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Nation

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Tightly knit group of people sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes

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State

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Politically organized territory administered by a sovereign government, with a permanent population, and recognized by the international community ("State" = internal division; "state" = country)

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Nation-state

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A state whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultrual homogeneity and unity (ex: Japan, Portugal, Venezuela, Armenia, Iceland)

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Statless nation

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A nation without a state (ex: Kurds, Palestinians)

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Multinational state

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Country with two or more nationalities within its borders (ex: US, Canada, Russia, Iran)

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Multistate nation

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Nation that transcends the borders of two or more states (ex: Kurds, The Koreas)

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Annexation

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Incorporation of a territoy into another geo-political entity

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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 (ex: Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vatican City (Holy See))

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Colonialism

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(Modern) The attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose political and economic control and principles. Often associated with the European movement beginning in the 16th century, which created unequal cultural and economic relations.

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Imperialism

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(Modern) Second phase of European colonialism beginning in the late 18th century due to the Second Agricultural Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. European states sought colonies for resources necessary for industrialization, outlets for overpopulation, and markets for their goods. The United States and Japan (and Russia to a lesser extent) were also engaged in imperialism (ex: Berlin Conference (1885) carved Africa into a plethora of superimposed boundaries)

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Decolonization

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The movement of American/European/Asian colonies gaining independence (mostly beginning after the post WWII era). Some were peaceful struggles while others became violent

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Core-periphery

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Core countries have high levels of development, a capacity at innovation and a convergence of trade flows. Periphery countries usually have less development and are poorer countries

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World-Systems Theory

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Immanuel Wallerstein's core-periphery model) three-tier structured theocracy (core, semi-periphery, periphery) proposing the social change in the developing world is linked to the economic activities of the developed world

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First world

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The largely democratic and free-market states of the United States and Western Europe (Cold War to today)

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Second world

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The communist and state-planned countries of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, and China (Cold War)

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Third world

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The generally poorer countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America (Cold War to today)

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Territorial morphology

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Study of states, shapes and their effects

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Compact

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Distance from geometric senter is similar (ex: Germany, Hungary)

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Elongated

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a.k.a attentuated (ex: Chile, Vietnam)

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Fragmented

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Two or more separate pieces (ex: Indonesia, Philippines)

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Perforated

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Territory completely surrounds that of another state (ex: Italy, Azerbaijan)

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Protruded

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a.k.a prorupt;have an area that extends from a more compact core (ex: Thailand, India)

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Bifurcated

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Has 2 distinct territories (ex: Malaysia, Michigan)

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Microstate (ministate)

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State or territory that is small in both population and area (ex: Vatican City, Monaco)

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Exclave

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Bounded territory that is part of a state but is separated by the territory of another state (ex: Alaska, Kalingrad)

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Enclave

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A small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by a larger and different group or region

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Boundary

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Vertical plane between states that cuts through the rocks below, and the airspace above (even outer space)

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Evolution (of boundaries)

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-Definition: legal document or treaty drawn up to specify actual points in the landscape -Delimitation: cartographers put the boundary on the map -Demarcation: boundary is actually marked on the ground with wall, fence, posts (too expensive or impractical for most borders)

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Types (of boundaries)

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-Geometric: straight line, unrelated to physical or cultural landscape, lat & long (US/Canada) -Physical-Political: (natural-political) - conform to physiologic features (Rio Grand: US/Mexico; Pyrenees: Spain/France) -Cultural-Political: mark breaks in the human landscape (Armenia/Azerbaijan)

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Genesis

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Origin-based classification of boundaries -Antecedent: existed before the cultural landscape emerged (Malaysia/Indonesia) -Subsequent: developed contemporaneously with the evolution of the cultural landscape (e.g., US/Mexico) -Superimposed: placed by powerful outsiders on a developed landscape, usually ignores pre-existing cultural-spatial patterns (e.g., Indonesia/Papua New Guinea; Haiti/Dominican Republic) -Relict: has ceased to function, but its imprint can still be detected on the cultural landscape (e.g., North/South Vietnam, East/West Berlin)

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Disputes (over boundaries)

