State

independent states are primary building blocks of the world political map

Nation

a group of people with a common identity through shared cultural traits such as language, religion, ethnicity, and heritage

Nation-State

when the borders of the nation match the borders of the state - a state with (ideally) only one nation within it

Multinational State

a country with various ethnicities and cultures within its borders

Stateless Nation

nations of people without a state to occupy

Multistate Nation

consists of a nation of people that live in more than one state

Autonomous Region

a part of a country that has a degree of self-governance and power over its own affairs

Semiautonomous Region

a region that has some control over its own affairs, but is also controlled by another state

Sovereignty

a states authroity to control its territory and govern itself

Self-determination

the right of all people to govern themselves.

Decolonization

the process of ending colonialism, which is when a country takes control of another country's resources, land, and culture

Devolution

due to centrifugal forces, power is shifted from the central government or administeration to regional authorities which are usually reflective to nation

Berlin Conference

a meeting of European colonial powers that took place in Berlin, Germany to draw political boundries in Africa

Territoriality

the control and influence over a specific geographic space

Neocolonialism

the use of economic, cultural, political, or other pressures in oder to control or influence other countries

Shatterbelts

instability within a region that is geographically located between states with overlapping territoriality and political power

Balkanization

the process of a country or region breaking up into smaller, hostile units

Choke Point

a narrow geographical feature, like a strait, or canal, where the movement of people, goods, or military forces can be easily restricted or controlled, often giving significant strategic advantage to the country that controls it

Antecendent

borders that are established before there has been a major settlement by people in a territory

Subsequent

borders that are drawn in areas that have been settled by people, typically due to changes that have occured over time

Consequent

type of subsequent boundry - takes into account the existing cultural distribution of the people living in the territory and redevolops boundary lines to more closely align with cultural boundries

Superimposed

borders that is drawn over exisiting and accepted borders by an outside force

Geometric

borders that are established on straight lines of latitude and longitude instead of physical or cultural boundries

Relic

border that no longer exists, but has left some imprint on the local cultural or environmental geography

Defined

countries legally define and agree to where borders are located through an agreement or treaty

Delimted

identifying the location of the defined boundries on a map, usually at the same time that boundries are defined and done through a legal designation

Demarcated

visible marking of the landscape with objects, such as fences or signs

Administered

legal management of the border through laws, immigration regulation, documentation, and presecution

Defintional boundry dispute

a disagreement between countries or regions over the interpretation of the legal definition of a boundary

Locational boundry dispute

a disagreement between countries or groups regarding the precise location of a political border

Operational boundry dispute

a disagreement over how to manage a border between two political entities

Allocational boundry dispute

a conflict between countries or regions regarding the rights to access and utilize shared natural resources like water, oil, or minerals located near or across their border

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

an international treaty that establishes legal guidelines for maritime activities, defining boundaries between countries' territorial waters, exclusive economic zones, and the high seas

Territorial Sea

a maritime zone extending 12 nautical miles from a country's coastline

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)

a maritime area extending 200 nautical miles from a country's coastline, where that nation has sovereign rights to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage the natural resources found within the seabed, subsoil, and water column, including fish stocks and mineral deposits

Census

Official population count that also includes data on age, race and sex. It is conducted every 10 years

Reapportionment

Process in which U.S. House of Representative seats are re-allocated to different states, based off of population change.

Electoral College

Organization that utilizes the popular vote to then vote for president. Loss of congressional seat = Loss of electoral College seat

Redistricting

State's internal political boundaries that determine voting districts for the US house of reprsentatives and the state legislature. Redrawn to accurately reflect the new census data.

Voting District

A geographic term used by state and local governments to organize elections.

Gerrymandering

Redistricting for a political advantage, when the political party that controls a majority of seats in the state legislature draws political district boundaries to maintain or extend their political power.

Packing

Clustering like-minded voters into a single district, thereby allowing the other party to win the remaining districts.

Cracking

Dispersing like-minded voters among multiple districts in order to minimize their impact and prevent them from gaining a majority.

Representative Districts

The ideal, in which the voting districts are equal in population, contiguous and compact. They are truly representative of the people living in the district.

Federal

A style of government in which power is shared between central ,regional and local governments.

Unitary

A style of government in which power is centerally located and the purpose of regional or local units is to carry out policy.

Ethnic Separatism

people of a particular ethnicity in a multinational state identify more strongly with their ethnic group than as citizens of the state

Ethnic Cleansing

State governments attack an ethnic group in an attempt to try to eliminate them through expulsion ,imprisonment or mass murder.

Terrorism

organized violence aimed at government and civilian targets that is intended to create fear in order to acomplish political aims.

Irredentism

A majority ethnic group wants to claim territory from a neighboring state due to a shared culture with the people residing across the border.

Supranational Organization

An alliance of 3 or more states that work together in pursuit of common goals

United Nations (UN)

an organization of the world's countries that promotes peace and security around the globe

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

a group of 28 countries that has agreed to protect each other in case of attack; founded in 1949

European Union (EU)

a free trade zone encompassing 27 European countries

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

a trade alliance that promotes trade and economic integration among member nations in Southeast Asia

World Trade Organization (WTO)

a permanent global institution to promote international trade and to settle international trade disputes

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

an international economic organization whose member countries all produce and export oil

Regionalism

the political, economic, and cultural development of a distinct geographic region

Ethnonationalism

a political ideology where a nation is defined primarily by a shared ethnicity