

A

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

54
Q

political turmoil

A

a state of confusion, uncertainty, or disorder in regards to the political wellbeing of a state
ex: Ethiopia, India, Lebanon

55
Q

Primordialism

A

nations or ethnic identities are fixed, natural and ancient

ex: works of Johann Gottlieb Fichte and Johann Gottfried Herder

56
Q

reapportionment

A

the process and outcome of a reallocation of electoral seats to defined territories
ex: congressional seats to states of the United States

57
Q

redistricting

A

the drawing of a new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes
ex: roughly every ten years

58
Q

regionalism

A

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

59
Q

republic

A

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

60
Q

Rimland Theory

A

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

61
Q

Sea Power Theory

A

believed that control of sea lanes would lead to national power
ex: evidenced by European colonial takeover strategies

62
Q

self-determination

A

the ability of a government to determine their own course of their own free will
ex: Taiwan and Somaliland

63
Q

separatists

A

English Christians who wanted to separate from the Anglican Church in the 16th and 17th centuries
ex: Pilgrims

64
Q

shatterbelts

A

a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals
ex: southeastern Europe (Balkan Peninsula)

65
Q

sovereignty

A

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

66
Q

stacked vote

A

links liked-minded, distant voters with oddly-drawn boundaries
ex: 2010 Maryland stacked in favor of the democrats, winning the house

67
Q

state morphology

A

the study of how the shape of a country can affect its culture, politics, economy, and overall well being
ex: fragmented, compact, elongated

68
Q

stateless nations

A

a nation of people without a state that it considers home

ex: Kurds, Basques, Palestinians

69
Q

states

A

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)

70
Q

supranational organizations

A

organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives
ex: The World Bank,
The World Health Organization,
World Trade Organization

71
Q

territoriality

A

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)

72
Q

terrorism

A

The use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes
ex: Madrid train bombings in 2004

73
Q

the Caucasus states

A

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

74
Q

unitary states

A

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

75
Q

wasted vote

A

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

US Human Geography (5 decks)

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