Political Geography Study Guide
Name _________________________
1. What are nations, states, nation-states, multi-nation states, multi-state nations, and stateless nations? Make sure to
know real-world examples.
a. Nations: a group of people with common cultural characteristics: i.e. the Basque people
b. Nation-States: a state who is composed of dominant nation: i.e. Japan, Albania, Denmark, Greece, Italy,
Norway, Iceland, Poland, Finland, Iran Armenia
c. Multi-Nation States: a state that contains multiple nations: i.e. The United States
d. Multi-State nations: a nation that resides in multiple states: i.e. the Kurds
e. Stateless nations: a nation that does not have a state of its own: i.e. Palestinians
2. How do enclaves and exclaves differ? What are examples of each?
a. Enclave: an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct from the foreign territory that surrounds it (i.e.
Lesotho)
b. Exclave: a part of a country that is separated from the rest of the country and surrounded by foreign
territory. (i.e. embassies)
3. How is Gerrymandering used to influence politics? Also understand the concepts of a census and reapportionment.
a. Every 10 years, a census occurs to count the total population. Based off of the census, reapportionment
happens, or redistribution or addition to the congressional count. Gerrymandering is the purposeful drawing
of voting boundaries for a specific purpose.
4. What are the differences between subsequent, superimposed, geometric, natural, antecedent, and relic boundaries?
What is the meridian-line principle?
a. Subsequent: boundaries that come after a population is established
b. Superimposed: boundaries that come after a population is established, but it does not take into
consideration the population that lives there.
c. Geometric: boundaries that are drawn using lines of latitude and longitude
d. Natural: boundaries that use physical geography: i.e. mountains, rivers, lakes
e. Antecedent: boundaries that are drawn prior to a large population being established
f. Relic: boundaries that no longer exist, but their legacy can still be seen (i.e. the Berlin Wall)
g. Meridian-line principle: when a boundary is a body of water (i.e. a river), splitting the water down the center
as a boundary
5. What is meant by irredentism? the doctrine that irredenta should be controlled by the country to which they are
ethnically or historically related (i.e. Russia’s rationale for annexing the Crimea Peninsula)
6. What would be an example of a centrifugal force? War, Differences in religion, differences in political ideology
7. What would be an example of a centripetal force? A terrorist attack, the pledge of allegiance, the National Anthem, a
common language, a common religion
8. Be able to identify perforated, prorupted, elongated, compact, and fragmented states.
a. See the charts that were handed out in class
9. What is a city-state? What would be an example?
a. a city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside (i.e. Monoco, Vatican City)
10. What is rimland theory?
a. Nicholas Spykman's theory that the domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provide the base for
world conquest.
11. What is meant by state sponsored terrorism?
a. When a government does not carry out the specific terrorist act, but they support the act through giving
protection or money to the group.
12. What is the heartland theory?
a. Sir Halford John Mackinder was a British geographer who wrote a paper in 1904 called "The Geographical
Pivot of History." Mackinder's paper suggested that the control of Eastern Europe was vital to control of the
world. He formulated his hypothesis as: Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland Who rules the
Heartland commands the World-Island Who rules the World-Island commands the world Mackinder's
Heartland (also known as the Pivot Area) is the core area of Eurasia, and the World-Island is all of Eurasia
(both Europe and Asia).
13. What is meant by ethnocentrism?
a. belief in superiority of one's own ethnic group
14. Identify NAFTA, OPEC, the UN, NATO, and the EU
a. North American Free Trade Association
b. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
c. United Nations
d. North Atlantic Treaty Organization
e. European Union
15. Know the laws of the ocean (EEZ)
a. Countries have approximately 200 miles off their coast to exploit living and non-living resources
16. How has the domino theory influenced political policy?
a. the political theory that if one nation comes under Communist control then neighboring nations will also
come under Communist control
17. What is meant by a shatterbelt region? Also know the term Balkanization.
a. Shatterbelt: an area of instability between regions with opposing political and cultural values
b. Balkanization: process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities
18. What is meant by a frontier? What are examples of frontiers?
a. an undeveloped field of study (i.e. Antarctica)
19. What is meant by devolution? What is meant by sovereignty?
a. Devolution: the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential
quality
b. Sovereignty: government free from external control
Remember: this is only a guide. Look over everything we have done for political geography.