APHG Unit Four Vocabulary
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)Political Geography / The study of geography involving geographic states, borders, and how humans identify with them
Territoriality / a fundamental aspect of human behavior; refers to the need to lay claim to the spaces we occupy and the things we own; relates to the need for self-identity and freedom of choice
Political Culture / a set of attitudes and practices held by a people that shapes their political behavior. It includes moral judgments, political myths, beliefs, and ideas about what makes for a good society.
Boundaries / An invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory
Frontier / a zone where no state exercises complete political control; usually uninhabited or sparsely inhabited; separates countries where a boundary cannot be found i.e. between Saudi Arabia and Yemen
Physical Boundaries / A state's border that corresponds to a natural, real-life boundary
Law of the Seas / laws establishing states' rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the Earth's waters and their resources
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Cultural Boundaries / Political boundaries formed by differences in culture, such as religion or language
Geometric Boundaries / Boundaries drawn with straight lines and arcs, as opposed to irregular lines and shapes
Balkanization / the political term used when referring to the breakup of a region or country into smaller regions or countries i.e. Yugoslavia was broken up in to six countries between 1989 and 1992centr
Shatterbelt / an area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values
Territorial Morphology / a state's physical shape
Compact State / A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
Prorupted State / An adhesive compact state with a large expansion
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Elongated State / A state with a long, narrow shape
Fragmented State / A state that includes several discontinuous territories
Perforated State / A state that completely surrounds another one
Exclaves / a country which is geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory
Enclaves / a country or part of a country mostly surrounded by the territory of another country or wholly lying within the boundaries of another country
Landlocked States / surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land
Sovereignty / ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states
Nationalism / a belief, creed or political ideology that involves an individual identifying with, or becoming attached to, one's nation.
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Internal Boundaries / type of boundary within a state, for administrative purposes or to mark off cultural regions
Positional Disputes / dispute that occurs when two states can not come to agreement where a border is
Territorial Disputes / any dispute over land ownership
Irredentism / the doctrine that a region should be controlled by the country to which they are ethnically or historically related
Resource (allocational) Disputes / dispute over a border area that contains resources
Functional Disputes / dispute that arises when neighboring states can't agree on policies that apply in a border area
States / an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs
Nations / tightly knit group of people sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Nation-States / a state whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity
Stateless Nations / a nation that doesn't fall under any state
Core Areas / countries that have high levels of development, a capacity at innovation and a convergence of trade flows
Periphery / countries that usually have less development and are poorer countries
Semiperiphery / Those newly industrialized countries with median standards of living; they offer their citizens relatively diverse economic opportunities but also have extreme gaps between rich and poor.
Multicore States / a state that has more than one dominant region in terms of economics or politics
Primate City / a city that ranks first in a nation in terms of population and economy
Forward Capital / a symbolically relocated capital city, usually because of either economic or strategic reasons; sometimes used to integrate outlying parts of a country into the state
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Electoral Geography / The study of the interactions among space, place, and region and the conduct and results of elections.
Gerrymandering / the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power (usually used to turn "too close to call" states into a party's favor)
Minority/Majority Districting / A rule by which the design of new electoral boundaries, must where possible, create electoral districts which have a majority population of some group which is a national minority
Colonialism / An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economical, and cultural principles in another territory
Imperialism / The control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society
Unitary System / an internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials
Confederal System / association of sovereign states by a treaty or agreement; deals with issues such as defense, foreign affairs, trade, and a common currency
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Federal System / a political philosophy in which a group is bound together with a governing representative head; the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national and state governments
Supranational Organizations / The term applied to associations created by three or more states for their mutual benefit and achievement of shared objectives
Centripetal Forces / an attitude that unifies people and enhances support for the state
Centrifugal Forces / religious, political, economic, conflict, etc. that causes disunity in a state
Separatist Movements / movements in which nationalities within a country may demand independence
Devolution / the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality
Ethnonationalism / The powerful emotional attachment to one's minority nation within a larger state
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Geopolitics / the study that analyzes geography, history and social science with reference to international politics; examines the political and strategic significance of geography, where geography is defined in terms of the location, size, and resources of places
Heartland Theory
Halford Mackinder / early 20th century theory that claimed whichever state controlled the resource-rich "heartland" of Eastern Europe could eventually dominate the world. It would suggest that not the UK (an ocean-based empire), but Russia (which was becoming communist) would be in position to achieve this dominance
Rimland Theory / A political theory that holds that control of Eurasia and Africa is achieved via control of the countries bordering the Soviet Union
Cold War / the state of political hostility that existed between the Soviet bloc countries and the US-led Western powers from 1945 to 1990.
Superpower /
- a very powerful and influential nation (used especially with reference to the US and the former Soviet Union when these were perceived as the two most powerful nations in the world).
Concert of Europe / represented thebalance of powerthat existed inEuropefrom the end of theNapoleonic Wars(1815) to the outbreak ofWorld War I(1914).
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
League of Nations / an international organization formed in 1920 to promote cooperation and peace among nations
Security Council / the body responsible for making decisions for the UN for peacekeeping actions
World Bank / an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes
NATO
North Atlantic Treaty Organization / An international organization created in 1949 by the North Atlantic Treaty to provide collective security to its members
Warsaw Pact / The agreement between Communist states established in 1955 that opposed NATO
OAS
Organization of American States / 1962 (OAS) international organization that promotes peace and economic progress in the Americas
Arab League / Political; Arab states, settle disputes, shape heritage, school curriculum, dealt with crime, drug abuse, labor issues, encouraged youth sports, advance role of woman
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
EU
European Union / A supranational organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members
AU
African Union / Political; All of Africa, get rid of colonization, imperialization & apartheid, became OAU in 1999 & goal was to take role of global economy
ASEAN
Association of South East Asia Nations / Political; 1967 in Thailand, southeast countries, accelerate economic growth, social progress, & cultural development
OPEC
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries / Economic; started at Bagdad in 1960, coordinate and unify petroleum prices
UN
United Nations / Most important, created after WWII, in 1945 including 49 stated, in 2006 192 states. 1955, 1960 & 1990 biggest addition of members
WTO
World Trade Organization / Economic; worldwide, negotiate trade, settlements and trade disputes
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement / Economic; 1992, U.S, Canada, & Mexico, get rid of tariffs and barriers, over 15 years
Fiscal Policies / the means by which a government adjusts its spending levels and tax rates to monitor and influence a nation's economy.
Term / Definition / Example / Illustration (in color)
Democratization / the transition to a more democratic political regime.
Civil Liberties / are personal guarantees and freedoms that the government cannot abridge, either by law or by judicial interpretation.
Liberal Democracies / is a form of government in which representative democracy operates under the principles of liberalism, i.e. protecting the rights of the individual
Illiberal Democracies / a governing system in which, although elections take place, citizens are cut off from knowledge about the activities of those who exercise real power because of the lack of civil liberties
Market Economies / aneconomyin which decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution are based on supply and demand, and prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system.
Privatization / the process of transferring an enterprise or industry from the public sector to the private sector
Fragmentation / the process or state of breaking or being broken into small or separate parts.