Glossary

Aborigine An indigenous inhabitant of Australia.

acid rain Harmful form of precipitation high in sulfur and nitrogen oxides. Caused by industrial and auto emissions, acid rain damages aquatic and forest ecosystems in regions such as eastern North America and Europe.

adiabatic lapse rate The rate a moving air mass cools or warms with changes in elevation, which is usually around 5.5° F per 1000 feet or 1° C per 100 meters. Contrast with environmental lapse rate.

African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) A 2018 initiative of the African Union, AfCFTA would create a single continental market for goods and services to increase trade across African subregions. If ratified by 22 parliaments, the agreement would cover the entire continent.

African Union (AU) A mostly political body that has tried to resolve regional conflicts. Founded in 1963, the organization grew to include all the states of the continent except South Africa, which finally was asked to join in 1994. In 2004, the body changed its name from the Organization of African Unity to the African Union.

agrarian reform A popular but controversial strategy to redistribute land to peasant farmers. Throughout the 20th century, various states redistributed land from large estates or granted title from vast public lands in order to reallocate resources to the poor and stimulate development. Agrarian reform occurred in various forms, from awarding individual plots or communally held land to creating state-run collective farms.

agribusiness The practice of large-scale, often corporate farming in which business enterprises control closely integrated segments of food production, often extending from farm to grocery store.

alluvial fan A fan-shaped deposit of sediments dropped by a river or stream flowing out of a mountain range.

Altiplano The largest intermontane plateau in the Andes, which straddles Peru and Bolivia and ranges in elevation from 10,000 to 13,000 feet (3000 to 4000 meters).

altitudinal zonation The relationship between elevation, temperature, and changes in vegetation that result from the environmental lapse rate (average 3.5°F for every 1000 feet [6.5°C for every 1000 meters]). In Latin America, four general altitudinal zones exist: tierra caliente, tierra templada, tierra fria, and tierra helada.

animism A wide variety of tribal religions based on the worship of nature’s spirits and human ancestors.

anthropogenic An adjective for human-caused change to a natural system, such as the atmospheric emissions from cars, industry, and agriculture that are causing climate change.

apartheid The policy of racial segregation that directed the separate residential and work spaces for white, blacks, coloureds, and Indians in South Africa for nearly 50 years. It was abolished when the African National Congress came to power in 1994.

Arab League A regional political and economic organization focused on Arab unity and development.

Arab Spring A series of public protests, strikes, and rebellions in the Arab countries in early 2011, often facilitated by social media, that called for fundamental government and economic reforms.

Asia–Pacific Economic Cooperation Group (APEC) A regional organization designed to encourage economic development in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Basin.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) A supranational geopolitical group linking together the 10 different states of Southeast Asia.

asylum laws Legal protection for refugees who are victims of ethnic, religious, or political persecution in other parts of the world.

atoll A low, sandy island made from coral. Atolls are often oriented around a central lagoon.

Austronesian A language family that encompasses wide expanses of the Pacific, insular Southeast Asia, and Madagascar.

autonomous areas Minor political subunits created in the former Soviet Union and designed to recognize the special status of minority groups within existing republics. The term more generally can be used to designate any part of a country that has been given a certain degree of independence from the central government.

autonomous region Provinces or subregions of a state that have been granted a certain degree of political and cultural autonomy, or freedom from centralized authority, due to the fact that they contain large numbers of minority peoples.

Baikal–Amur Mainline (BAM) Railroad Key central Siberian railroad connection completed in the Soviet era (1984), which links the Yenisey and Amur rivers and parallels the Trans-Siberian Railroad.

balkanization A geopolitical term and concept to describe the breaking up of large political units into smaller ones, the typical example being the replacement of the former Yugoslavia with smaller independent states including Bosnia, Macedonia, Kosovo, and so on.

Berlin Conference A 1884 conference that divided Africa into European colonial territories. The boundaries created in Berlin satisfied European ambition but ignored indigenous cultural affiliations. Many of Africa’s civil conflicts can be traced to ill-conceived territorial divisions crafted in 1884.

biodiversity The array of species, both flora and fauna, found in an ecosystem or bioregion.

biofuels Energy sources derived from plants or animals. Throughout the developing world, wood, charcoal, and dung are primary energy sources for cooking and heating.

bioregion A spatial unit or region of local plants and animals adapted to a specific environment, such as a tropical savanna.

