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Geography Key Terms
Chapter 3 "South America"
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Altipano | High-elevation plateau, basin, or valley between even higher mountain ranges, especially in the Andes of South America. |
Land alientaion | One society or culture group taking land from another. |
Liberation theology | A powerful religious movement that arose in South America during the 1950s, and subsequently gained followers throughout the global periphery. At its hearth is a belief system, based on a blend of Christian faith and socialist thinking... |
Subsistence agricullture | Farmers who eke out a living on a small plot of land which they are only able to grow enough food to support their families or at best a small community. |
Uneven development | The notion that economic development caries spatially, a central tenet of core-periphery relationships in realms, regions, and lesser geographic entities. |
Supranationalism | A venture involving three or more states--political, economic, and/or cultural cooperation to promote shared objectives. |
Informal sector | Dominated by unlicensed of homemade goods and services, the primitive form of capitalism found in many developing countries that takes place beyond the control of government. The complement to a country's formal sector. |
Barrio | Term meaning "neighborhood" in Spanish. Usually refers to an urban community in a Middle or South American city. |
Favela | Shantytown on the outskirts or even wall within an urban area in Brazil. |
Megacity (include example) | Informal term referring to the world's most heavily populated cities; in this book, the term refers to a metropolis containing a population of greater than 10 million. |
Dependencia theory | Originating in South America during the 1960s, it was a new way of thinking about economic development and underdevelopment that explained the persistent poverty of certain countries in terms of their unequal relations with other (i.e., rich) countries. |
Insurgent state (include example) | Territorial embodiment of a successful guerilla movement. The establishment by antigovernment insurgents of a territorial base in which they exercise full control; thus a state within a state. Ex: Political areas in Bolivia |
Failed state (include example) | A country whose institutions have collapsed and in which anarchy prevails. Ex: Sudan |
Triple frontier | The turbulent and chaotic area in southern South America that surrounds the convergence of Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. Lawlessness pervades this heaven for criminal elements, which is notorious for money laundering, arms and other smuggling... |
Primate city (include example) | A country largest city--ranking atop its urban hierarchy--most expressive of the national culture and usually (but not in every case) the capital city as well. |
Buffer state | A country or set of countries separating ideological or political adversaries. In southern Asia, Afghanistan, Nepal, and Bhutan were parts of a buffer zone set up between British and Russian-Chinese imperial spheres. Thailand was a buffer state between.. |
Entrepot | A place, usually a port city, where good are imported, stored, and transshipped; a break-of-bulk point |
Forward capital (include example) | Capital city positioned in actually or potentially contested territory, usually near an international border; it confirms the state's determination to maintain its presence in the area of contention. Ex: Brasilia, the capital of Brazil |
Cerrado | Regional term referring to the fertile savannas Brazil's interior Central-West that make it one of the world's most promising agricultural frontiers. Soybeans are the leading crop, and other grains and cotton are expanding. Inadequate transport links to.. |
Elongation | In political geography, refers to the territorial configuration of a state that is at least six times longer than its average width. Chile is the most prominent example of this shape on the world map. |