APHG Review Unit 4: Political Geography

Key Terms

Antecedent Boundaries A boundary line established before an area is populated.

Balkanization The contentious political process by which a state may break up into smaller countries.

Buffer State A relatively small country sandwiched between two larger powers. The existence of buffer states may help to prevent dangerous conflicts between powerful countries.

Centrifugal Forces Forces that tend to divide a country.

Centripetal Forces Forces that tend to unite or bind a country together.

Colonialism The expansion and perpetuation of an empire.

Commonwealth of Independent States Confederacy of independent states of the former Soviet Union that have united because of their common economic and administrative needs.

Compact State A state that possesses a roughly circular, oval, or rectangular territory in which the distance from the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions.

Confederation A form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose.

Democratization The process of establishing representative and accountable forms of government led by popularly elected officials.

Devolution The delegation of legal authority from a central government to lower levels of political organization, such as a state or country.

Domino Theory The idea that political destabilization in one country can lead to collapse of political stability in neighboring countries, starting a chain reaction of collapse.

East/West Divide Geographic separation between the largely democratic and free-market countries of Western Europe and the Americas from the communist and socialist countries of Eastern Europe and Asia.

Electoral College A certain number of electors from each state proportional to and seemingly representative of that state’s population.

Electoral Vote The decision of a particular state elector that represents the dominant views of that elector’s state.

Elongated State A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape.

Enclaves Any small and relatively homogeneous group or region surrounded by another larger and different group or region.

European Union International organization comprised of Western European countries to promote free trade among members.

Exclave A bounded territory that is part of a particular state but is separated from it by the territory of a different state.

Federalism A system of government in which power is distributed among certain geographical territories rather than concentrated within a central government.

Fragmented State A state that is not a contiguous whole but rather separated parts.

Frontier An area where borders are shifting and weak and where peoples of different cultures or nationalities meet and lay claim to the land.

Geometric Boundary Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines.

Geopolitics The study of the interplay between political relations and the territorial context in which they occur.

Gerrymandering The designation of voting districts so as to favor a particular political party or candidate.

Heartland Theory Hypothesis proposed by Halford Mackinder that held that any political power based in the heart of Eurasia could gain enough strength to eventually dominate the world.

Imperialism The perpetuation of a colonial empire even after if is no longer politically sovereign.

International Organization An alliance of two or more countries seeking cooperation with each other without giving up either’s autonomy of self-determination.

Landlocked State A state that is completely surrounded by the land of other states, which gives it a disadvantage in terms of accessibility to and from international trade routes.

Law of the Sea Law establishing states’ rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the earth’s seas and oceans and their resources.

Lebensraum Hitler’s expansionist theory based on a drive to acquire “living space” for the German people.

Microstate A state or territory that is small in both population and area.

Nation Tightly knit group of individuals sharing a common language, ethnicity, religion, and other cultural attributes.

Nationalism A sense of national pride to such an extent of exalting one nation above all others.

Nation-state A country whose population possesses a substantial degree of cultural homogeneity.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) Agreement signed on January 1, 1994, that allows the opening of borders between the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) An international organization that has joined together for military purposes.

North/South Divide The economic division between the wealthy countries of Europe and North America, Japan, and Australia and the generally poorer countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

Organic Theory The view that states resemble biological organisms with life cycles that include stages of youth, maturity, and old age.

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) An international economic organization whose member countries all produce and export oil.

Perforated State A state whose territory completely surrounds that of another state.

Physical Boundary Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers.

Political Geography The spatial analysis of political phenomena and processes.

Popular Vote The tally of each individual’s vote within a given geographic area.

Prorupted State A state that exhibits a narrow, elongated land extension leading away from the main territory.

Reapportionment The process of a reallocation of electoral seats to defined territories.

Redistricting The drawing of new electoral district boundary lines in response to population changes.

Relic Boundaries Old political boundaries that no longer exist as international borders, but that have left and enduring mark on the local cultural or environmental geography.

Rimland Theory Nicholas Spykman’s theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provide the base for world conquest.

Self-determination The right of a nation to govern itself autonomously.

Sovereignty Supreme or independent political power.

State A politically organized territory that is administered by a sovereign government a territorially defined, sovereign country of their own.

