AP Human Geography Barron’s Ch.5 Vocab – Flashcards
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| antecedent boundaries |
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| boundary line established before an area is populated |
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| balkanization |
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| the contentious political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries |
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| buffer state |
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| a relatively small country sandwiched between two larger powers. The existence of this may help prevent dangerous conflicts between powerful countries. |
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| centrifugal force |
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| forces that tend to divide a country |
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| centripetal forces |
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| forces that tend to unite or bind a country together |
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| colonialism |
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| the expansion and perpetuation of an empire |
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| Commonwealth of Independent States |
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| confederacy of independent states of the former USSR that have united because of their common economic and administrative needs |
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| compact state |
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| a state that possesses a roughly circular, oval, or rectangular territory in which the distance from the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions |
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| confederation |
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| a form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose |
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| Domino Theory |
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| the idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to collapse of political stability in neighboring countries, starting a chain reaction of collapse |
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| East/West divide |
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| geographic separation between the largely democratic and free market countries of W. Europe and the Americas from the communist and socialist countries of E. Europe and Asia |
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| Electoral College |
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| A certain number of electorics from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state's population. Each elector chooses a candidate believing they are representing their constituency's choice. The candidate who receives a higher proportion of electoral votes within a state receives all the electoral votes for that state |
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| electoral vote |
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| the decision of a particular state elector that represents the dominant views of that elector's state |
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| elongated state |
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| a state whose territory is long and narrow in shape |
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| enclaves |
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| any small and relatively homogenous group or region surrounded by another larger and different group or region |
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| European Union |
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| International organization comprised of W. European countries to promote free trade among members |
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| exclave |
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| a bounded territory that is part of a particular state but is separated from it by the territory of a different state |
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| Federalism |
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| a system of government in which power is distributed among certain geographical territories rather than concentrated within a central government |
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| fragmented state |
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| a state that is not a contiguous whole but rather separated parts |
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| frontier |
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| an area where borders are shifting and weak and where people of different cultures or nationalities meet and lay claim to the land |
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| geometric boundary |
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| political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines |
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| geopolitics |
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| the study of the interplay between political relations and the territorial context in which they occur |
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| gerrymandering |
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| the designation of voting districts so as to favor a particular political party or candidate |
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| Heartland Theory |
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| Hypothesis formed by Halford Mackinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world |
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| Imperialism |
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| the perpetuation of a colonial empire even after it is no longer politically sovereign |
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| international organization |
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| an alliance of two or more countries seeking cooperation with each other without giving up either's autonomy or self-determination |
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| landlocked state |
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| a state that is completely surrounded by the land of other states, which gives it a disadvantage in terms of accessibility to and from international trade routes |
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| Law of the Sea |
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| law establishing states' rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the earth's seas, oceans, and their resources |
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| lebensraum |
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| Hitler's expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire "living space" for the German people |
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| microstate |
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| a state or territory that is small in both population and area |
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| nation |
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| tightly knit group of individuals sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes |
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| nationalism |
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| a sense of national pride to such an extent of exalting on nation above all others |
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| nation-state |
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| a country whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity and unity |
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| North American Free Trade Agreement |
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| agreement signed on January 1, 1994 that allows the opening of borders between the USA, Canada, and Mexico |
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| North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
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| An international organization that has joined together for military purposes |
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| North/South divide |
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| the economic division between the wealthy countries of Europe, N. America, Japan, and Australia, and the generally poorer countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America |
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| organic theory |
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| the view that states resemble biological organisms with life cycles that include states of youth, maturity, and old age |
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| Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries |
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| an international economic organization whose member countries produce and export oil |
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| perforated state |
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| a state whose territory completely surrounds that of another state |
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| physical boundary |
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| political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers |
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| political geography |
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| spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes |
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| popular vote |
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| the tall of each individual's vote within a given geographic area |
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| prorupted state |
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| a state that exhibits a narrow, elongated land extension leading away from the main territory |
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| reapportionment |
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| the process of a reallocation of electoral seats to defined territories |
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| rectangular state |
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| a state whose territory is rectangular in shape |
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| redistricting |
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| the drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes |
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| relic boundaries |
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| old political boundaries that no longer exist as international borders, but that have left an enduring mark on the local cultural or environmental geography |
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| Rimland Theory |
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| Nicholas Spykman's theory that the domination of the costal fringes of Eurasia would provide the base for world conquest |
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| self-determination |
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| the right of a nation to govern itself autonomously |
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| sovereignty |
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| supreme of independent political power |
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| state |
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| a politically organized territory that is administered by a sovereign government and is recognized by the international community |
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| states' rights |
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| rights and powers believed to be in the authority of the state rather than the federal government |
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| subsequent boundaries |
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| boundary line established after an area has been settled that considers the social and cultural characteristics of the area |
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| superimposed boundaries |
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| boundary line drawn in an area ignoring the existing cultural patterns |
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| supranational organization |
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| organization of 3 or more states to promote shared objectives |
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| territorial dispute |
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| any dispute over land ownership |
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| territorial organization |
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| political organization that distributes political power in more easily governed units of land |
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| Theocracy |
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| a state whose government is either believed to be divinely guided or a state under the control of a group of religious leaders |
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| unitary state |
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| a state governed constitutionally as a unit without internal divisions or a federalist delegation of powers |
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| United Nations |
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| a global supranational organization established at the end of WWII to foster international security and cooperation |
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| balance of power |
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| condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries |
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| boundary |
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| invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory |
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| city-state |
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| a sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterlands |
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| colony |
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| a territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent |
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| federal state |
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| an internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government |
