unit 4 vocab

Question 1

authoritarian government

Answer 1

a government in which one leader or group of people holds absolute power

Question 2

autonomous region

Answer 2

a region that has some autonomy

Question 3

Balkanization

Answer 3

process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Question 4

centrifugal forces

Answer 4

forces that force people apart

Question 5

centripetal forces

Answer 5

forces that pull people together

Question 6

colonialism

Answer 6

an attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its principles in another territory

Question 7

democracy

Answer 7

a political system in which the supreme power lies in a body of citizens who can elect people to represent them

Question 8

devolution

Answer 8

the transfer of political power from the central government to subnational levels of government

Question 9

multi-national state

Answer 9

a country that contains more than one nation, like Canada

Question 10

multi-state nation

Answer 10

a nation or cultural group that is divided across 2 or more state borders

Question 11

nation

Answer 11

a group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity

Question 12

nation-state

Answer 12

a singular nation of people who fulfill the qualifications of a state

Question 13

semi-autonomous region

Answer 13

a region that is largely self governing within a larger political or organizational entity, like the states in the United States

Question 14

self-determination

Answer 14

the ability of the government to determine their own course of their own free will

Question 15

state

Answer 15

formal term for a country—must have a defined boundary, a permanent population, must maintain sovereignty over its domestic and international affairs, and must be recognized by other states

Question 16

imperialism

Answer 16

a variety of ways of influencing another country or group of people, by direct conquest, economic control, or by cultural dominance

Question 17

colonialism

Answer 17

a particular type of imperialism in which people move in and settle on the land of another country

Question 18

decolonization

Answer 18

colonial territories becoming independent

Question 19

neocolonialism

Answer 19

a form of colonization where control over developing countries is being exerted through indirect means, whether economic, political, or even cultural power

Question 20

geopolitics

Answer 20

the study of the effects of geography on politics and relations among states

Question 21

territoriality

Answer 21

a willingness by one person or a group of people to defend space they claim

Question 22

shatterbelt

Answer 22

a region that is strategically located, deeply internally divided, and encompassed in the competition between the great powers

Question 23

choke point

Answer 23

a strategic strait or canal which is narrow, hard to pass through, and has competition for use

Question 24

geometric boundary

Answer 24

a straight line drawn by people that does not follow any physical features closely

Question 25

cultural boundary

Answer 25

a boundary based on a human trait or behavior; it often exists in the midst of a gradual change over space

Question 26

natural (physical) boundary

Answer 26

a boundary based on physical features to separate entities

Question 27

antecedent boundary

Answer 27

boundaries that have existed before the first human settlements

Question 28

relict (relic) boundary

Answer 28

boundaries that no longer exist but still impact the cultural landscape, such as the Berlin Wall

Question 29

subsequent boundary

Answer 29

boundaries that are based on different ethnic groups—culture is the defining factor of the boundary

Question 30

consequent boundary

Answer 30

boundaries that are used to divide different cultural groups and accommodate their differences

Question 31

superimposed boundaries

Answer 31

boundaries that are created by a foreign state, such as the Scramble For Africa

Question 32

frontier

Answer 32

geographic area where borders are weak and/or not enforced

Question 33

morphology

Answer 33

a state’s shape

Question 34

median line principle

Answer 34

drawing a boundary that is midway between two or more states’ coasts

Question 35

federal states

Answer 35

state with separation of powers between federal/national government and state/province governments

Question 36

unitary states

Answer 36

states where laws are administered uniformly by one central government

Question 37

redistricting

Answer 37

redrawing of Congressional and other legislative district lines after the census,to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population

Question 38

communism

Answer 38

an economic system in which the central government directs all major economic decisions

Question 39

republic

Answer 39

state in which political power rests with the public through their representatives

Question 40

irredentism

Answer 40

process by which part of an existing state breaks away and merges with another

Question 41

gerrymandering

Answer 41

the process by which voting districts are drawn in strange shapes in order to engineer the outcome of elections

Question 42

demilitarized zone (DMZ)

Answer 42

a region where no military forces or weapons are permitted

Question 43

supranationalism

Answer 43

the association of three or more states for mutual benefit