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political geography
spatial perspective on political systems and processes at many scales
nation
population with a common culture, history, ethnicity
state
defined territory under the control of a sovereign government
sovereignty
when a state has independence, territory, one government, and international recognition
citizenship
legal identity of a person based on the state where he or she was born or naturalized as an immigrant
country
identifiable land area
nation-state
area where a nation and state coincide; defined territory under a sovereign government with a single, unified cultural group or national identity; an ethnicity has been transformed into a nationality
multiethnic state
state that contains more than one ethnicity
stateless nation
cultural group without a sovereign government or recognized territory; where a culture group is not included or allowed to share in the political process
multistate nation
a nation/cultural group that transcends the borders of two or more states
city-state
sovereign state made up of a city and its immediately surrounding countryside
frontier
zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control
federal state
internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government
unitary state
internal organization of state that places most power in the hands of central government officials
territorial morphology
study of states' shapes and their effects
elongated state
state with a long, narrow shape
prorupted state
otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension
compact state
state that posses a roughly circular shape from which the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions; state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly
microstate
state that encompasses a very small land area
landlocked state
state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea
perforated state
state that completely surrounds another one
fragmented state
state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
centripetal force
an attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state
centrifugal force
a force that divides people and countries
irredentism
movement intended to reclaim or reoccupy lost or unredeemed land, usually based on real or imagined national/historic/ethnic connections
ethnonationalism
tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence
shatter belt
geographic area where conflict erupts because of cultural boundaries
enclave
piece of territory completely surrounded by another territory of which it is not a part
exclave
outlier, or piece of a territory, that is completely enclosed within the borders of another country
devolution
transfer of some important powers from central governments to smaller-scale governments (example: power transferred from Texas government to City of McAllen)
nationalism
love of country and willingness to sacrifice for it
separatism
striving to become separate from a larger group
imperialism
use of military threat, cultural domination, and econmic sanctions to gain control of a country and its resources
colony
territory legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent
colonialism
attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory
decolonization
process by which former colonies gain their independence from their former colonizer/mother country
self-determination
idea that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves
Balkanization
a process when a country breaks down into smaller pieces because of ethnic differences
terrorism
systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands
democratization
action of making something democratic
democracy
country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office
autocracy
country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
anocracy
country that is not fully democratic or fully autocratic, but rather displays a mix of the two types
territoriality
effort to control pieces of the earth's surface for personal, political, or social ends
boundary
invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory
superimposed boundary
boundary forced on a territory after existing boundaries are already in place
antecedent boundary
boundary placed before the cultural landscape was developed
subsequent boundary
boundary drawn after a cultural landscape is already in place
relic boundary
old boundary between countries that is no longer used
consequent boundary
type of subsequent boundary drawn to accomodate existing linguistic, cultural, or religious boundaries
operational boundary dispute
dispute over management of a boundary
locational boundary dispute
dispute over where a boundary is placed
allocational boundary dispute
dispute over who owns resources
definitional boundary dispute
dispute over language issues
balance of power
condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries
electoral process
methods used in a country for selecting leaders
gerrymandering
process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
supranationalism
concept of two or more sovereign states aligned together for a common purpose; United Nations, World Health Organization, UNICEF, European Union
economies of scale
increase in efficiency of production as the number of goods being produced increases (ex. Henry Ford's assembly line and mass production of Ford cars)
transnational
involving more than one country
confederation
alliance of independent states
command economy
production of goods and seervices is determined by a central government
Mackinder's heartland theory
by examining Britain's global empire, Mackinder concluded that a land-based, not sea-based, power would rule the world. Eurasia is the area of the earth where there are human and natural resources necessary for world domination
heartland
(Halford Mackinder) early 20th c. theory that claimed whichever state controlled the resource-rich "heartland" of Eastern Europe could eventually dominate the world. It would suggest that not the United Kingdom (an ocean-based empire), but Russia (which was becoming communist) would be in a position to achieve this dominance. "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island (Europe, Asia & Africa); who rules the World-Island controls the world."
rimland
(Nicholas Spykman) mid 20th c. theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia (the "rimland") would provide the base for world conquest (not the "heartland"). Capital city: principle city in a state or country. The best place to locate a capital is at the center of a country, so it is a somewhat equal distance from all parts of the country.
domino theory
theory prevalent during the Cold War Era that once a country became communist, its neighbors were likely to soon become communist also
forward capital
capital city located away from the core region for economic or political reasons in a symbolic gesture
exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
area (usually 370 km) from the shore in which a state has rights to explore, exploit, and manage natural resources in the seas
primate city
a city that is at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant (not just the largest city in a country)
rank-size rule
rule proposed by Zipf that states that if all cities in a country are placed in order from the largest to the smallest, the second largest city would have about 1/2 the population of the largest city, the third largest city would have about 1/3 of the population of the largest city, the fourth largest city about 1/4 the population of the largest city, etc.
market economy
production of goods and services is determined by the demand of customers