Human Geography: Political Patterns & Processes Flashcards

A state composed of multiple disconnected pieces of territory, like Indonesia, exhibits which territorial shape?

Answer: Fragmented

A fragmented state consists of several separated parts, often islands or pieces split by other territory.

The political-geographic movement to unite people of a common ethnicity living across a boundary into a single state is called what?

Answer: Irredentism

Irredentism seeks to annex territory in another state inhabited by people of the same ethnic or cultural group.

A force that unifies a state and binds its people together, such as a shared national language, is best described as what?

Answer: Centripetal force

Centripetal forces promote unity and stability within a state.

An old boundary that no longer functions but still leaves traces on the landscape, like the former Berlin Wall, is a what?

Answer: Relic boundary

A relic boundary is one that no longer exists as an international border but whose imprint remains visible.

A boundary drawn before an area was heavily populated, such as the U.S.–Canada border along the 49th parallel, is classified as what?

Answer: Antecedent boundary

An antecedent boundary is established before significant settlement occurs in the area.

Eastern Europe during the Cold War, caught between competing superpowers, is a classic example of which concept?

Answer: Shatterbelt

A shatterbelt is a region caught between the conflicting interests of opposing great powers.

Mackinder's Heartland Theory argued that the pivot of world power lay in control of which region?

Answer: The interior of Eurasia

Mackinder held that whoever controlled the Eurasian Heartland could command the World-Island and the world.