Bollywood The Indian Hindi-language film industry, based in the city of Mumbai (formerly Bombay). “Bollywood” is a play on the place names “Bombay” and “Hollywood.”

Bolsa Familia A Brazilian conditional cash transfer program created to reduce extreme poverty. Families who qualify receive a monthly check from the government as long as they keep their children in school and take them for regular health checkups.

Bolshevik A member of the Russian Communist movement led by Lenin that successfully took control of the country in 1917.

boreal forest Coniferous forest found in high-latitude or mountainous environments of the Northern Hemisphere.

brain drain Migration of the best-educated people from developing countries to developed nations where economic opportunities are greater.

brain gain The potential of return migrants to contribute to the social and economic development of a home country with the experiences they have gained abroad.

Brexit Short for “Britain’s exit,” the June 2016 referendum by United Kingdom voters to leave the European Union. Energizing the “Leave” vote were an array of anti-EU feelings ranging from unemployment allegedly caused by industry shifting to other EU countries, restrictive EU market regulations, “too many foreigners” due to EU free movement policies, and concerns about the increase of unauthorized migrants into Europe.

British East India Company A private trade organization that acted as an arm of colonial Britain in ruling most of South Asia until 1857, when it was abolished and replaced by full governmental control.

Buddhism A religion based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who was born In 563 bce to an elite caste. He rejected the life of wealth and power and sought instead to attain enlightenment, or mystical union with the cosmos. He preached that the path to such “nirvana” was open to all, regardless of social position.

buffer state A country that is situated between much stronger countries, and which is intended to reduce conflicts between those more powerful countries by preventing them from sharing a common border.

buffer zone An array of nonaligned or friendly states that “buffer” a larger country from invasion. In Europe, keeping a buffer zone has been a long-term policy of Russia (and also of the former Soviet Union) to protect its western borders from European invasion.

Bumiputra The name given to native Malay (literally, “sons of the soil”), who are given preference for jobs and schooling by the Malaysian government.

bustees Settlements of temporary and often illegal housing in Indian cities, caused by rapid urban migration of poorer rural people and the inability of the cities to provide housing for this rapidly expanding population.

capital leakage The gap between the gross receipts an industry (such as tourism) brings into a developing area and the amount of capital retained.

Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) A regional trade organization established in 1972 that includes former English colonies in the Caribbean Basin as its members.

caste system The complex division of South Asian society into different hierarchically ranked hereditary groups. The caste system is most explicit in Hindu society but is also found in other cultures to a lesser degree.

Central American Free Trade Association (CAFTA) A trade agreement between the United States and Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, and the Dominican Republic to reduce tariffs and increase trade between member countries.

centralized economic planning An economic system in which the state sets production targets and controls the means of production.

chaebol A very large South Korean business conglomerate that is composed of numerous smaller companies.

chain migration A pattern of migration in which people in a sending area become linked to a particular destination, such as Dominicans with New York City.

chernozem soils A Russian term for dark, fertile soil, often associated with grassland settings in southern Russia and Ukraine.

China proper The eastern half of the country of China, where the Han Chinese form the dominant ethnic group. The vast majority of China’s population is located in China proper.

choke point Strategic setting where narrow waterways or other narrow passages are vulnerable to military blockade disruption.

choropleth map A thematic map in which areas are colored or shaded to depict differences in whatever is being mapped.

circular migration Temporary labor migration, in which an individual seeks short-term employment overseas, earns money, and then returns home.

clan A social unit that is typically smaller than a tribe or an ethnic group but larger than a family, based on supposed descent from a common ancestor.

climate The average weather conditions for a place, usually based upon 30 years of weather measurements.

climate change The measured change in climate from a previous state, contrasted with normal variability.

climate migrants People who are forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment.

climograph A graph of average annual temperature and precipitation data by month and season.

Closer Economic Relationship (CER) Agreement An agreement signed in 1982 between Australia and New Zealand, designed to eliminate all economic and trade barriers between the two countries.

Cold War An ideological struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union that was conducted between 1946 and 1991.

Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) A Russian-led military association that includes Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The CSTO and SCO work together to address military threats, crime, and drug smuggling.

colonialism Formal, established (mainly historical) rule over local peoples by a larger imperialist government for the expansion of political and economic empire.

coloured A racial category used throughout South Africa to define people of mixed European and African ancestry.

