state
an area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government that has control over its internal and foreign affairs
sovereignty
independence from control of its internal affairs by other states
microstates
states with small land area
city-state
sovereign state comprising of a town and a surrounding countryside
colony
territory legally tied to a sovereign state
colonialism
effort by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic and cultural principles on such territory
imperialism
control of a territory already occupied
compact state
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
states with a long, narrow shape
fragmented state
includes several discontinuous pieces of territory
perforated state
a state that completely surrounds another
landlocked state
lacks a direct outlet to the sea because it is completely surrounded by several other countries
frontier
a zone where no state exercises complete political control
unitary state
places most power in the hands of central government officials
federal state
allocates strong power to units of local government within the country
Gerrymandering
the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power
balance of power
a condition of roughly equal strength between opposing alliances
boundary
invisible line that marks the extent of a state's territory