AP Human Geography, Unit 4, Political Geography, Key Issue Packet – Flashcards

Unlock all answers in this set

Unlock answers
question
Define a Nation
answer
-culturally defined group of people -shared past, common future -relate to a territory and have political goals
question
Qualities of a Nation
answer
-single language -common history -similar ethnic background
question
Examples of a Nation
answer
Germany, Scots, Greece, Israel, Iran, Palestinians
question
What is a Nation-State
answer
-homogeneity of territory and culture
question
Qualities of a Nation-State
answer
-clear territory -boundaries match one ethnicity (or close) -substantial population
question
Examples of a Nation State
answer
Japan, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Israel, Turkey
question
What is a State
answer
-politically organized territory -permanent population -defined territory -government
question
Qualities of a State
answer
-provides services -demands taxes and adherence to laws
question
Examples of a State
answer
Spain, United Kingdom, Russia, Iraq, Germany
question
What is a Stateless-Nation
answer
-group of people with no state
question
Qualities of a Stateless-Nation
answer
-found in and across nation-states -lack sovereignty -lack a territory
question
Examples of a Stateless-Nation
answer
Kurds, Palestinians
question
State Characteristics
answer
size: big vs small demography: big vs small organization: democracy, monarchy, dictatorship, etc resources: natural or skilled population development: subsistence to tertiary power: both economic and military
question
Define sovereignty
answer
independence from control of its internal affairs by other states
question
List the 6 largest states in order
answer
1. Russia 2. Canada 3. United States 4. China 5. Brazil 6. Australia
question
How many micro states are recognized
answer
two dozen
question
What do many micro states have in common
answer
-many are islands -less than 1,000 square kilometers -most in Southern Hemisphere
question
Examples of micro states
answer
Monaco, Maldives, Bahrain, Dominica, Singapore, Barbados
question
When was the United Nations (UN) established? By whom?
answer
-end of world war II -by the Allies
question
Reasons memberships in the UN grew significantly
answer
1955- European countries liberated from Nazi Germany 1960- there were only 4 African states 1990's- break up of Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, & admission of several microstates
question
Who are the five permanent members of the Security Council?
answer
China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and United States
question
Problem UN faces
answer
hard to keep peace
question
What part of Earth's surface are not part of a state?
answer
south pole
question
What states have laid claim to Antarctica
answer
Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom
question
Describe the Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959
answer
-no military activities -no one can own the land -research stations are permitted
question
What happened to the Arctic in 1982?
answer
Countries were permitted to submit a claim to it
question
Why do states want to lay claim in the Arctic?
answer
thought to be rich in energy resources
question
Define self-determination
answer
ethnicities have the right to govern themselves
question
What is a multi ethnic state?
answer
state that contains more than one ethnicity
question
What is a multinational state?
answer
country that contains more than one ethnicity with traditions of self-determination
question
Why is Denmark a fairly good example of a nation-state
answer
90% are Danes
question
List and describe the two regions of Denmark that prevent the country from being a perfect nation-state
answer
Faeroe Islands- 21 islands, nearly 50,000 inhabitants speak Faeroe Greenland- only 12% are considered Danish, the rest are Greenlanders who control their own affairs
question
How did communists suppress the issues of ethnicity and nationalism?
answer
-discouraged expressing cultural uniqueness -organized religion was minimized -centripetal forces -use of Russian languages
question
With the fall of Communist governments in the 1990's, what kind of problems have arisen in what places? Why?
answer
Problems occurred in the Balkans (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia) where nation-states could not be outlined peacefully. Countries were dismantled because minority ethnicities opposed dominance by majority ethnicities
question
When the Soviet Union dissolved, how many countries formed?
answer
-15 in the 1990's -countries based on ethnicities -other than Russia, they can be divided into 4 groups based on location
question
Baltic Region of former Soviet Union created what 3 states
answer
Lithuania (closest to nation-state), Estonians, Lativans
question
Eastern Europe of former Soviet Union created what 3 states
answer
Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova (all are examples of nation-states)
question
Central Asia of former Soviet Union created what 5 states
answer
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan
question
Caucasus of former Soviet Union created what 3 states
answer
Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia
question
Note the major religion and language of each of the Baltic States, (Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia)
answer
Estonia- Lutheran, speak Uralic, related to Finish Lithuania- Catholic, speak language in Balto-Slavic branch Latvia- Lutheran and catholic minority, speak language in Balto-Slavic branch
question
The ethnic divisions among the Eastern European states are blurred for what reasons?