Columbian Exchange An exchange of people, diseases, plants, and animals between the Americas (New World) and Europe/Africa (Old World), initiated by the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492.

communism A political belief based on the writings of Karl Marx, in which all property is publicly owned and all workers are paid according to their abilities and needs.

Confucianism A philosophical system based on the ideas of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who lived in the 6th century bce. Confucianism stresses education and the importance of respecting authority figures, as well as the importance of authority figures acting in a responsible manner. Confucianism is historically significant throughout East Asia.

connectivity The degree to which different locations are linked with one another through transportation and communication infrastructure.

constitutional monarchy A form of government with a democratically elected government and a royal figurehead that serves as the symbolic head of state, as in the United Kingdom with an elected parliament and the Queen as symbol of the country.

continental climate A climate region in a continental interior, removed from moderating oceanic influences, characterized by hot summers and cold winters. In such a climate, at least one month must average below freezing.

core–periphery model A conceptualization of the world into two economic spheres. The developed countries of western Europe, North America, and Japan form the dominant core, with less-developed countries making up the periphery. Implicit in this model is that the core gained its wealth at the expense of peripheral countries.

Cossacks Highly mobile Slavic-speaking Christians of the southern Russian steppe who were pivotal in expanding Russian influence in 16th- and 17th-century Siberia.

creolization The blending of African, European, and some Amerindian cultural elements into the unique sociocultural systems found in the Caribbean.

crony capitalism A system in which close friends of a political leader are either legally or illegally given business advantages in return for their political support.

cultural assimilation The process in which immigrants are culturally absorbed into the larger host society.

cultural homeland A culturally distinctive settlement in a well-defined geographic area, whose ethnicity has survived over time, stamping the landscape with an enduring personality.

cultural imperialism The active promotion of one cultural system over another, such as the implantation of a new language, school system, or bureaucracy. Historically, cultural imperialism has been primarily associated with European colonialism.

cultural landscape A physical or natural landscape that has been changed considerably by the influences of human settlement.

cultural syncretism or hybridization The blending of two or more cultures, which produces a synergistic third culture that exhibits traits from all cultural parents. .

culture Learned and shared behavior by a group of people that gives them a distinct “way of life.” Culture is made up of both material (technology, tools, etc.) and abstract (speech, religion, values, etc.) components.

culture hearth An area of historical cultural innovation.

cyclones Large storms, marked by well-defined air circulation around a low-pressure center. Tropical cyclones are typically called hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean and typhoons in the western Pacific.

Cyrillic alphabet An alphabet based on the Greek alphabet and used by Slavic languages heavily influenced by the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is attributed to the missionary work of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the 9th century.

Dalai Lama The leader of the Tibetan Buddhist faith. The current Dalai Lama is an important advocate for Tibetan rights.

Dalit The currently preferred term used to denote the members of India’s most discriminated against (“lowest”) caste groups, those people previously referred to as “untouchables.”

decolonialization The process of a former colony’s gaining (or regaining) independence over its territory and establishing (or reestablishing) an independent government.

deforestation The removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use.

demographic transition model A five-stage model of population change derived from the historical decline of the natural rate of increase as a population becomes increasingly urbanized through industrialization and economic development.

desertification The spread of desert conditions into semiarid areas due to improper management of the land.

devolution The ceding of certain powers from central government authorities to lower political units, such as regions or cities.

diaspora The scattering of a particular group of people over a vast geographic area. Originally, the term referred to the migration of Jews out of their homeland, but now generally refers to any ethnic dispersion.

diversity Refers to the state of having different landscapes, cultures, or ideas, as well as the inclusion of distinct peoples in a particular society.

dollarization An economic strategy in which a country adopts the U.S. dollar as its official currency. A country can be partially dollarized, using U.S. dollars alongside its national currency, or fully dollarized, in which case the U.S. dollar becomes the only medium of exchange and the country gives up its own national currency. Panama fully dollarized in 1904; more recently, Ecuador fully dollarized in 2000.

domestication The purposeful selection and breeding of wild plants and animals for cultural purposes.

domino theory A U.S. geopolitical policy of the 1970s that stemmed from the assumption that if Vietnam fell to the Communists, the rest of Southeast Asia would soon follow.

Dravidian language family A strictly South Asian language family that includes such important languages as Tamil and Telugu. Once spoken through most of the region, Dravidian languages are now largely limited to southern South Asia.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity A loose confederation of self-governing churches in eastern Europe and Russia that are historically linked to Byzantine traditions and to the primacy of the patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul).

Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) An institution created by the European Union (EU) in 1999 to facilitate economic matters among member states, including usage of a common currency.

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) An intergovernmental organization that promotes economic integration and security among its 15 member states in West Africa. ECOWAS was founded in 1975.

economic migrants International migration driven by short-term or long-term employment opportunities in a host country. This can include temporary migrants (such as in the Gulf States) or long-term settlers such as in Canada or Australia.

ecosystem A biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

ecotourism A form of tourism oriented to natural environments with the aim of conservation, education, and low environmental impact; it tends to be smaller in scale than mass tourism.

edge city Suburban node of activity that features a mix of peripheral retailing, industrial parks, residential land uses, office complexes, and entertainment facilities.

El Niño An abnormally large warm current that appears off the coast of Ecuador and Peru in December. During an El Niño year, torrential rains can bring devastating floods along the Pacific coast and drought conditions in the interior continents of the Americas.

entrepôt A city and port that specializes in transshipment of goods.

environmental lapse rate The decline in temperature as one ascends higher in the atmosphere. On average, the temperature declines 3.5°F for every 1000 feet of elevation, or 6.5°C for every 1000 meters. Not to be confused with the adiabatic lapse rate.

ethnicity A shared cultural identity held by a group of people with a common background or history, often as a minority group within a larger society.

Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) A customs union (paralleling the European Union [EU]) designed to encourage trade as well as closer political ties between member states. Formed in 2015, the EEU contains five member states (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Kyrgyzstan).

European Union (EU) The current association of 28 (soon 27) European countries that are joined together in an agenda of economic, political, and cultural integration.

Eurozone The common monetary policy and currency of the European Union; those countries of Europe using the euro as its currency and who are members of the EU’s common monetary system, in contrast to those countries having a national currency and a monetary system. France is an example of the former, and the United Kingdom of the latter.

exclave A portion of a country’s territory that lies outside its contiguous land area.

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) An area of the ocean decreed by international law in which one local country has more rights to fishing and mineral rights than do other countries.

exotic river A river that issues from a humid area and flows into a dry area otherwise lacking streams.

exotic species Nonnative plants and animals.

family-friendly policies Public policies that encourage higher birth rates. An example would be extended maternity and paternity leaves for parents of a newborn.

fault A rock fracture along a plate boundary. Movement of the Earth’s crust along a fault can generate earthquakes and tsunamis.

federal state A country in which the major territorial subdivisions have a significant degree of political autonomy, such as the United States, India, or Mexico; federal states are contrasted with unitary states, in which the central governments set most policies.

Fertile Crescent An ecologically diverse zone of lands in Southwest Asia that extends from Lebanon eastward to Iraq and that is often associated with early forms of agricultural domestication.

feng shui Literally translated into English as “wind-water,” feng shui refers to a set of Chinese beliefs based on harmonizing human activities and buildings with the spiritual forces found in the natural environment. It is closely associated with the religion of Daoism.

fjord Flooded, glacially carved valley. In Europe, fjords are found primarily along Norway’s western coast and much of Iceland’s coast.

food deserts Places where people do not have ready access to supermarkets and fresh, healthy, and affordable food.

food insecurity The state of lacking physical or economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs for extended periods of time.

formal region A geographic concept used to describe an area where a static and specific trait (such as a language or a climate) has been mapped and described. A formal region contrasts with a functional region.

forward capital A capital city deliberately positioned near a contested territory, signifying the state’s interest and presence in this zone of conflict.

fossil water Water supplies that were stored underground during wetter climatic periods.

fracking See hydraulic fracturing.

free trade zone (FTZ) A duty-free and tax-exempt industrial park created to attract foreign corporations and create industrial jobs.

functional region A geographic concept used to describe the spatial extent dominated by a specific activity. The circulation area of a newspaper is an example, as is the trade area of a large city.

gender The social and cultural expressions of male- and femaleness, which contrasts with sex, which is the biological distinction between male and female.

gender gap A term often used to describe gender differences in salary, working conditions, or political power.

gender inequality Refers to unequal treatment or perceptions of people based on their gender. Typically these are socially constructed gender differencs such as access to education, differences in pay, or political participation.

gender roles How female and male behavior differs in a specific cultural context.

gentrification A process of urban revitalization in which higher income residents displace lower-income residents in central-city neighborhoods.

