African Union - organization formed in 2002 to promote unity among African states and to foster development and end poverty

antecedent boundary - a boundary that existed before the cultural landscape emerged and stayed in place while people moved in to occupy the surrounding area...

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) - An international organization linking together the 10 most important countries of Southeast Asia

Balkanization - Process by which a state breaks down through conflicts among its ethnicities

Berlin Wall - A wall separating East and West Berlin built by East Germany in 1961 to keep citizens from escaping to the West

centrifugal force - a force that divides people and countries

centripetal force - An attitude that tends to unify people and enhance support for a state

choke point - a strategic, narrow waterway between two larger bodies of water

Colonialism - the policy or practice of acquiring full or partial political control over another country, occupying it with settlers, and exploiting it economically.

consequent boundary - a boundary line that coincides with some cultural divide, such as religion or language

Contiguous Zone - Between 12 and 24 nautical miles from shore, a state may enforce laws concerning pollution, taxation, customs, and immigration

delimination boundary process - The phase in which the exact location of a boundary is legally described and negotiated

Demarcated Boundary - identified by physical objects place on the landscape, such as a sign, wall, or fence.

Devolution - the transfer of powers and responsibilities from the federal government to the states

EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) - The 200 nautical miles from a nation's shoreline of protected resources and economic activity

ethnic cleansing - Process in which more powerful ethnic group forcibly removes a less powerful one in order to create an ethnically homogeneous region

Ethnonationalism - the tendency for an ethnic group to see itself as a distinct nation with a right to autonomy or independence. A fundamental centrifugal force.

European Union - an association of European nations formed in 1993 for the purpose of achieving political and economic integration.

Federal State - allocates strong power to units of local government within the country

Fronteir - A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control.

Genocide - Deliberate extermination of a racial or cultural group

geometric boundary - Political boundaries that are defined and delimited by straight lines.

Gerrtmandering - practice of redistricting to benefit a particular party

irrendentism - regain control over a territory that was once yours

Law of the Sea - Law establishing states rights and responsibilities concerning the ownership and use of the earth's seas and oceans and their resources.

multinational state - State that contains two or more ethnic groups with traditions of self-determination that agree to coexist peacefully by recognizing each other as distinct nationalities.

NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) - Allows open trade between the US, Mexico, and Canada.

Nation - a group of people with a common culture living in a territory and having a strong sense of unity

nation-state - A state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) - A 1949 defense alliance initiated by the US, Canada, and 10 Western European nations

Neocolonialism - A new form of global power relationships that involves not direct political control but economic exploitation by multinational corporations, fueled by globalization

physical boundary - Political boundaries that correspond with prominent physical features such as mountain ranges or rivers.

political boundaries - lines that define the border of a country or state

Redistricting - The redrawing of congressional and other legislative district lines following the census, to accommodate population shifts and keep districts as equal as possible in population.

relict boundaries - A boundary that has ceased to function, but whose imprints are still evident in the cultural landscape

Self-determination - Concept that ethnicities have the right to govern themselves

Shatterbelt - a region caught between stronger colliding external cultural-political forces, under persistent stress, and often fragmented by aggressive rivals (e.g., Israel or Kashmir today; Eastern Europe during the Cold War,...).

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

stateless nation - nation that does not have a state (Kurds)

subsequent boundary - a boundary that developed with the evolution of the cultural landscape and is adjusted as the cultural landscape changes...

superimposed boundary - a boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern

Supranationalism - term applied to associations created by three or more states for their mutual benefit and achievement of shared objectives

Territorial Sea - states' navigational and economic sovereign territory extending 12 nautical miles (1 nautical mile = 1.15 statute miles) from the coast (since 1982); foreign ships (both military and civilian) are allowed innocent passage through it; sovereignty also extends to the airspace over and seabed below.

Territoriality - the defense of a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals

Terrorism - Acts of violence designed to promote a specific ideology or agenda by creating panic among an enemy population

UN Security Council - A body of five great powers (which can veto resolutions) and ten rotating member states, which makes decisions about international peace and security including the dispatch of UN peacekeeping forces.

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

United Nations - An international organization formed after WWII to promote international peace, security, and cooperation.

voting districts - generic term adopted by the Bureau of the Census to include the wide variety of small polling areas, such as election districts, precincts, or wards, that State and local governments create for the purpose of administering elections