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chapter 5
Term | Definition |
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Monocentric geographic realm | A world geographic realm dominated— territorially and/or demographically—by a single country. Russia in Russia/Central Asia is a prime example; others are the United States (North America), India (South Asia), and China (East Asia). |
Exclave | A bounded (non-island) piece of territory that is part of a particular state but lies separated from it by the territory of another state. |
Irredentism | A policy of cultural extension and potential political expansion by a state aimed at a community of its nationals living in a neighboring state. |
Geopolitics | Political relations among states or regions that are strongly influenced by their geographical setting, including proximity, accessibility, sovereign boundaries, natural resources, population distribution, and the like. |
Continentality | continental effect on air temperatures in interior portions of landmasses. The greater the distance from the moderating influence of an ocean, the greater the extreme in summer and winter temperatures. |
Permafrost | Permanently frozen water in the near-surface soil and bedrock of cold environments, producing the effect of completely frozen ground. Surface can thaw during brief warm season. |
Tundra | The treeless plain that lies along the Arctic shore in northernmost Russia and Canada, whose vegetation consists of mosses, lichens, and certain hardy grasses. |
Taiga | The subarctic, mostly coniferous snowforest that blankets northern Russia and Canada south of the tundra that lines the Arctic shore. Known as the boreal forest in North America. |
Northeast Passage | sea route of Arctic Ocean,north coast of Eurasia from northern Norway in the west to the northeasternmost corner of Russia where it meets the Bering Strait. Increased seasonal melting of the Arctic ice cap a summer route for shippingEurope and East Asia. |
Forward capital | Capital city positioned in actually or potentially contested territory, usually near an international border; it confirms the state’s |
Federation | political framework a central gov't represents various subnational entities within nation-state, defense, foreign affairs,yet allows various entities to retain their own identities and to have their own laws, policies, and customs in certain spheres. |
Russification | Demographic resettlement policies pursued by the central planners of the Soviet Empire (1922–1991), whereby ethnic Russians were encouraged to emigrate from the Russian Republic to the 14 non-Russian republics of the USSR. |
Command economy | The tightly controlled economic system of the former Soviet Union, whereby central planners in Moscow assigned the production of particular goods to particular places, often guided more by socialist ideology than the principles of economic geography. |
Satellite state | eastern Europe under Soviet between 45-89. “satellites” captured in Moscow’s “orbit” following World War II was bordered on the west by Iron Curtain and on the east by the USSR. |
Near Abroad | Soviet republics with Russian Republic, constituted the USSR. 1991 breakup of Soviet, Russia influence in these countries, based on right to protect the interests of Russians who were settled there in substantial numbers during Soviet times,14 countries |
NATO | 1950 at the height of Cold War as U.S.-led defense pact to shield postwar Europe against the Soviet military threat. NATO is now in transition, expanding its membership while modifying its objectives in the post-Soviet era. Its 28 member-states |
Distance decay | The various degenerative effects of distance on human spatial structures and interactions. |
Unitary state system | A nation-state that has a centralized government and administration that exercises power equally over all parts of the state. |
Population implosion | The opposite of population explosion; refers to the declining populations of many European countries and Russia in which the death rate exceeds the birth rate and immigration rate. |
BRICs | Acronym for the four biggest emerging national markets in the world today—Brazil, Russia, India, and China. |
Centrality | The strength of an urban center in its capacity to attract producers and consumers to its facilities; a city’s “reach” into the surrounding region |
Shi’ite Islam | small of 2 main Islamic sects, 10% of Muslims overall, but majority in Iran and Iraq. The origin of Shi’ism dates back to death of Prophet Muhammad, believe that only a blood relative of Muhammad (his cousin) could be considered his legitimate successor. |
Sunni Islam | The larger of Islam’s two main sects (encompassing) roughly 90 percent of all Muslims) who adhere to the conviction that any devout follower of the Prophet Muhammad is eligible to be his legitimate successor. |
New Silk Road | high-speed railroads to link East Asia to Europe via Central Asia. This new “Eurasian land bridge”, follows the general alignment of the fabled ancient Silk Road traversed by Marco Polo from the Mediterranean Basin to medieval China. |
Eurasian Customs Union | organization created by Russia in 2010 to maintain economic ties with the friendliest countries in the Near Abroad. The three charter members (Russia, Belarus, and Kazakhstan) were joined in 2015 by the two smaller countries of Armenia and Kyrgyzstan. |
Geopolitical revanchism | Retaliatory policies pursued by a state aimed at recovering lost territory. Russia’s forcible annexation of the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 is a good example. |