geographic information system (GIS) A computerized mapping and information system that analyzes vast amounts of data that may include many layers of specific kinds of information, such as microclimates, hydrology, vegetation, or land-use zoning regulations.

geography The spatial science that describes and explains physical and cultural phenomena on Earth’s surface.

geopolitics The relationship between politics and space and territory

geothermal Heat energy produced in Earth’s hot interior that can be utilized for generating heat and electricity.

glasnost A policy of greater political openness initiated during the 1980s by then Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

global positioning system (GPS) Originally used to describe a very accurate satellite-based location system, but now also used in a general sense to describe smartphone location systems that may use cell phone towers as a substitute for satellites.

globalization The increasing interconnectedness of people and places throughout the world through converging processes of economic, political, and cultural change.

glocalization The process of modifying an introduced product or service to accommodate local tastes or cultural practices.

Golden Triangle The world’s second largest opium and heroin producing area, located in northern Laos, Thailand, and Burma.

Grameen Bank A well-known microfinance organization based in Bangladesh that provides small, low-interest loans to local entrepreneurs, often women.

grassification The conversion of tropical forest into pasture for cattle ranching. Typically, this process involves introducing species of grasses and cattle, mostly from Africa.

Great Escarpment A landform that rims southern Africa from Angola to South Africa. It forms where the narrow coastal plains meet the elevated plateaus in an abrupt break in elevation.

Great Rift Valley The valleys and lakes of East Africa that form on the divergent plate boundary that extends north to south across East Africa. In this area the African Plate is in the slow process of splitting in two.

Greater Antilles The four large Caribbean islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico.

Greater Arab Free Trade Area (GAFTA) An organization created in 2005 by 17 members of the Arab League that is designed to eliminate all intraregional trade barriers and spur economic cooperation.

Green Revolution Highly productive agricultural techniques developed since the 1960s that entail the use of new hybrid plant varieties combined with large applications of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The term is generally applied to agricultural changes in developing countries, particularly India.

greenhouse effect The natural process of lower atmospheric heating that results from the trapping of incoming and reradiated solar energy by water moisture, clouds, and other atmospheric gases.

greenhouse gases (GHGs) Those atmospheric gases, both natural and human-caused, that trap reradiated solar energy, warming the lower layers of the atmosphere. Human-generated GHGs such as carbon dioxide and methane are causing Earth to warm, resulting in changes to the planet’s climates.

gross domestic product (GDP) The total value of goods and services produced within a given country (or other geographical unit) in a single year.

gross national income (GNI) The value of all final goods and services produced within a country’s borders (gross domestic product) plus the net income from abroad (formerly referred to as gross national product).

gross national income (GNI) per capita The figure that results from dividing a country’s GNI by the total population.

Group of Seven (G7) A collection of powerful countries that confer regularly on key global and political issues. It includes the United States, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, France, and Italy.

Gulag Archipelago A collection of Soviet-era labor camps for political prisoners, made famous by writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Hajj An Islamic religious pilgrimage to Makkah. One of the five essential pillars of the Muslim creed to be undertaken once in life, if an individual is physically and financially able to do it.

hallyu Literally meaning the “flow of Korea,” hallyu refers to the popularity of South Korean music, films, and television shows in other Asian countries and increasingly across the rest of the world as well.

haoles Light-skinned Europeans or U.S. citizens in the Hawaiian Islands.

high islands Large, elevated islands, often focused around recent volcanic activity.

Hindi An Indo-European language with more than 480 million speakers, making it the second-largest language group in the world. In India, it is the dominant language of the heavily populated north, specifically the core area of the Ganges Plain.

Hindu nationalism A contemporary “fundamental” religious and political movement that promotes Hindu values as the essential—and exclusive—fabric of Indian society. As a political movement, Hindu nationalism appears to be less tolerant of India’s large Muslim minority than are other political movements.

Hinduism The main religion of India and Nepal, which developed in the South Asian subcontinent over the past several thousand years. As many beliefs and religious practices vary significantly from one Hindu community to another, some scholars think of Hinduism more as a family of closely related religions than as a single faith.

Horn of Africa The northeastern corner of Sub-Saharan Africa that includes the states of Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. Drought, famine, and ethnic warfare in the 1980s and 1990s resulted in political turmoil in this area.

hukou An official record used in China to identify a specific person as a resident of a particular place. The hukou system is used in China to control the movement of people, particularly from rural areas to cities.

