Unit four vocab Flashcards
(25 cards)
reapportionment
Congressional apportionment (or reapportionment) is the process of dividing seats for the House among the 50 states following the decennial census.
stateless nation
Cultural groups that have no independent political entity of their own.
redistricting
Redistricting is the process of redrawing the boundaries of electoral districts to reflect changes in population and ensure fair representation.
failed state
a country that has lost the ability to effectively govern its territory and people
nation
A group of people who share a common cultural heritage and have the desire to express their self determination.
autonomous region
a geographical area within a larger state that has a degree of self-governance.
unitary
A country where governmental authority is held primarily by the central government.
organic theory
States are born and need nourishment and living space to survive, which they get by annexing territory from weaker states. A state has to grow or it will cease to exist.
neocolonialism
A form of imperialism when more powerful states exert indirect control over less powerful ones.
federal
A country where governmental authority is shared among a central government and various other smaller regional authorities.
colonialism
A particular type of imperialism in which move into and settle on the land of another country.
shatterbelt
A region that suffers instability because it is caught between two very different powers that do not get along
irredentism
Annexation of another state’s territory on the basis of shared culture, history or ethnicity
Heartland Theory
Land-based power is essential in achieving global domination. Controlling the Heartland (Eastern Europe, Russia, Central Asia) would lead to domination of the Rimland (area in Eurasia beyond Heartland) and command of the entire world.
Multistate Nation
When a nation has a state of its own but also stretches across the borders of other states
Centrifugal
A force that tends to break states apart or prevent them from forming.
imperialism
A variety of ways of influencing another country or group of people, by direct conquest, economic control, or cultural dominance.
satellite state
When one state is dominated by another politically and economically
nation-state
a sovereign state where the majority of the population shares a common culture, history, language, and identity
devolution
The transfer of political power from the central government to lower, subnational levels of government
gerrymandering
The practice of manipulating district boundary lines in an effort to secure an advantage for a political party. Usually evident in oddly shaped districts.
centripetal
A force that unifies people, often leading to the creation or strengthening of states
sovereignty
The power of a political unit to govern itself.
subnationalism
When peoples’ primary allegiance is to a traditional group or ethnicity, rather than to the state