Stateless Nation A group of people with a common political identity who do not have a territorially defined, sovereign country of their own.

State’s Rights Rights and powers believed to be in the authority of the state rather than the federal government.

Subsequent Boundaries Boundary line established after an area had been settled that considers the social and cultural characteristics of the area.

Superimposed Boundaries Boundary line drawn in an area ignoring the existing cultural pattern.

Supranational Organization Organization of three or more states to promote shared objectives.

Territorial Dispute Any dispute over land ownership.

Territorial Organization Political organization that distributes political power in more easily governed units of land.

Theocracy A state whose government is either believed to be divinely guided or a state under the control of a group of religious leaders.

Unitary State A state governed constitutionally as a unit, without internal divisions or a federalist delegation of powers.

United Nations A global supranational organization established at the end of World War II to foster international security and cooperation.

Multiple Choice Questions

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 1. A ______ is a group with a common political identity, and a ______ is a country with recognized borders. A. territory, federalism B. nation, territory C. state, nation D. nation, state E. territory, state

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 2. _____ governments are organized into a geographically based hierarchy of local government agencies. A. Federal B. Territorial C. Consolidated D. Electoral E. National

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 3. With its system of regional provinces, Canada is an example of a A. microstate. B. electoral state. C. reapportioned state. D. federal state. E. nation-state.

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 4. The drawing of new voting districts is called A. reapportionment. B. gerrymandering. C. reelection. D. redrawing. E. discretization.

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 5. When voting districts are redrawn in such a way that they purposely favor a political party, they have been A. salamandered. B. reapportioned. C. redistricted. D. gerrymandered. E. reelected.

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 1. Indonesia is an example of a(n) A. elongated state. B. microstate. C. compact state. D. fragmented state. E. prorupted state.

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 2. Which of the following is a landlocked country? A. Peru B. Germany C. Burma D. Afghanistan E. Colombia

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 3. In Antarctica, geometric political borders do little to organize a vast A. frontier. B. borderland. C. wasteland. D. tundra. E. territory.

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 4. _____ forces work to pull countries apart, while _____ forces work to bind them together. A. Centripetal, centrifugal B. Centrifugal, centripetal C. Communist, democratic D. Capitalist, socialist E. Socialist, centripetal

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 5. When one country exerts political, economic, or social influence over another without the aid of official government institutions, it is called A. dominance. B. imperialism. C. colonialism. D. federalism. E. territorialism.

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 6. For many years, French Canadians from Quebec sought _____, or the right to govern themselves and to establish their own independent state. A. nationalism B. self-determination C. anticolonialism D. reapportionment E. colonization

Section 3: International Political Geography 1. Hitler’s nationalist/expansionist philosophies drew in part from A. self-determination. B. sound historical evidence. C. organic geopolitical theory. D. Rimland theory. E. heartland theory.

Section 3: International Political Geography 2. When countries come together for a common purpose, somewhat limiting their own individual powers, the resulting body is called a(n) A. international organization. B. confederacy. C. supranational organization. D. union. E. national alliance.

Section 3: International Political Geography 3. OPEC is an example of a(n) A. supranational organization. B. commonwealth. C. confederacy. D. international organization. E. national organization.

Section 3: International Political Geography 4. The _____ was based on control of land, markets, and political ideology, whereas the _____ is based on wealth and poverty. A. east/west divide, north/south divide B. domino theory, heartland theory C. north/south divide, east/west divide D. organic theory, Rimland theory E. core/periphery, east/west divide

Section 3: International Political Geography 5. _____ boundaries characterize much of Africa as they ignore cultural and tribal differences across space. A. Superimposed B. Subsequent C. Colonial D. Antecedent E. Territorial

Free Response Questions

Section 1: The Geography of Local and Regional Politics 1. Political systems are often organized geographically. A. What is the difference between territorial organization, federal organization, and electoral voting? B. What are the advantages of organizing political systems by geographic areas?

Section 2: Territory, Borders, and the Geography of Nations 1. Many factors contribute to a state’s political stability. A. What are some of the forces that bind a state together? (use specific examples) B. What are some of the forces that cause disunity with a state? (use specific examples)

Section 3: International Political Geography 1. The European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement are two common examples of international organizations. A. Describe each of these two organization and their purposes. B. What do each of these two organizations have in common? How are they different?