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-Definitional: focus on legal language (e.g. median line of a river: water levels may vary) -Locational: definition is not in dispute, the interpretation is; allows mapmakers to delimit boundaries in various ways -Operational: neighbors differ over the way the boundary should function (migration, smuggling) (e.g., US/Mexico) -Allocational: disputes over rights to natural resources (gas, oil, water) (e.g., Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, in part, due to a dispute over oil rights regarding the Ramallah oil field (mostly in Iraq but straddling into Kuwait)

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Geopolitics

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(Friedrich Ratzel) (organic theory) study that analyzes geography, history and social science with reference to international politics. States can be viewed as living organisms that need to consume other territories to survive. Gained a negative reputation when Hitler and the Nazis embraced geopolitics to justify their right for lebensraum (living space) because of their racial superiority.

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Heartland Theory

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(Halford Mackinder) early 20th c. theory that claimed whichever state controlled the resource-rich "heartland" of Eastern Europe could eventually dominate the world. It would suggest that not the United Kingdom (an ocean-based empire), but Russia (which was becoming communist) would be in a position to achieve this dominance. "Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; who rules the Heartland commands the World-Island (Europe, Asia & Africa); who rules the World-Island controls the world."

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Rimland Theory

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(Nicholas Spykman) mid 20th c. theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia (the "rimland") would provide the base for world conquest (not the "heartland").

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Capital city

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principle city in a state or country. The best place to locate a capital is at the center of a country, so it is a somewhat equal distance from all parts of the country.

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Forward capital

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a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons; sometimes used to integrate outlying parts of a country into the state (e.g., Brasília, Washington D.C.).

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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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Federal state

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a state in which a group or body of members are bound together with a governing representative head. Federalism is the system in which the power to govern is shared between the national & state governments.

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Gerrymandering

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the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power. The process is usually used to turn "too close to call" states into a party's favor.

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Apartheid

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Afrikaans for "apartness"; it was the segregation of blacks, coloreds, Asians, and Whites in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. It was created to keep the white minority in power and allow them to have almost total control over the black majority (~90% of the total population).

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Supranationalism

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a venture of three or more states (sometimes two or more) involving formal economic, political, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives.

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Devolution

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process whereby regions within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government (e.g., Basque and Catalonia in Spain, Chechnya in Russia, ...).

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Balkanization

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The political term used when referring to the fragmentation or breakup of a region or country into smaller regions or countries. The term comes from the Balkan wars, where the country of Yugoslavia was broken up in to six countries between 1989 and 1992.

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Centripetal forces

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forces that unify a state - national culture, shared ideological objectives, common faith,...

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Centrifugal forces

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forces that divide a state - internal religious, political, economic, linguistic, or ethnic differences

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Law of the sea

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laws establishing states' rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the Earth's waters and their resources.

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Territorial sea

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states' navigational and economic sovereign territory extending 12 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles) from the coast (since 1982); foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below

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EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone)

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a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources stretching 200 nautical miles from the coast. The country that controls the EEZ has rights to the fishing, whaling, etc., as well as the raw material resources.

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Median-line principle

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in situations where there is less than 400 nautical miles

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United Nations (UN) (Supranationalism)

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established at the end of WWII to foster international security and cooperation (192 member states); precursor was the League of Nations that went defunct at the beginning of WWII. Has many subsidiaries such as the Security Council, World Health Organization (WHO), ...)

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European Union (EU) (Supranationalism)

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union of 27 democratic member states of Europe; began with the formation of Benelux by the end of WWII, then with the formation of the European Economic Community (EEC) years later. The EU's activities cover most areas of public policy, from economic policy to foreign affairs, defense, agriculture and trade.

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North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Supranationalism)

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a military alliance of western democracies begun in 1949 with 28 member states today; its members agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party

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North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (Supranationalism)

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a trilateral trade bloc in North America created by the governments of the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Poverty rates have fallen and real incomes have risen in Mexico, but farmers haven't fared well due to cheaper food from US agribusiness; also US manufacturing workers have lost jobs to maquiladora plants in Mexico (mostly due to cheaper labor costs).

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