AP Human Geography :Unit 4 (Political Geography) Vocabulary – Flashcards

Conditions of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries. Example: The United States and The Soviet Union, post World War II.

Invisible line that marks the extent of a states territory. Example: The boundary that separates the U.S. and Canada into different countries.

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland. Example: The first states to evolve in Mesopotamia.

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic and cultural principles in another territory. Example: When the European's settled in the western hemisphere to colonize.

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent. Example: The New England Colony that was established by British settlers.

A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly. Example: Uganda is a compact state.

A state with a long, narrow shape. Example: Chile is an elongated state.

An internal organization of a states that allocates most power to units of a local government. Example: The United States is a federal state.

A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory. Example: Indonesia is a fragmented state that is separated by water. Which consists of 13,677.

A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control. Example: Frontiers on the Arabian Peninsula. Which currently remain between Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and UAE.

Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. Example: Governor, Elbridge Gerry signed a bill the restricted the state to benefit his party which others observed ad Gerrymandering.

Control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous group. Example: European colonization of Africa and Asia.

A state that does not have direct outlet to the sea. Example: Swaziland in Africa.

A state that encompasses a very small land area. Example: Monaco in the United Nations.

A state that completely surrounds another one. Example: South Africa

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension. Example: The Caprivi Strip which is connected to Namibia.

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states. Example: The United States government.

An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs. Example: Any country such as France.

An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials. Example: France which has the unit of government called the department.