answer
They speak East Slavic languages and all are Orthodox Christians
question
What did the majority of Moldovans want when they gained independence? Who opposed this?
answer
reunification with Romania Ukrainians and Russians in Moldova opposed
question
Where are the ethnic problems in Central Asia?
answer
Tajikistan- tension between Tajiks and Uzbeks, fighting left 15% homeless Kazakhstan_ tension between Kazakhs and Russians, but coexist peacefully
question
How many different nationalities (ethnicities) are found in the multinational state of Russia?
answer
39
question
For what two reasons does Russia resist the independence movement of Chechnya?
answer
Chechnya has large petroleum deposits and doesn't want other ethnicities to start a movement
question
What's the main problem with the Caucasus region?
answer
Territories occupied by the ethnicities don't match the boundaries
question
Define colony
answer
territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely indepnedent
question
define colonialism
answer
effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory
question
summarize three reasons Europeans sought colonies (GGG)
answer
God-promote Christianity Gold- extract useful resources and serve as captive markets for their products Glory- establish relative power through the number of their colonies
question
Which country had the largest empire? Second largest?
answer
1- United Kingdom 2- France
question
Contrast colonial policies of UK and France
answer
UK- on every continent, primarily eastern&southern Africa, S Asia, Canada, Middle East and Australia France- primarily in West Africa and SE Asia, attempted to assimilate French culture and educate an elite group for local administrative leadership
question
List the largest remaining colonies in the world who possesses each
answer
Greenland possessed by Denmark Hong Kong possessed by UK and Portugal
question
Define boundary
answer
An invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory
question
Define frontier
answer
a zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control
question
Define physical boudary
answer
coincide with significant features of the natural landscape
question
Define cultural boundary
answer
follow the distribution of cultural characteristics
question
What are 2 types of cultural boundaries that have often been used, give an example of each type of cultural boundary
answer
Geometric: straight lines drawn on a map Ex: U.S and Canada Ethnic: differences in ethnicity, especially language and religion Ex: Pakistan and India
question
Describe a compact states greatest advantage, shape, and examples
answer
good communication distance from center does not vary significantly Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda
question
Describe an elongated states biggest problem, shape, and examples
answer
poor internal communication long and narrow Malawi, Mozambique, Gambia
question
Describe prorupted states reason for protupting, shape and examples
answer
to provide access to resource, or separate states who would share a boundary compact but with large, projecting extension Namibia, Democratic Republic of Congo
question
Describe perforated states dependence of perforatee, shape, and examples
answer
must rely on for import and exports completely surrounds another state South Africa
question
Describe fragmented states different kinds, shape, and examples
answer
separated by water, separated by intervening state several discontinuous pieces Angolia, Tanzania
question
Define landlocked state
answer
lacks a direct outlet to a sea because it is completely surrounded by several other countries
question
Where are most of the world's landlocked states? Why?
answer
Africa Britain and France built railroads when they had control
question
What problems do landlocked states have?
answer
sending and receiving goods
question
List Africa's landlocked states
answer
Mali, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, South Sudan, Rwanda, Uganda, Burundi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland
question
Define democracy
answer
a country in which citizens elect leaders and can run for office
question
Define autocracy
answer
A country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people
question
What are the three areas democracies and autocracies differ
answer
-selection of leaders -citizen participation -checks and balances
question
Why has the world become more domocratic
answer
-diffusion from Europe and North America -widening of participation -replaces out of date structures -able to regulate tax and mobilize citizens in exchange for rights
question
Explain the Arab Spring
answer
-major protests in SW Asia and N Africa began 2010, forced several countries to convert to democracy from an autocracy -social media really helped
question
Define unitary state
answer
places most of its power in the hands of central government officials
question
Define federal state
answer
allocates strong power to units of local government within the country
question
Regarding unitary states, what are the two characteristics that tend to favor it for a country
answer
- few internal differences - strong sense of national unity
question
Where are unitary states most common
answer
Kenya, Rwanda, because they are small
question
Multinational states often adopt unitary systems for what reason? Example
answer
Values of one nationality imposed on others ex: Kenya and Rwanda, one ethnic group extends dominance over weaker groups
question
Why is the federal state system more effective for larger states?
answer
National capital may be too remote to provide control effectively over isolated regions
question
List good examples of federal states
answer
Russia, Canada, U.S, Brazil, India, Belgium
question
Why has tiny Belgium adopted a federal system?
