CORE TERMS & FOUNDATIONS (4.0–4.1)
The politically organized territory with boundaries, population, government, and sovereignty.
State
The strategy of controlling people and resources by controlling territory.
Territoriality
A boundary type that follows rivers, mountains, or other natural features.
Physical (natural) boundary
A system where the national government holds most power and local governments have authority granted by the center.
Unitary state
The transfer of power from a central government to regional governments within the same state.
Devolution
A group of people with a shared identity based on culture, language, history, or religion.
Nation
A region of a country that holds most wealth, power, and decision-making authority.
Core
A boundary type that is drawn as a straight line, often using latitude/longitude.
Geometric boundary
A system where power is shared between national and regional governments, and regional powers are protected by a constitution.
Federal state
A sovereignty challenge where states voluntarily give up some decision-making power to a larger organization (example: EU).
Supranationalism
A state where multiple nations exist within one political unit (example: UK, Spain, India).
Multinational state
The less developed area that often has less political influence and may fuel resentment toward the core.
Periphery
A boundary based on differences in language, religion, or ethnicity.
Cultural boundary
A loose union where member states keep most power and the central authority is weak (rare today).
Confederation
A sovereignty challenge where reliance on global trade, supply chains, and foreign investment can limit independent policy choices.
Interdependence (globalization/interdependence)
A nation that does not have its own sovereign state (example: Kurds).
Stateless nation
These pressures weaken unity and often lead to regional autonomy movements when inequality or identity divisions grow.
Centrifugal forces
The process of redrawing electoral district lines after population shifts, often following a census.
Redistricting
The regime type where competitive elections and civil liberties are key features.
Democracy
A territorial claim where a state seeks to annex land in another state because it believes its people/nation belong there.
Irredentism
The principle that a state has supreme authority within its territory and independence from external control.
Sovereignty
The difference between legal sovereignty (being recognized) and this type of sovereignty (having real control over territory).
Practical sovereignty
The practice of manipulating district boundaries to give one political group an advantage (often using packing and cracking).
Gerrymandering
The regime type where power is concentrated and political competition/dissent is limited.
Authoritarianism
These forces strengthen unity through shared identity, legitimacy, infrastructure, shared prosperity, or an external threat.
Centripetal forces