A World of Words: Political Geography - Middle School

If political geography is your territory, you'll want to review this list of essential terms. Learn about features of the political landscape such as boundaries, frontiers, and buffer states, as well as powerful forces like colonialism, imperialism, and democratization.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. annex
    take territory as if by conquest
  2. balance of power
    an equilibrium of power between nations
  3. boundary
    a line determining the limits of an area
  4. buffer state
    a neutral country situated between two rival powers
  5. capital
    a seat of government
  6. city-state
    an independent nation comprised of a single town
  7. colonialism
    exploitation by a stronger country of a weaker one
  8. colonization
    the act of settling a group of people in a new place
  9. confederation
    a union of political organizations
  10. democratization
    the action of making something democratic
  11. empire
    a group of countries under a single authority
  12. enclave
    an enclosed territory that is culturally distinct
  13. European Union
    an international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members
  14. federalism
    government divided between central and regional powers
  15. frontier
    an international boundary or the area immediately inside it
  16. globalization
    growth to a worldwide scale
  17. heartland
    the central region of a country or continent
  18. imperialism
    a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries
  19. international waters
    the open seas of the world outside the territorial waters of any nation
  20. landlocked
    surrounded entirely or almost entirely by land
  21. multinational
    involving or operating in several countries
  22. reunification
    the act of coming together again
  23. self-determination
    government by a country's own people rather than by an outside power
  24. sovereignty
    government free from external control
  25. state
    a politically organized body under a single government
  26. states' rights
    the rights conceded to the states by the United States constitution
  27. territory
    a region marked off for administrative or other purposes
  28. theocracy
    the belief in government by divine guidance
  29. United Nations
    an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
Created on Thu Jan 12 13:56:33 EST 2017 (updated Tue Apr 11 16:06:33 EDT 2017)

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