answer
to accommodate the two main cultural groups
question
Why has an enormous China adopted a unitary system?
answer
to promote communist values
question
Why are boundaries of legislative districts occasionally redrawn? How often is this done int the US?
answer
-to ensure each district has the same population -US does every 10 years, (following the census)
question
What is gerrymandering?
answer
process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power
question
Describe wasted vote gerrymandering
answer
spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in the minority
question
Describe excess vote gerrymandering
answer
concentrates opposition supporters into a few distrits
question
Describe stacked vote gerrymandering
answer
links distant ares of like-minded voters through odd shaped boundaries
question
How is this type of boundary redrawing different in the US than in Europe
answer
US- done by state legislature Europe- done by an independent commission to create compact homogeneous regions
question
How is gerrymandering combined with ethnicity for political use? (What type of gerrymandering and why)
answer
stacked vote gerrymandering because it is attractive for creating districts inclined to elect ethnic minorities By creating an ethnic district, it ensures the candidates election by that district
question
What happened in 1985 concerning gerrymandering?
answer
US declared gerrymandering illegal, but didn't require dismantling of the existing ones
question
Why is the idea of two superpowers a relatively new one?
answer
Before the Cold War there were more than two, specifically 8
question
Define balance of power
answer
condition of roughly equal strength between opposing alliances
question
Describe the history and purpose of NATO
answer
military alliance of 16 democratic states to prevent Soviet Union from overrunning smaller countries
question
Describe the history and purpose of the former "Warsaw Pact" countries.
answer
-defend each other in case of attack -provides Soviet Union with buffer between it and Germany
question
When was European Union formed
answer
1958
question
By what states was the European Union formed
answer
Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Federal Republic of Germany
question
For what purpose was the European Union formed
answer
heal Western Europe's scars from WWII
question
What are some important changes in the European Union in recent years
answer
started with 6 countries, now larger addition of former members of COMECON
question
Briefly explain the Eurozone Crisis
answer
-single bank set interest rates -created euro -17 countries of the 27 in the European Union and 6 more
question
Define terrorism
answer
systematic use of violence by a group in order to intimidate a population or coerce a government into granting its demands
question
List typical methods/acts of terrorists
answer
-spread through fear -bombing, kidnapping, hijacking, taking hostages, assasination
question
Members and purpose of OSCE (Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe)
answer
members- 56 including US, Canada, Russia, and most European countries purpose- end conflict in Europe
question
Members and purpose of OAS (Organization of American States)
answer
members- all 35 Western Hemisphere states except Cuba purpose- promotes social, cultural, political, and economic links among members
question
Members and purpose of AU (African Union)
answer
members- 53 African countries purpose- promoting economic integration in Africa
question
Members and purpose of The Commonwealth
answer
members- UK and 52 other states once under British controls purpose- economic and cultural cooperation
question
Why is terrorism different from other acts of political violence?
answer
attacks are aimed at ordinary people, not military targets or political leaders
question
List some places in which Americans were attacked by terrorists in the late 20th century and early 21st century
answer
- World Trade Center 1993 -Oklahoma City 1995 -USS Cole 2000
question
In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Muslims?
answer
How to express disagreements with US government policies yet renounce terrorism
question
In what ways does Al-Qaeda, its religious and political views, and its methods pose a challenge to Americans and Europeans?
answer
distinguish what are peaceful Muslim practices and abuse of Islam by terrorists
question
List three ways in which states (particularly in the Middle East in recent decades) have given support to terrorists.
answer
1. providing sanctuary for the terrorists 2. supplying weapons, money, and intelligence 3. planning attacks using terrorists
question
Countries that have supported terrorism
answer
Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Iran, Libya
question
Define fatwa
answer
religious decree that it was Muslims duty to wage war on US citizens
question
What is the Jihad
answer
holy war recruit Muslims in the name of Jihad
question
enclave
answer
country line within another country Ex: Lesotho (completely surrounded by South Africa)
question
Exclave
answer
a territory legally or politically attached to a territory with which it is not physically contiguous ex: Kaliningrad (part of Russia but not attached)
question
define supernational organization
answer
political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation among national states (two or more) to promote shared objectives Ex: EU, NATO, NAFTA, and UN
question
what does NAFTA stand for
answer
North American Free Trade Agreement
question
define devolution
answer
breakup of a state or regions within a state Ex: Yugoslavia, and former USSR
Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New