Martin's AP Human Geography

Balance of power – Condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries.

Boundary – Invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory.

City-State – A sovereign state that comprises a town and the surrounding countryside.

Colonialism – Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory.

Colony – A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent.

Compact state – A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly.

Elongated state – A state with a long, narrow shape.

Federal state – An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government.

Fragmented state – A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory.

Frontier – zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.

Gerrymandering – Process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power.

Imperialism – Control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society.

Landlocked state – A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea.

Microstate – A state that encompasses a very small land area.

Perforated state – A state that completely surrounds another one.

Prorupted state – An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension.

Sovereignty – Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

State – An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs.

Unitary state – An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials.

Chapter 8: Political Geography