Political Geography
An independent political unit with a centralized authority that claims sole legal, political, and economic jurisdiction over a region with defined boundaries
State/country
An ethnic group or nation that does not possess its own state and is not the majority population in any nation-state
Stateless nation
A nation’s ability to determine its own statehood and form its own allegiances and government; the freedom of culturally distinct groups to govern themselves in their own territories and form their own states
Self-determination
The set of economic & political strategies by which wealthy & powerful countries indirectly maintain or extended their influence over less wealthy areas
Neocolonialism
A boundary that has regular, often perfectly straight, lines drawn without regard for an area’s physical or cultural features
Geometric boundary
A community of people bound to a homeland and possessing a common identity based on shared cultural traits such as language, ethnicity, & religion
Nation
A country containing multiple national, ethnic, and religious groups within its boundaries
Multinational state
Historically, South America was colonized by these two European states
Portugal and Spain
States that have the most advanced industrial & military technologies, complex manufacturing systems, external political power, and the highest levels of wealth & mass consumption
Core states
A boundary that no longer functions as an international border
Relic boundary
Sense of belonging to and self-identifying with a national culture
Nationalism
Ethnic groups territorially divided by one or more international boundaries
The movement of power from the central government to regional governments within the state
Devolution
States that have relatively little industrial development, simple production systems focused mostly on agriculture & raw materials, and low levels of consumption of manufactured goods
Peripheral states
A boundary that is placed on an area without regard to existing boundaries
Superimposed boundary
The ideal political geographical unit; one in which the nation’s geographic boundaries exactly match the state’s territorial boundaries
Nation-state
Example of a multinational state
South Africa, many countries in Africa, historic Yugoslavia
An example of devolution
The break up of Yugoslavia, the fall of the USSR, etc.
Most choke points today revolve around the transport of
Oil
A political boundary that developed with the cultural landscape
Subsequent boundary
A state that rules itself and is not subject to the authority of another state
Independent (sovereign) state
Example of a multistate nation
Kurds, Yuroba of West Africa, Slavs, etc.
An example of effective sovereignty
U.S. and Cuba and Guantanamo Bay
An example of a shatterbelt region
The Balkans, Israel and the Middle East, etc.
A boundary that is drawn to accommodate existing cultural differences
Consequent boundary