Human Development Index (HDI) For the past three decades, the United Nations has tracked social development in the world’s countries through the Human Development Index (HDI), which combines data on life expectancy, literacy, educational attainment, gender equity, and income.

human geography The branch of geography aligned with the social sciences. It deals with the human settlement of the earth, its peoples, settlement patterns, cultures, economies, social systems and interactions with the environment across space and at different scales.

human trafficking The practice of illegally transporting people from their home country for the purposes of forced labor or prostitution.

hurricane A tropical storm system with an abnormally low-pressure center, sustaining winds of 75 miles per hour (121 km/hour) or higher. Each year during hurricane season (July–October), a half dozen to a dozen hurricanes form in the warm waters of the Atlantic and Caribbean, bringing destructive winds and heavy rain.

hydraulic fracturing (fracking) A set of drilling technologies that injects a mix of water, sand, and chemicals underground in order to release and enhance the removal of natural gas and oil.

hydropolitics The interplay of water resource issues and politics.

ideographic writing A writing system in which each symbol represents not a sound but a concept.

indentured labor Foreign workers (generally South Asians) contracted to labor on Caribbean agricultural estates for a set period of time, often several years. Usually the contract stipulated paying off the travel debt incurred by the laborers. Similar indentured labor arrangements have existed in most world regions.

Indian diaspora The historical and contemporary propensity of Indians to migrate to other countries in search of better opportunities. This has led to large Indian populations in South Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific islands, along with western Europe and North America.

Indian subcontinent The name frequently given to South Asia in reference to its largest country. It forms a distinct landmass separated from the rest of the Eurasian continent by a series of sweeping mountain ranges, including the Himalayas—the highest mountains in the world.

Indo-European language Any language that is part of the world’s largest language family coming from one ancestral language. Most languages of Europe, northern and central South Asia, and Iran belong to this language family.

Industrial Revolution Technological change beginning in the 18th century when European factories first switched from using animate power (human and animal) to inanimate power (water and coal) to power machines.

industrialization A process of social and economic change that transforms an agrarian society into an industrial one, through the extensive reorganization of the economy into large scale manufacturing, advanced technical enterprises, and other productive economic activities.

informal economy See informal sector

informal sector A much-debated concept that presupposes a dual economic system consisting of formal and informal sectors. The informal sector includes self-employed, low-wage jobs that are usually unregulated and untaxed. Street vending, shoe shining, artisan manufacturing, and self-built housing are considered part of the informal sector. Some scholars include illegal activities such as drug smuggling and prostitution in the informal economy.

insolation A measure of solar radiation, often expressed in units of solar energy received over a specific area (square foot or square meter) over a specific period of time.

insurgency A political rebellion or uprising.

intercropping The practice of planting multiple crops in the same field.

internally displaced persons (IDPs) Groups and individuals who flee an area due to conflict or famine but still remain in their country of origin. These populations often live in refugee-like conditions but are difficult to assist because they technically do not qualify as refugees.

Iron Curtain A term coined by British leader Winston Churchill during the Cold War to define the western border of Soviet power in Europe. The notorious Berlin Wall was a concrete manifestation of the Iron Curtain.

irredentism A state or national policy of reclaiming lost lands or those inhabited by people of the same ethnicity in another nation-state.

ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant; also known as ISIL or IS) A violent Sunni extremist organization that has seen its territorial influence in Iraq and Syria reduced as it attempts to create a new religious state (a caliphate) in the region. ISIS is also active elsewhere in North Africa and across South and Southwest Asia.

Islamic fundamentalism A movement within both the Shiite and Sunni Muslim traditions to return to a more conservative, religious-based society and state. Often associated with a rejection of Western culture and with a political aim to merge civic and religious authority.

Islamism A political movement within the religion of Islam that challenges the encroachment of global popular culture and blames colonial, imperial, and Western elements for many of the region’s problems. Adherents of Islamism advocate merging civil and religious authority.

Jainism A religious group in South Asia that emerged as a protest against orthodox Hinduism around the 6th century bce. Its ethical core is the doctrine of noninjury to all living creatures. Today, Jains are noted for their nonviolence, which prohibits them from taking the life of any animal.

jet stream A band of strong upper-atmosphere air currents encircling the globe that affect surface weather and air movement.

kanakas Melanesian agricultural workers imported to Australia, historically concentrated along Queensland’s “Sugar Coast.”

