Unit 4 Vocabulary

Neal Smith

Frontier- the extreme limit of settled land beyond which lies wilderness, especially
referring to the western US before Pacific settlement.
City-state- a city that with its surroundings territory forms an independent state.
State- a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one
government.
Territory- organized division of a country that is not yet admitted to the full rights of
the state.
Compact state- are one of six different shapes for states, and are usually not fully
circular. The benefits of these states are that they are easiest to defend and they are
effective with communication and transportation.
Prorated state- to divide or distribute a sum of money proportionately.
Exclave- a portion of territory of one state completely surrounded by territory of
another or others, as viewed by the home territory.
Enclave- a portion of territory within or surrounded by a larger territory whose
inhabitants are culturally or ethnically distinct.
Micro-state- is a specific microscopic configuration of thermodynamic system that the
system may occupy with a certain probability in the course of its thermal
fluctuations. In contrast, the macro state of a system refers to its macroscopic
properties, such as its temperature and pressure.
Stateless nation- is an ethnic group, religious group, linguistic group or other
cohesive group which is not the majority population in any nation state.
Irredentism- is any political or popular movement intended to reclaim and reoccupy a
lost homeland. As such irredentism tries to justify its territorial claims on the basis of
historic and/or ethnic affiliations.
Self-determination- the process by which a country determines its own statehood and
forms its own allegiances and government.
Terrorism- the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
Sovereignty- the authority of a state to govern itself or another state.
Nation- a large aggregate of people united by common descent, history, culture, or
language, inhabiting a particular country or territory.
Country- a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory.
Primate city- leading city in its country or region, disproportionately larger than any
others in the urban hierarchy.
Gerrymandering- manipulate the boundaries of so as to favor one party or class.
Colonialism- the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over
another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.
Imperialism- a policy of extending a countrys power and influence through diplomacy
or military force.
Manifest destiny- the 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US
throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable.
Devolution- the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially be central
government to local or regional administration.
Supranationalism- is a method of decision-making in multi-national political
communities, wherein power is transferred or delegated to an authority by

governments of member states. The concept of supranational union is sometimes

used to describe the European Union, as a new type of political entity.
Geopolitics- politics, especially international relations, as influenced by geographical
factors.
Centripetal forces- a force that acts on a body moving in a circular path and is
directed toward the center around which the body is moving.
Centrifugal forces- an apparent force that acts outward on a body moving around a
center, arising from the bodys inertia.
Balkanization- is a geographical term, originally used to describe the process of
fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are
often hostile or non-cooperative with one another.
Confederation government- a group of nations or states, or a government
encompassing several states or political divisions, in which the component state
retain considerable independence. The members of a confederation often delegate
only a few powers to the central authority.
Federal government- based on a broad definition of a basic federalism, there are two
or more levels of government that exist within an established territory and govern
through a common institution with overlapping or share powers as prescribed by a
constitution.
Unitary government- is a sovereign state governed as a single entity. The central
government is supreme, and the administrative divisions exercise only powers that
the central government has delegated to them.
Segregation- the action or state of setting someone or something apart from other
people or things or being set apart.
Apartheid- a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
Decolonization- is the undoing of colonialism, where a nation establishes and
maintains dependent territory.
Iron curtain- the notional barrier separating the former Soviet bloc and the West prior
to the decline of communism that followed the political events in Eastern Europe in
1989.
Cold-war- a state of political hostility between countries characterized by threats,
propaganda, and other measures short of open warfare, in particular.
Buffer state- a small neutral country, situated between two larger hostile countries,
serving to prevent the outbreak of regional conflict.
Satellite states- is a political term that refers to a country that is formally
independent, but under heavy political and economic influence or control by another
country.
Balance-of-power- a situation in which nations of the world have roughly equal power.
Economic enterprise zones- is an area in which policies to encourage economic
growth and development are implemented. Urban Enterprise Zone policies generally
offer tax concession, infrastructure incentives, and reduce regulations to attract
investments and private companies into the zones.
Majority-minority- area is a United States state or jurisdiction whose population is
composed of less than 50% non-Hispanic whites. Racial data is derived from selfidentification questions on the U.S. Census and on the U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Territoriality- is a term associated with nonverbal communication that refers to how

people use space to communicate ownership/occupancy of areas and possessions.
The anthropological concept branches from the observations of animal ownership
behaviors.
Democratization- is the transition to a more democratic political regime.
Fragmentation- the process or state of breaking or being broken into small or
separate parts.nationalism
Nationalism- patriotic feeling, principals, or efforts.
Block busting- the practice of persuading owners to sell property cheaply because of
the fear of people of another race or class moving into the neighborhood, and thus
profiting by resulting at a higher price.