APHUG Unit 4

• Nation


  A group of people with a shared culture, language, history, homeland, and self-determination
• State


  A permanent population, defined borders, sovereign government, and recognized by other states
• Japan


  • Example of a nation-state
• United States

  • Example of a multinational state
• Korea


  • Example of a multi-state nation
• Kurdistan

  • Example of a stateless nation
• Autonomous region

  Has a high degree of self-governance and control
• Semi-autonomous region


  Has some degree of self-governance but the national government intervenes more
• Sovereignty


  The authority of a state to govern itself, including domestic and international affairs
• Self-determination

  The right or desire of a nation or group of people to govern themselves
• Colonialism

  The practice of acquiring and occupying another area or country, often for economic exploitation and cultural spread
• Imperialism


  The policy or ideology of extending a country's power and influence, sometimes through military force or diplomacy
• Boundary


  Defined, delimited, demarcated, and administered lines that separate political entities
• Relic boundary


  • A boundary that is no longer active, such as the Berlin Wall
• Geometric boundary

  • A straight-line boundary, often created before cultural landscapes were fully formed
• Subsequent boundary

  • A boundary that develops along with the cultural landscape
• Consequent boundary


  • A type of subsequent boundary that focuses on dividing ethnic, religious, or linguistic groups
• Relic boundary is when a boundary is no longer actively enforced but still physically exists and shapes the cultural landscape
• Geometric boundary is a straight line boundary that does not follow cultural or physical features
• Antecedent boundary is a boundary that was created before the cultural landscape had fully developed
• Superimposed boundary is a boundary imposed by an external force, often for political or economic reasons, that does not align with existing cultural or physical features
• The Berlin Conference led to the creation of many superimposed boundaries in Africa, often to facilitate the extraction of resources
• Territoriality


  The connection of people, their culture, economic systems, and political systems to the land, often involving the communication of ownership and defense of territory
• Shatterbelt


  A geographic region caught between external competing forces or influences, leading to tension and turmoil
• Neocolonialism


  The use of political, economic, or cultural influence to indirectly control or exploit another country, often by multinational corporations rather than direct occupation
• Choke point


  A geographic location that is critical for trade or movement, where control grants significant political power
• Demilitarized zone


  An area where military forces are prohibited, often used as a buffer between conflicting parties
• Territorial sea


  The 12 nautical mile zone off a country's coast where it has full sovereignty
• Contiguous zone


  The 24 nautical mile zone off a country's coast where it has limited enforcement powers
• Exclusive economic zone


  The 200 nautical mile zone off a country's coast where it has exclusive rights to natural resources
• The South China Sea is an example of a region with competing claims and disputes over maritime boundaries and resources
• Gerrymandering


  The process of redrawing electoral district boundaries to gain a political advantage, often through "packing" or "cracking" voters
• Redistricting of voting districts in the US occurs every 10 years after the census to account for population changes
• Unitary and federal are two main forms of government organization, with unitary having a centralized national government and federal having power divided between national and subnational governments
• A lot of people have said maybe we need to get a third party instead of having politicians create our district so you'd have an independent organization or use AI or something to make it and try to take some of this bias out
• Europe does that, they have a lot of European countries that will have an independent commission that will actually create the districts
• Some states in the US do this, but not that many though
• This can lead to gerrymandering, where you can see really weird districts that form
• The Heartland theory, the organic Theory, the rimin theory used to be on the AP exam but they are not anymore, so don't worry about them, they will not be on your exam this year
• Unitary States

  Generally smaller geographically and more homogeneous, with a strong sense of national identity and the ability to quickly make new laws and policies, but less able to react to individual local issues