democratization
The establishment of competitive elections that are regular, fair, and free in countries around the world
redistricting
The process of redrawing legislative districts for administrative or electoral purposes
gerrymandering
The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power
unitary state
A state with a system of government that concentrates all policy-making powers in one central geographic place
federal state
A state with a system of government that divides the power between the central government and its sub-units
territorial morphology
A term that describes the shapes, sizes, and relative locations of states
supranational/multinational organization
A cooperating group of nations, operating on either regional or international levels, to promote shared political, economic, and/or cultural objectives
devolution
The process whereby regional governments within a state demand and gain political strength and growing autonomy at the expense of the central government
irredentism
A state's desire to reclaim lost lands, or those inhabited by people of a similar ethnicity in another nation-state
uneven development
The increasing gap in economic conditions between geographical locations at various scales as a result of the globalization of the economy
economies of scale
The cost advantages (to both producers and consumers) of conducting various economic activities at a particular scale of production
infrastructure
Necessary services that support economic activities, such as energy, communication, and transportation networks
ethnic cleansing
A process in which a more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region
failed state
A country whose government cannot project political or economic authority over its territory and peoples, and cannot protect its national boundaries
genocide
The mass killing of a group of people in an attempt to eliminate the entire group from existence
Balkanization
A process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities
municipalities
Political units (like cities, towns, or villages) incorporated for local self-government
centrifugal force
An attitude that tends to separate people, sometimes resulting in the destabilization of the state
centripetal force
An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for the state
ethnic nationalism
The process by which the people of a country identify as having one common ethnicity, religious belief, and language, creating a sense of pride and identity that is tied to the territory
globalization
Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope
terrorism
The use of violence in order to achieve political goals or to force a government to do something