Linguistic Labyrinths
This language isolate, spoken in the Pyrenees Mountains, predates the Indo-European expansion and has no known linguistic relatives
What is Basque?
This syncretic religion combines elements of Hinduism and Islam and is concentrated primarily in the Punjab region of India.
What is Sikhism
This type of boundary is drawn by outside powers and ignores existing cultural or tribal patterns, as seen in much of post-colonial Africa.
What is Superimposed?
Friedrich Ratzel’s theory compared the state to a biological organism that requires "Lebensraum" (living space) to survive.
What is Organic Theory?
This "ism" refers to a policy of advocating the restoration to a country of any territory formerly belonging to it (e.g., Russia and Crimea).
What is Irredentism?
While most of Europe speaks Indo-European languages, these three countries speak languages from the Uralic family.
What are Estonia, Finland, and Hungary?
This branch of Buddhism, popular in East Asia, emphasizes the role of bodhisattvas and is often called the "Great Vehicle."
What is Mahayana?
According to UNCLOS, a state’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) extends this many nautical miles from its coast.
What is 200?
Halford Mackinder’s theory argued that whoever controlled Eastern Europe and the "Pivot Area" would eventually rule the world.
What is Heartland Theory?
This is the process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities, named after a specific peninsula in Europe.
What is Balkanization?
This hypothesis suggests that the Proto-Indo-European language spread from the Anatolian hearth via the peaceful diffusion of agricultural practices.
What is the Renfrew (Anatolian) Hypothesis?
In the cultural landscape, these "Towers of Silence" are used by Zoroastrians to dispose of the dead via exposure to the elements and birds of prey.
What are Dakhmas?
This specific state morphology, exemplified by Thailand or Namibia, features a narrow extension leading away from the main body of the territory.
What is Prorupted?
Nicholas Spykman countered Mackinder by arguing that the "inner crescent" or coastal fringes of Eurasia were the true keys to global power.
What is Rimland Theory?
This concept describes the way a culture modifies its environment to suit its needs, essentially the "built environment" of a religion or ethnicity.
What is the Cultural Landscape?
Unlike a pidgin, this is a language that results from the mixing of a colonizer's language with the indigenous language of the people being dominated, eventually becoming a mother tongue.
What is Creole?
This 19th-century movement within Islam sought to return to "pure" fundamentalist roots and is currently the official state version of Islam in Saudi Arabia.
What is Wahhabism?
This term describes a territory that is completely surrounded by another state, such as Vatican City or Lesotho.
What is an Enclave?
This term refers to a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals (e.g., Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia).
What is a Shatterbelt?
This occurs when a central government grants more power to regional governments to stave off rebellion or secession, though it can inadvertently lead to the state's breakup.
What is Devolution?
This term describes a boundary line that marks the limit of a particular linguistic feature, such as the pronunciation of a vowel or the use of a specific word for "soda."
What is an Isogloss?
This term describes the process where a religious group or ethnic group moves to a new location but retains its cultural traits, often creating an "ethnic island."
What is Relocation Diffusion?
This type of boundary dispute focuses on the interpretation of the language of a boundary treaty, rather than the physical location of the line itself.
What is a Definitional Dispute?
This supranational organization, consisting of 10 Southeast Asian nations, was formed to promote economic growth and regional stability against larger powers.
What is ASEAN?
Deriving from Unit 3, this is the process by which a more powerful culture imposes its values on a less powerful one, often through media or technology, leading to "cultural homogenization."
What is Cultural Imperialism?