Khmer Rouge Literally, “Red (or Communist) Cambodians,” the left-wing insurgent group that overthrew the royal Cambodian government in 1975 and subsequently created one of the most brutal political systems the world has ever seen.

kleptocracy A state where corruption is so institutionalized that politicians and bureaucrats siphon off a huge percentage of a country’s wealth.

Kyoto Protocol An international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. It was enacted in 1997 and expired in 2015 when it was replaced by the Paris Agreement.

laissez-faire An economic system in which the state has minimal involvement and in which market forces largely guide economic activity.

language families A group of languages related through a common ancestral language. English, as well as most European languages, is part of the Indo-European language family.

latifundia A large estate or landholding in Latin America.

Latin alphabet The alphabet devised by the ancient Romans that is used today for writing most European languages, including English. It is also used for a number of non-European languages, such as Swahili and Vietnamese. The Latin alphabet is one of two distinct alphabets which complicate the geography of Slavic languages. In countries with a strong Roman Catholic heritage, such as Poland and Czechia, this script is used. In contrast, some countries with close ties to the Orthodox Church—Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Serbia—use the Cyrillic alphabet.

latitude (parallels) The angular distance north or south from the equator of a point on the earth’s surface. It is measured from 0 degrees at the equator to 90 degrees at the poles.

less developed country (LDC) A sovereign state with low income per capita, limited infrastructure and social welfare, and mixed levels of industrialization. Most LDCs are in Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Lesser Antilles The arc of small Caribbean islands from St. Maarten to Trinidad.

Levant The eastern Mediterranean region.

lingua franca An agreed-upon common language to facilitate communication on specific topics such as international business, politics, sports, or entertainment.

linguistic nationalism The promotion of one language over others that is, in turn, linked to shared notions of nationalism. In India, some Hindu nationalists promote Hindi as the national language, yet this is resisted by many other groups who live where that language is either not spoken or does not have the same central cultural role as in the Ganges Valley.

location factors The various influences that explain why an economic activity takes place where it does.

loess A fine, wind-deposited sediment that makes fertile soil but is very vulnerable to water erosion.

longitude (meridians) Longitude lines or meridians run north-south, from pole to pole, and measure distance east or west from the Prime Meridian (0 degrees) located in Greenwich, England near London.

low islands Flat, low-lying islands formed by coral reefs, and contrasting with high islands that were formed from volcanic eruptions.

Maghreb A region in northwestern Africa that includes portions of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.

maharaja Regional Hindu royalty, usually a king or prince, who ruled specific areas of South Asia before independence but who was usually subject to overrule by British colonial advisers.

mallee A tough and scrubby eucalyptus woodland of limited economic value that is common across portions of interior Australia.

Maoism Refers to the specific variety of Marxism that was developed by the Chinese leader Mao Zedong in the mid-20th century. Unlike mainstream Marxism, Maoism regards peasants rather than industrial workers as forming the main potentially revolutionary class that can help create a Communist society.

Maori Indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand.

map projections The cartographic and mathematical solution to translating the surface of a rounded globe (usually Earth) to a flat surface (usually a piece of paper) with a minimum of distortion.

map scale The relationship between distances on a mapped object such as Earth and depiction of that space on a map. Large scale maps cover small areas in great detail, whereas small scale maps depict less detail but over large areas.

maquiladora Assembly plants on the Mexican border built by foreign capital. Most of their products are exported to the United States.

marine west coast climate A moderate climate with cool summers and mild winters that is heavily influenced by maritime conditions. Such climates are usually found on the west coasts of continents between the latitudes 45 to 50 degrees.

maritime climate A climate moderated by proximity to oceans or large seas. It is usually cool, cloudy, and wet and lacks the temperature extremes of continental climates.

maroons Runaway slaves who established communities rich in African traditions throughout the Caribbean and Brazil.

marsupial A class of mammals found primarily in the Southern Hemisphere with the distinctive characteristic of carrying their young in a pouch. Kangaroos are perhaps the best-known marsupial, with wallabies, koalas, wombats, and the Tasmanian Devil also found in Oceania.

Marxism A philosophy developed by Karl Marx, the most important historical proponent of communism. Marxism, which has many variants, presumes the desirability and, indeed, the necessity of a socialist economic system run through a central planning agency.

medieval landscape An urban landscape from 900 to 1500 ce, characterized by narrow, winding streets, and three- or four-story structures (usually stone, but sometimes wooden), with little open space except for the market square. These landscapes are still found in the centers of many European cities.

medina The original urban core of a traditional Islamic city.

