Vocab 4 Flashcards
Administer
to manage the way borders are maintained and how goods and people cross them
Antecedent boundary
a border established before an area becomes heavily settled
Autonomous
having the authority to govern territories independently of the national government; for example, by having a separate currency
Choke point
a narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass
Colonialism
the practice of claiming an dominating overseas territories
Concurrent
sharing authority
Consequent boundary
a type of subsequent boundary that takes into account the differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups that have distinct language, religions, ethnicities, or other traits
Demacrate
to place physical objects such as stones, pillars, walls, or fences to indicate where a boundary exists
Delimit
to draw boundaries on a map, in accordance with a legal agreement
Define
to explicitly state in legally binding documentation such as a treaty where boundaries are located, using reference points such as natural features or lines of latitude and longitude
Devolution
the process that occurs when the central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders
economics of scale
cost reductions that occur when production rises
electoral college
a set of people, called electors, who are chosen to elect the president and vise president of the U.S.
Ethnic clensing
the process by which a state attacks an ethnic group and tries to eliminate it through expulsion, imprisonment or killing
ethnic separation
the process by which people of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly as members of their ethnic group than as citizens of the state
ethnonationalism
the process by which the people of a country identify as having one common ethnicity, religious belief, and language, creating a sense of pride and identity that is tied to the territory; also called ethnic nationalism
Exclusive economic zone
an area that extends 200 nautical miles from a state’s coast; a state has sole access to resources found within the waters or beneath the sea floor of its EEZ
federal state
the organization of a state in which power is shared between the federal government and internal regional units
Geometric boundary
a mathematically drawn boundary that typically follows lines of latitude and longitude or is a straight-line arc between two points
gerrymandering
the dividing of legislative boundaries to give one political party an advantage in elections
imperialism
the push to create an empire by exercising force or influence to control other nations or peoples
irredentism
attempts by a state to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation
majority-minority district
an electoral district in which the majority of voters are members of an ethnic or racial minority
multinational state
a country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders
multistate nation
people who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country
nation
a cultural entity made up of people who have forged a common identity through a shared language, religion, heritage, or ethnicity—often all four of these
nation-state
a politically organized and recognized territory composed of a group of people who consider themselves to be a nation
neocolonialism
the use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies
political geography
the study of the ways in which the world is organized as a reflection of the power different groups hold over territory
reapportionment
the redistribution of representative seats among states based on shifts in population
redistricting
the redrawing of internal territorial and political boundaries
relic
a former boundary that no longer has an official function
self-determination
the right of all people to choose their own political status
semiautonomous
describing a region that is given partial authority to govern its territories independently from the national government
shatterbelt
a region where states form, join, and break up because of ongoing, sometimes violent, conflicts among parties and because they are caught between the interests of more powerful outside states
Sovereignty
the right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders
state
a politically organized independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population; a country
Stateless nation
a people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state
Subsequent boundary
a border drawn in an area that has been settled and where cultural landscapes exist or are in the process of being established
superimposed boundary
a border drawn over existing accepted borders by an outside or conquering force
supranational organization
an alliance of three or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals or to address an issue or challenge
territoriality
the attempt to influence or control people and events by delimiting and asserting control over a geographic area; the connection of people, their culture, and their economic systems to the land
unitary state
an organization of a state in which power is concentrated in a central government
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
the international agreement that established the structure of maritime boundaries
