Unit 4, topic 4.1 introduction to political geography study guide

How did modern states evolve?

- Early political states were not well defined -Political power was based on relationships and between a leader and a group of people -Borders were very poorly made or unclear and changed very often -European political philosophers created the modern state concept -People owed allegiance to the state and it people -Borders were drawn to formalize divisions between countries -They imposed these divisions on areas around the world as they colonized them.

Describe the difference between an autonomous and a semi-autonomous region.

-They are both defined as areas inside a state -Semi-autonomous regions have a moderate degree of self government and freedom to govern themselves while Autonomous regions have a high degree of self government and freedom to govern themselves -Good examples for Semi-Autonomous is hong kong (given its own government by the Chinese) and Macau (another small little area inside of china that has a Portuguese population that are able to govern themselves to an extent) and good examples for Autonomous is Native American Reservations and CookIslands Niue.

Define and describe a multi state nation.

A multi state nation is a nation that stretches across borders and across states. Good examples of this are Germans, Koreans, and Hungarians. ( where you have one group of people who speak the same language and have the same culture, but are spread out essentially over 2 different countries, which is North and south Korea and Hungarians)

Define and describe a multinational state.

A multinational state is a state with more than one nation in its borders like the US and Canada. Good examples of this are Canada (there are several national groups including the Quebecois, the Canadians and as well as several first nation groups), the United Kingdom, and Russia.

Define and give characteristics of a nation.

A nation is a group of people with that shared history or shared culture or shared homeland and a desire to govern themselves. A nation is a group of people with: -A shred similar culture -A historical attachment to an area of homeland -Who seek some degree of political control over that homeland

Define and describe a stateless nation.

A stateless nation is a state with no nation. -National groups is spread out over several different states -The national group is the minority group in each state -Have a little to no political power in each state -Good examples of this is Kurds and Palestinians (they live in the middle east)

Define and describe a nation-state

Nation states is a sovereign state that is made up of a homogenous population with one nation. good example of this is japan and iceland: Nearly everybody in Iceland has the same heritage, same language, the same culture and since they are on an islands, they are very isolated from everyone else and are able to govern themselves.

What are the characteristics of a modern state?

Some examples: -A state that has spatial extent -A state that has permanent population -A stage that has defined borders -A state has a sovereign government -A state that has recognition from other states

What is a state?

The United States of America is itself a state and is a country. When you think of a state you need to think of a country because state means country. United states for example, we have 50 states that make up our country

What is the relationship between states and nations?

The state is the basic building blocks of our world map, there are many different types of political entities in the world: -States -Nations -Nation-states -Stateless nations -Multinational states -Multistate nations -Semi-autonomous regions -Autonomous regions

How many states are there in the world?

in the United States today, we see there are 195 states, but there are more areas that are striving for independence.