| 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 soverign state rather than completely independent |
| compact state | a state in which the distance from teh 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 taht includes several discontinuous pieces of territory |
| frontier | a zone separating two states in which neither state exercises political control |
| gerrymandering | process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the party in power |
| 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 taht completely surrounds another one |
| prorupted state | an otherwise compact state with a large projecting extension |
| 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 foregin affairs |
| unitary state | an internal organization of a state taht places most power in the hands of central government officials |
