Political Geography Vocabulary
Term
balance of power
boundary
Centrifugal
Centripetal
city-state
colonialism
colony
Commodification
Definition
Example/Explanation
condition of roughly equal
strength between opposing
countries or alliances of
countries
invisible line that marks the
extent of a state's territory
Forces that tend to divide a
country-such as internal
religious, linguistic, ethnic,
or ideological differences
Forces that tend to unify a
country- such as widespread
commitment to a national
culture, shared ideological
objectives, and a common
faith
a sovereign state comprising
a city and its immediate
hinterland (An area
surrounding a town or port
and served by it).
attempt by one country to
establish settlements and to
impose its political,
economic, and cultural
principles in another
territory
a territory that is legally tied
to a sovereign state rather
than completely
independent (and for the
benefit of the sovereign
state)
The process through which
something is given
monetary value; when
something not previously
regarded as an object to be
bought and sold becomes
something that has a value
and can be traded in a
market economy.
compact state
Core
devolution
elongated state
federal state
fragmented state
frontier
gerrymandering
Heartland Theory
a state in which the distance
from the center to any
boundary does not vary
significantly
Processes that incorporate
higher levels of education,
higher salaries, and more
technology; generate less
wealth than core processes
in the world-economy
The process by whereby
regions within a state
demand and gain political
strength and growing
autonomy at the expense of
the central government
a state with a long, narrow
shape
an internal organization of a
state that allocates most
powers to units of local
government
a state that includes several
discontinuous pieces of
territory
a zone separating two states
in which neither state
exercises political control
process of redrawing
legislative boundaries for
the purpose of benefiting
the party in power
Theory proposed by Halford
Mackinder in the early 20th
century that any political
power based int the heart of
Eurasia could gain sufficent
strength to eventually
dominate the world;
Mackinder further proposed
that since Eastern Europe
controlled access the
Eurasian interior, its ruler
would command the vast
"heartland" to the east
imperialism
landlocked state
microstate
Peace of
Westphalia
perforated state
Periphery
prorupted state
Reapportionment
sovereignty
state
Supranational
control of territory already
occupied and organized by
an indigenous society
a state that does not have a
direct outlet to the sea
a state that encompasses a
very small land area
Peace negotiated in 1648 to
end the Thirty Years' War,
Europe's most destructive
internal struggle over
religion; contained new
language recognizing
statehood and nationhood,
clearly defined borders, and
guarantees of security
a state that completely
surrounds another one
Process that incorporates
lower levels of education,
lower salaries, and less
technology; and generate
less wealth than core
processes in the worldeconomy.
an otherwise compact state
with a large projecting
extension
Process by which
representative districts are
switched according to
population shifts, so that
each district encompasses
approximately the same
number of people
ability of a state to govern
its territory free from
control of its internal affairs
by other states
an area organized into a
political unit and ruled by an
established government
with control over its internal
and foreign affairs
A venture involving three or
Organization
Territorial
Integrity
Territorial
Representation
Territoriality
Unilateralism
unitary state
more nation-states involving
formal political, economic,
and/or cultural cooperation
to promote shared
objectives. The United
Nations, the European
Union, and NATO are
examples
The right of a state to defend
sovereign territory against
inscursion from other states
system wherein each
representative is elected
from a territorially defined
district (like federal and
state representatives)
a state's sense of property
and attachment toward its
territory, as expressed in its
determination to keep it
inviolable and strongly
defended.
World order in which one
state is in a position of
dominance with allies
following rather than joining
the pollitical descisionmaking process
an internal organization of a
state that places most power
in the hands of central
government officials