| A | B |
|---|
| balance of power | Condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances of countries |
| boundary | Invisible line that marks the extent of a state’s territory |
| city-state | A sovereign state comprising a city and its immediate hinterland |
| colonialism | Attempt by one country to establish settlements and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles in another territory |
| colony | A territory that is legally tied to a sovereign state rather than completely independent |
| compact state | A state in which the distance from the center to any boundary does not vary significantly |
| elongated state | A state with a long, narrow shape |
| federal state | An internal organization of a state that allocates most powers to units of local government |
| fragmented state | A state that includes several discontinuous pieces of territory |
| frontier | A zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control |
| imperialism | Control of territory already occupied and organized by an indigenous society |
| landlocked state | A state that does not have a direct outlet to the sea |
| microstate | A state that encompasses a very small land area |
| perforated state | A state that completely surrounds another one |
| sovereignty | Ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states |
| state | An area organized into a political unit and ruled by an established government with control over its internal and foreign affairs |
| unitary state | An internal organization of a state that places most power in the hands of central government officials |
