Conditions of roughly equal strength between opposing countries. Ex: USA and USSR post WW2

Disagreement over where the border between states is and how it should be managed. Ex: Israel/Palestine

An invisible line that marks the extent of a states territory. Ex: 49th parallel between US and Canada

A boundary that was drawn across an area prior to the area becoming substantially-populated. Ex: Malaysia and Indonesia

Drawn boundaries made with regard to ethnic differences. Ex: China and Vietnam

A boundary line that coincides with some cultural divide, such as religion or language. Ex: India and Pakistan

A boundary line placed over and ignoring an existing cultural pattern. Ex: most boundaries drawn up by European Imperial powers in the 19th century

A former boundary line that is still discernible and marked by some cultural landscape feature. Ex: the Berlin Wall

A boundary line based on recognizable geographical features. Ex: border between France/Spain = the Pyrenees

A boundary line that runs along differences in culture/ethnicity. Ex: Ontario/Quebec = English/French

A boundary formed by arcs or straight lines irrespective of the physical and cultural features of the land it passes through. Ex: Nebraska

The translation of the written terms of a boundary treaty into an official cartographic representation. Ex: US getting several new states from the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The actual placing of a political boundary of the landscape by means of barriers, fences, walls, or other markers. Ex: Trump's border wall

A neutral state between two warring states. Ex: Mongolia between Russia and China

A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside. Ex: Florence

An attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economical, and cultural principles in another territory. Ex: France and Gabon

A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than being independent. Ex: British Virgin Islands

A territory that has established a mutual agreement with another state for the benefit of each. Ex: Northern Mariana Islands

A form of an international organization that brings several autonomous states together for a common purpose. Ex: Yugoslavia

European imperials came together and decided what parts of Africa they wanted. Results were groups being placed with other groups that they didn't like, share a language with, etc.

The portion of a country that contains its economic, political, intellectual, and cultural focus. Ex: Paris

The least powerful regions and therefore are often marginalized or under the control of other regions. Ex: Random city in rural TN

The action of changing from colonial to independent status. Ex: 1950's and 1960's - African states given their independence

The delegation of authority from a central to a regional government. Ex: the reopening of Scotland's parliament

The theory that if one nation goes under Communist control, neighboring countries will do the same. Ex: the entire reason for the Vietnam war

An area in which treaties or agreements between nations, military powers or contending groups forbid military installations, activities or personnel. Ex: North Korea

A sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. Ex: Caspian Sea

The study of the interactions among space, place and region and the conduct and results of elections. Ex: studying the distributions of Democrats/Republicans

A territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory. Ex: Lesotho

A territory legally attached to another territory with which it is not physically contiguous. Ex: Alaska

A neighborhood, district, or suburb which retains some cultural distinction from a larger, surrounding area. Ex: Chinatown

An international organization of European countries formed after World War II to reduce trade barriers and increase cooperation among its members.

An internal organization of a state that allocated most powers to units of local government. Ex: Russia, US

A symbolically relocated capital city, moved for economic or strategic reasons. Ex: Brasilia

An area not yet fully integrated into a politically organized area. Ex: Antarctica

The study of the effects of geography on politics and international relations. Ex: a country that has been isolated for all of time will be different politically from one that hasn't

The process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power. Ex: Maryland

A theory that suggests that whoever owns Eastern Europe and Western Asia has the political power and capital to rule the world. Developed by Halford Mackinder

The theory that says that domination of the coastal fringes of Eurasia would provided the base for world conquest. Developed by Nicholas Spykman

A policy of extending a country's power and influence through diplomacy or military force. Ex: annexation of Hawaii

An international organization is an organization established by a treaty or other instrument governed by international law and possessing its own international legal personality. Ex: NATO

A term coined by Winston Churchill meaning the border that separated the Soviet Union and the communist countries of Eastern Europe from the Western European countries.

