Sovereignty
Civil wars in countries like Sudan or Syria weaken a government’s control over its own territory, creating this challenge to sovereignty.
What is internal conflict?
Groups like the Taliban or ISIS use this strategy to influence governments by creating fear through violence.
What is terrorism?
Redrawing voting district lines to benefit one political party is called this.
What is gerrymandering?
The Suez Canal and Strait of Hormuz are examples of these.
What are choke points?
India has a constitution that divides power between the national government and its 28 states, making it an example of this type of government system.
What is federal?
Russia’s military involvement in Ukraine illustrates this challenge to a state’s sovereignty.
What is foreign intervention?
The movement by the Basque people to form their own independent state set apart from Spain is an example of this form of devolution.
What is separatism?
The U.S.-Canada border west of the Great Lakes goes along the 49th parallel latitude line, making it this type of boundary.
What is geometric boundary?
The two primary types of choke points.
What are straits and canals?
Japan, where nearly all citizens share the same culture and identity, is an example of this political concept.
What is a nation-state?
Puerto Rico is best described as this type of political unit because it governs itself but is still connected to the United States.
What is an autonomous region?
The violent breakup of Yugoslavia into multiple smaller states is an example of this.
What is balkanization?
A boundary drawn before a region was settled is called this.
What is an antecedent boundary?
A country claiming fishing rights 200 nautical miles from its coast is exercising this.
What is Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)?
The Middle East is considered this because of ongoing conflict between multiple powerful countries.
What is a shatterbelt?
The European Union creates this challenge to sovereignty by requiring member states to follow shared laws and policies.
What is supranationalism?
A 2017 vote in Catalonia asking whether the region should become independent from Spain is an example of this political principle.
What is self-determination?
The boundary between North and South Korea is this type.
What is demilitarized zone (DMZ)?
This international agreement defines countries’ rights to oceans, fishing, and seabed resources.
What is UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea)?
U.S. states and Canadian provinces are examples of this level of political division within a country.
What are first-order civil divisions?
When a powerful country directly controls another territory and its people, this challenge to sovereignty is called this.
What is colonialism?
The movement to reunite Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland is an example of this.
What is irredentism?
The cease-fire line between Israel and the Palestinian territories operates as this type of boundary even though its legal status is disputed.
What is a de facto boundary?
When the U.S. intercepts foreign vessels just off the coast of Florida, it is enforcing its authority in this maritime zone.
What is the territorial sea?
European powers used this 1884–85 meeting to divide Africa without consulting African ethnic or political groups.
What is the Berlin Conference?