Chapter 8: Political Geography AP Human Geography Rubenstein
What are the three basic reasons European states established colonies around the world?
1) Gold 2)God 3)Glory
How many nations are there?
193
What do boundaries result from?
A combination of cultural features and physical features.
What is a city-state?
A sovereign states that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside
What are the characteristics of a state?
A state occupies a defined territory on Earth's surface and contains a permanent population.
What is a perforated state?
A state that completely surrounds another one.
What is a fragmented state?
A state that includes several discontinuous peices of territory
What is a landlocked state?
A state that lacks a direct outlet to the sea because it's completly surrounded by several other countries.
What is a colony?
A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being completely independent.
What is the difference between a unitary and federal state?
A unitary state places most power in the hands of the central government officials while a federal state allocates strong power to units of local government within the country.
What is a frontier?
A zone where no state exercises complete political control. (Antarctica)
State
An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs.
What is a prorupted state?
An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension.
What is the only landmass on Earth that is not a part of a state?
Antartica
Why is it difficult to be a landlocked state?
Because you're completley dependent on other countries for your resources. This is especially relevant in southern Africa (ex: Congo, Democratic Republic, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are forced to transport imports and exports through South Africa)
What are physical boundaries?
Boundaries based on physical features on Earth's surface (three types: mountains, deserts, water)
What are cultural boundaries?
Boundaries that coincide with ethnicity; especially religion and language
What is the "Excess Vote" form of gerrymandering?
Concentrates opposition supporters into few districts
What is imperialism?
Control of a territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society
The term state is a synonym for what?
Country
What is the United Nations?
Established in an effort to obtain worldwide peace after WWII
Main differences between French colonial practices and British colonial practices.
France tried to integrate French culture, government, and education into native tribes. The British, however tied to protect their unique cultures when shaping the colonies' societies
What is the main difference between imperialism and colonialism?
In imperialism, a country is trying to control an already inhabited territory while during colonialism, a country is trying to gain control of previously uninhabited land.
Define sovereignty.
Independence from control of its internal affairs by other states.
What is a boundary?
It is an invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory.
Who was Korea divided by? How was it divided?
It was divided into two occupation zones (North and South) by the U.S. and former Soviet Union
Which country was Korea a former colony of?
Japan
What is the "Stacked Vote" form of gerrymandering?
Links distant areas of like minded voters through oddly shaped boundaries.
Where did the first city-states evolve?
Mesopotamia
Are boundary lines visible?
No, they are invisible.
What is gerrymandering?
Process of redrawing political boundaries to benefit a certain political party
What is the largest state in the world?
Russia (11% of world's land mass)
What is the "Wasted Vote" form of gerrymandering?
Spreads opposition supporters across many districts but in minority
Defining States
States that have disputes about whether or not they're independent or not (ex: Korea N/S, China/Taiwan, Western Sahara
What is an elongated state?
States with a long and narrow shape.
During which war were countries polarized into two regions?
The Cold War. Many countries aligned themselves with either the Soviet Union or the U.S.
Who were the two world superpowers during the mid- 1940s through the late 1980s?
The Soviet Union and the United States.
What is the balance of power mean?
The condition of roughly equal strength between opposing alliances
What is a compact state?
The distance from the center to any boundary doesn't vary significantly.
What is colonialism?
The effort of one country to establish settlements and to impose principles on such territory.
What does the Treaty of Antartica state? When was it signed? When was it renewed?
The treaty was signed in 1959 and renewed in 1991. The treaty states that countries can use it for scientific research but no military activities are permitted there.
In comparison to the 18th century, how many colonies are there today?
There are very few colonies left in comparison with how many there were in the 18th century
Is the Western Sahara (a.k.a. Sahrawi Arab Denocratic Republic) independent from Morocco?
There is an ongoing dispute in Morocco about the Western Sahara's status. The question of their independence continuous to be postponed. They are technically still a part of Morocco.
Are China and Taiwan considered to be two different states?
Though it operates independently from China, it has not been admitted into the United Nations because China (one of the permanent five) will not allow it
Microstates
Very small (1000 sq kilometers or less) land areas (ex: Barbados, Monaco, Malta)
Are North Korea and South Korea recognized as separate countries?
Yes, because the U.N. admitted them in as two separate countries.
