Chapter 8: Political Geography Flashcards
City-state
A soverign state comprising of a city and its immediately surrounding countryside.
Boundary
An invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory.
Colony
A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent.
Colonialism
An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.
Frontier
A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.
Nation
A large group of people who are united by common cultural characteristics such as language and ethnicity, or by shared history. Some nations have a history of self-determination.
Federal state
An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government.
Sovereignty
The ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.
State
An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal foreign affairs. Needs to be formally recognized.
Boundary (functional) dispute
Disagreement between neighboring states over policies at common area.
Forward-thrust capital
A capital city deliberately sited in a state’s frontier zone.
Buffer state
A neutral state between two rival states that acts to prevent conflict.
Exclave
A piece of national territory separated from the main country by the territory of another country.
Enclave
A piece of national territory that exists within the territory of a different country.
Weapons of Mass Destruction
A nuclear, biological, chemical, or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures, natural structures, or the biosphere.
