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Balkanization

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a country that falls apart into several smaller countries

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Binational/Multinational State

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a state that contains more than one nation

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Boundary

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invisible lines that mark the extent of a state's territory and the control its leaders have

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CentripetalForce/Centrifugal Force

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Centripetal: bind together the people of a state, giving it strength Centrifugal: oppose centripetal forces; they destabilize the government and encourage the country to fall apart

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Cold War

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the competition for control of land spaces all over the world between the two superpowers; the United States and the Soviet Union

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Colonies

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dependent areas

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Command Economy

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socialist principles of centralized planning and state ownership

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Compact States

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the distance from the center to any boundary is about the same, giving it a shape similar to a circle

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Confederal System

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spreads the power among many sub-units (such as states), and has a weak central government

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Prorupted States

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an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

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Core Area

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early nation-states grew from core areas, they may be identified on a map by examining population distribution and transport networks

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Core-Periphery

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outlying areas of the core areas

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Cultural Boundary/Consequent Boundaries

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Boundaries set by ethnic differences, especially those based on language and/religion

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Democratization

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more and more nations turning to the democratic forms of government

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Devolution

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the decentralization of decision-making to regional governments

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Economic Force

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economic inequalities may also destabilize a nation-state, particularly if the inequalities are regional

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Electoral Geography

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is the study of how the spatial configuration of electoral districts and voting patterns reflect and influence social political affairs

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Elongated States

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states with a log and narrow shape, sometimes because of physical geography and other times for political or economic reasons

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Exclaves

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small bits of territory that lie on coasts separated from the state by the territory of another state

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Ethnic Force

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an ethnic group shares a well-developed sense of belonging to the same culture

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Ethnonationalism

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the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence

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European Monetary Union

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EU's central bank

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European Union

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a regional organization that promises to redefine the meaning of sovereignty

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Federal System

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divides the power between the central government and the sub-units

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Forward Capital

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if the capital city serves as a model for the national objectives, especially for economic development and future hopes, it is sometimes called a forward capital

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Fragmentation

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divisions based on ethnic or cultural identity

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Fragmented States

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these states have several discontinuous pieces of territory

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Frontiers

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a geographical zone where no state exercises power

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Geometric Boundary

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straight, imaginary lines that generally have good reasons behind their creation

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Gerrymandering

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when a political party attempts to redraw boundaries in order to try to improve the chances of its supporters to win seats

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Geopolitics

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the study of the spatial and territorial dimensions of power relationships within the global political-territorial order.

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Globalizaion

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growing commonalities among nations

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Government

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reference to the leadership and institutions that make policy decisions for a country

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Heartland Theory

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Sir Halford Mackinder's theory states that the "pivot area"of the earth-- Eurasia-- holds the resources, both natural and human, to dominate the globe

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Imperialism

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empire building

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Institutions

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stable, long-lasting organizations that help to turn political ideas into policy

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Integrations

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a process tat encourages states to pool their sovereignty in order to gain political, economic, and social clout; integration binds states together with common policies and shared rules

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Landlocked States

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those lacking an ocean frontage and surrounded by other states

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Market Economy

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the type of economy a state has

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Marketization

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describes a state's recreation of a market in which property, labor,goods, and services can all function in a competitive environment to determine their value

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Median-Line Principle

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water boundaries set in the middle of water

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Microstates

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land spaces of just a few square miles

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Minority/Majority Districting

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rearranging districts to allow a minority representative to be ellected

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Mixed Economy

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allows for significant control from the central government

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Monetary Policy

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control of money supply

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Multicore State

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states with more than one core area

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Nation

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a group of people that are bound together by a common political identity

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Nation-State

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refers to a state whose territorial extent coincides with that occupied by a distinct nation or people, or at least whose population shares a general sense of unity and allegiance to a set of common values

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Nationalism

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the shape of the country's territory comes to represent a national consciousness; modern nationalism is a sense of unity with fellow citizens and loyalty to the state to promote its culture and interests over those of other nations

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Perforated States

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a state that completely surrounds another one

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Physical Boundary

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Physical features are easy to see, both in reality and on maps so they often make good boundaries

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Political Geography

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the study of the political organization of the planet

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Political Culture

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the collection of political beliefs, values, practices, and institutions that the government is based on

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Politicization of Religions

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the use of religious principles to promote political ends and vice versa

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Politics

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Power; who has it, how they got it, challenges in keeping the power both internal and external)

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Primate City

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if no other city comes even close to rivaling the capital city in terms of size or influence, the capital city is a primate city

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Privatization

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the transfer of a state-owned property to private ownership

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Rimland Theory

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challenges the heartland theory, claims the Eurasian rim, not the heart, held the key to global power

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Security Council

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an important power of the UN is requesting states to contribute military forces, the security council is the body responsible for making this decision

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Separatist Movement

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nationalities within a country demand independence

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Shatter Belts

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zones of great cultural complexity containing many small cultural groups who find refuge in the isolation created by rough terrain

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Sovereignty

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the ability of the state to carry out actions or policies within its borders independently from interference either from the inside or the outside

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Spacial Force

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spatially, devolutionary events occur most often on the margins of the states

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Stateless Nation

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a people without a state

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States

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power is territorially organized into states, or countries

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Supranational Organization

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cooperating groups of nations that operate either on a regional or international level

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Territorial Morphology

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a term that describes the shapes, sizes, and relative locations of states

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Territoriality

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efforts to control pieces of the earth's surface for political and social ends

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"Third Wave" of Democratization

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beginning in the 1970s; first wave was developed over time, second wave was after WWII, and the third wave is the defeat of dictatorial or totalitarian rules from South America to eastern Europe and parts of Africa

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Three Pillars

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spheres of authority; 1. trade and other economic matters, including economic and monetary union into a single currency, and the creation of the European Central Bank 2. justice and home affairs, including policy governing asylum, border crossing, immigration, and judicial cooperation on crime and terrorism 3. Common foreign and security policy, including joint positions and actions, and common defense policy

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Unitary System

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is one that concentrates all policy-making powers in one central geographic place

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Positional (definitional) Disputes

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occur when states argue about where the border actually is

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Territorial Disputes

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arise over the ownership of a region, usually around mutual borders

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Resource (allocation) Disputes

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involve natural resources-- such as mineral deposits, fertile farmland, or rich fishing groups-- that lie in border areas

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Functional (operational) Disputes

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arise when neighboring states cannot agree on policies that apply in a border area

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Electoral Process

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the methods used in a country for selectimg leaders

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Friedrich Ratzel

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he theorized that a state compares to a biological organism with a life cycle from birth to death , with a predictable rise and fall

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Irredentism

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A policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a country aimed at a group of its nationals living in a neighboring country

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European Constitution

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An important recognition of the EU's sovereignty

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Internal Boundaries

answer

Type of boundary within a state, for administrative purposes or to mark off cultural regions

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Relative Location

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Location of a place with respect to other places

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Enclave

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Landlocked within another country, so that the country totally surrounds it

Ap Human Geography Unit 4 Vocab Test Questions – Flashcards

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