Unit 4

Question 1

What is a State?

Answer 1

A state is a country.

Question 2

What is a Nation?

Answer 2

A nation is a group of people with a common political identity.

Question 3

What is a State-less nation?

Answer 3

A state-less nation is a group of people who don’t have their own state.

Question 4

What is a Nation-state?

Answer 4

A nation-state is a country that is formed of the same nation.

Question 5

What is Federalism?

Answer 5

Federalism is when governments give autonomous powers to local governments instead of controlling everything centrally.

Question 6

What is Devolution?

Answer 6

Devolution is the process in which countries delegate powers to lower levels of government like state and country.

Question 7

What are Unitary states?

Answer 7

Unitary states are states that give little or no autonomy to their local governments.

Question 8

What is Reapportionment/Redistricting?

Answer 8

Reapportionment/Redistricting is when congressional districts are redrawn after a census to reflect changes in population.

Question 9

What is Gerrymandering?

Answer 9

Gerrymandering is redistricting to favor one candidate over another.

Question 10

What are Microstates?

Answer 10

Microstates are tiny countries such as Vatican City and San Marino.

Question 11

What is a Fragmented state?

Answer 11

A fragmented state is one whose territory consists of several non-contiguous pieces.

Question 12

What is an Elongated state?

Answer 12

An elongated state is a country whose territory has a long, narrow shape, extending significantly in one direction compared to others.

Question 13

What is a Perforated state?

Answer 13

A perforated state is one that completely surrounds another country.

Question 14

What is a Landlocked state?

Answer 14

A landlocked state is completely surrounded by water.

Question 15

What is a Prorupted state?

Answer 15

A prorupted state is a country with a large, projecting extension or ‘panhandle’ that sticks out from its main territory.

Question 16

What is an Exclave?

Answer 16

An exclave is a detached piece of a country that lies completely within another country.

Question 17

What are Physical boundaries?

Answer 17

Physical boundaries follow physical features.

Question 18

What are Geometric boundaries?

Answer 18

Geometric boundaries follow straight lines and have little to do with natural or cultural landscape.

Question 19

What are Subsequent boundaries?

Answer 19

Subsequent boundaries are drawn after a population has established itself and respect that.

Question 20

What are Antecedent boundaries?

Answer 20

Antecedent boundaries are made before anyone settled in that area.

Question 21

What are Superimposed boundaries?

Answer 21

Superimposed boundaries are drawn after a population has settled there and don’t respect culture.

Question 22

What is a Relic boundary?

Answer 22

A relic boundary no longer exists, but has left an imprint on the culture or environment.

Question 23

What are Centrifugal forces?

Answer 23

Centrifugal forces pull countries apart.

Question 24

What is Balkanization?

Answer 24

Balkanization is the political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries.

Question 25

What are Enclaves?

Answer 25

Enclaves are small and relatively homogenous groups or regions surrounded by another group or region.

Question 26

What are Centripetal forces?

Answer 26

Centripetal forces bind countries together.

Question 27

What is Nationalism?

Answer 27

Nationalism is the feeling that one’s country should be internally cohesive and should have political autonomy.

Question 28

What is a Frontier?

Answer 28

A frontier is an area where borders are shifting and weak, where peoples of different cultures and nationalities meet and lay claim to the land.

Question 29

What are Buffer states?

Answer 29

Buffer states are relatively small countries sandwiched between two larger powers.

Question 30

What is Imperialism?

Answer 30

Imperialism is when a country exerts cultural or economic power without aid of government institutions. ## Footnote Example: The US is a dominant imperial power because its culture and economics affect people all around the world.

Question 31

What is Self-determination?

Answer 31

Self-determination is the right of a nation to govern itself.

Question 32

What is Organic theory/geopolitics?

Answer 32

Organic theory/geopolitics states that a nation must expand or they will disintegrate.

Question 33

What is Lebensraum?

Answer 33

Lebensraum is Hitler's expansionist theory to acquire living space for the German people based on geopolitical theory.

Question 34

What is the Heartland theory?

Answer 34

Heartland theory is Mackinder’s theory that the great geographical point of human history was in northern and Central Asia and he who rules the heartland rules the world. Many people disagreed.

Question 35

What is Rimland?

Answer 35

Rimland is the area surrounding the heartland.

Question 36

What is an International organization?

Answer 36

An international organization is an alliance of 2 or more countries without giving up either's autonomy or self-determination.

Question 37

What is a Supranational organization?

Answer 37

A supranational organization is similar to international organizations but members must relinquish some of their sovereignty.

Question 38

What is the East/west divide?

Answer 38

The East/west divide refers to the division between democratic countries in the west and communist countries in the east.

Question 39

What is the Domino theory?

Answer 39

The domino theory suggests that if communism caught on in a few key countries, then many others would fall as well.

Question 40

What is the North/south divide?

Answer 40

The North/south divide refers to the wealthier countries in the north and poorer countries in the south.