A political or popular movement that seeks to claim or reclaim and occupy a land that the movement's members consider to be a "lost" territory from their nation's past. Ex: Nazi claims on Sudetenland.

An interior country or state that is surrounded by land. Ex: Austria

The 19th-century doctrine or belief that the expansion of the US throughout the American continents was both justified and inevitable. Ex: Oregon Trail

Involves drawing a line equidistant from the closest mainland points of each of two adjacent countries. Ex: the middle is what determines each boundary

A state that encompasses a very small area. Ex: Vatican City

A country with more than one city used for governmental/legislative purposes. Ex: Bolivia-La Paz and Sucre

Capital cities that were specially designed and built to be a national or regional capital. Ex: Washington DC

An administrative division of certain countries or empires. Ex: Quebec

The most important reason or purpose for someone or something's existence. Ex: Sarah- annoy Bateman

Redistribution of representation in a legislative body. Ex: changes in US congress seats according to changes in population

Decentralization of governance to outlying regions. Ex: the Basque region of Spain

A state that is formally independent but heavily influenced by another state. Ex: Vichy France

The action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state. Ex: the cause of the Civil War

The advocacy or practice of separation of a certain group of people from a larger body on the basis of ethnicity, religion, or gender. Ex: Czechoslovakia= Czech Republic and Slovakia

Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states. Ex: a king governing his people

An independent political unit occupying a defined, permanently populated territory. Ex: Poland

A venture involving three or more nation-states involving formal political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives. Ex: European Union

An international group or union in which the power and influence of member states transcend national boundaries or interests to share in decision making and vote on issues concerning the collective body. Ex: World Trade Organization

Disagreement between states over the control of surface area. Ex: Israel/Palestine

A roughly circular, oval, or rectangular territory in which the distance from the geometric center is relatively equal in all directions. Ex: Monaco

Not contiguous whole but rather separated parts. Ex: Indonesia

A state whose territory is long and narrow in shape. Ex: Chile

Exhibits a narrow, elongated land extension leading away from the main body of the territory. Ex: Afghanistan

A state whose territory completely surrounds that of another state. Ex: South Africa

Form of government in which God or a deity of some type is recognized as the supreme ruling authority. Ex: Saudi Arabia

The international agreement that took place between 1973 and 1982. It defined the rights and responsibilities of nations with respect to their use of the world's oceans.

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

A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives. Ex: Athens

A state in which supreme power is held by the people and their elected representatives, and which has an elected or nominated president. Ex: Argentina

A form of government with a monarch at the head. Ex: Andorra

The highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices. Ex: the Royal Family

A dictatorship is an authoritarian form of government, characterized by a single leader or group of leaders and little or no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media. Ex: Zimbabwe under Mugabe

A form of government operating on principles adopted from a republic and a democracy. Ex: of the Congo

An economic system in which traditions, customs, and beliefs help shape the goods and services the economy produces, as well as the rules and manner of their distribution. Ex: Haiti

A type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods take place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. Ex: North Korea

A system where the laws of supply and demand direct the production of goods and services. Supply includes natural resources, capital, and labor. Demand includes purchases by consumers, businesses, and the government. Businesses sell their wares at the highest price consumers will pay. Ex: US

A system that combines characteristics of market, command and traditional economies. Ex: France

Restoration of political unity to a place or group, especially a divided territory. Ex: East+West Germany=Germany

The territory that a state or nation believes is needed for its natural development, especially associated with Nazi Germany.

Political entities seek nourishment by gaining territories to survive the same way a living organism seeks nourishment from food to survive. Developed by Friedrich Ratzel

An intergovernmental organization of 14 nations about oil exports.

An inter-governmental forum for 21 member economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

An international alliance that consists of 29 member states from North America and Europe.

An agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America.

The calculated use or threatening of violence against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature. Ex: 9-11

An economic association formed by six European member countries in 1957, consisting of three communities that eventually were replaced by the European Union