AP Human Geography Chapter 8 Vocab

State

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

Sovereignty

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

Microstates

A state that encompasses a versy small land area

City-States

A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland

Colony

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

Colonialism

Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, econnomic, and cultural principles in another territory

Imperialism

Control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society

Boundry

Invisible line tha tmarks the extent of a state's territory

Compact State

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

Prorupted State

An otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension

Elongated State

A state with a long, narrow shape

Fragmented State

A state taht includes serveral discontinuous pieces of territory

Perforated State

A state that comletely surrounds another one

Landlocked state

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

Frontier

A zone separating 2 states in which neither stae exercises political control

Unitary State

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

Federal State

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

Gerrymandering

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

Balance of Power

Condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries.