Political geography Flashcards
(31 cards)
State
A politically organizational independent territory with a government, defined borders, and a permanent population; a country
Sovereignty
The right of a government to control and defend its territory and determine what happens within its borders
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
Multistate Nation
people who share a cultural or ethnic background but live in more than one country
Irredentism
Attemps by a state to acquire territories in neighboring states inhabited by people of the same nation
Multinational State
A country with various ethnicities and cultures living inside its borders
Autonomous
Having the authority to govern territories independently of the national government; for example, by having a seperate currency
Semiautonomous
Describing a region that is given partial authority to govern its territories independently from the national government
Stateless Nation
A people united by culture, language, history, and tradition but not possessing a state
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
Colonialism
The practice of claiming and dominating overseas territories
Neocolonialism
The use of economic, political, cultural, or other pressures to control or influence other countries, especially former dependencies
Choke Point
A narrow, strategic passageway to another place through which it is difficult to pass
Shatterbelts
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
Self-Determination
The right of all people to choose their own political status
Imperialism
The push to create an empire by exercising force or influence to control other nations or peoples
Devolution
The process that occurs when the central power in a state is broken up among regional authorities within its borders
Antecedent Boundary
A border established before an area becomes heavily settled
Subsequent Boundary
A border drawn in an area that has been settled and whee cultural landscapes exist or are in the process of being established
Consequent Boundary
A type of subsequent boundary that takes into account the differences that exist within a cultural landscape, separating groups that have distinct languages, religions, ethnicities, or other traits
Superimposed Boundary
A border drawn over existing accepted borders by an outside or conquering force
Geometric Boundary
A mathematically drawn boundary that typically follows lines of latitude and longitude or is a straight-line arc between two points
Relics
A former boundary that no longer has an official function