Mediterranean climate A unique climate, found in only five locations in the world, characterized by hot, dry summers with very little rainfall. These climates are located on the west side of continents, between 30 and 40 degrees latitude.

megacities Urban conglomerations of more than 10 million people.

Megalopolis A large urban region formed as multiple cities grow and merge with one another. The term is often applied to the string of cities in eastern North America that includes Washington, DC; Baltimore; Philadelphia; New York City; and Boston.

Melanesia A Pacific Ocean region that includes the culturally complex, generally darker-skinned peoples of New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Fiji.

Mercosur The Southern Common Market, established in 1991, which calls for free trade among member states and common external tariffs for nonmember states. Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Uruguay are members; Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia are associate members.

meridians See longitude

mestizo A person of mixed European and Indian ancestry.

Micronesia A Pacific Ocean region that includes the culturally diverse, generally small islands north of Melanesia. Micronesia includes the Mariana Islands, Marshall Islands, and Federated States of Micronesia.

microstates Usually independent states that are small in both area and population.

mikrorayon A large, state-constructed urban housing project built during the Soviet period in the 1970s and 1980s.

minifundia A small landholding farmed by peasants or tenants who produce food for subsistence and the market.

mono-crop production Agriculture based on a single crop.

monotheism A religious belief in a single God.

Monroe Doctrine A proclamation issued by U.S. President James Monroe in 1823 that the United States would not tolerate European military action in the Western Hemisphere. Focused on the Caribbean as a strategic area, the doctrine was repeatedly invoked to justify U.S. political and military intervention in the region.

monsoon The seasonal pattern of changes in winds, heat, and moisture in South Asia and other regions of the world that is a product of larger meteorological forces of land and water heating, the resultant pressure gradients, and jet-stream dynamics. The monsoon produces distinct wet and dry seasons.

monsoon wind Continental-scale winds that flow from high to low pressure. In South Asia, Southeast Asia and in North America’s Southwest, monsoon winds are associated with rainy weather.

more developed country (MDC) A sovereign state that has an industrialized economy, advanced infrastructure, social welfare, and high income per capita. Most MDCs are in North America, Western Europe, and parts of East Asia and Oceania.

Mughal (or Mogul) Empire The powerful Muslim state that ruled most of northern South Asia in the 1500s and 1600s. The last vestiges of the Mughal dynasty were dissolved by the British following the rebellion of 1857.

nation-state A relatively homogeneous cultural group (a nation) with its own political territory (the state).

nationalism A sense of loyalty or devotion to a nation or nation-state. Nationalism can be a unifying force that promotes a collective identity held together by shared principles, beliefs, history, and culture.

Native Title Bill A bill by the Australian legislation signed in 1993 that provides Aborigines with enhanced legal rights regarding land and resources within the country.

neocolonialism Economic and political strategies by which powerful states indirectly (and sometimes directly) extend their influence over other, weaker states.

neoliberalism Economic policies widely adopted in the 1990s that stress privatization, export production, and few restrictions on imports.

neotropics Tropical ecosystems of the Americas that evolved in relative isolation and support diverse and unique flora and fauna.

net migration rate A statistic that depicts whether more people are entering or leaving a country through migration per year. It is usually expressed as a positive or negative number per 1000 people in the population.

new urbanism An urban design movement stressing higher density, mixed-use, pedestrian-scaled neighborhoods where residents might be able to walk to work, school, and local entertainment.

nonmetropolitan growth A pattern of migration in which people leave large cities and suburbs and move to smaller towns and rural areas.

nonrenewable energy Those energy sources such as oil and coal with finite reserves.

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) An agreement made in 1994 among Canada, the United States, and Mexico that established a 15-year plan for reducing all barriers to trade among the three countries. The agreement was renegotiated in 2018 and will be renamed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Initially NATO was a group of North Atlantic and European allies who came together in 1949 to counter the Soviet threat to western Europe.

northern sea route An ice-free channel along Siberia’s northern coast that will grow in importance given sustained global warming.

Oceania A major world subregion that is usually considered to include Australia, New Zealand, and the major island regions of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

offshore banking Financial services offered by islands or microstates that are typically confidential and tax exempt. As part of a global financial system, offshore banks have developed a unique niche, offering their services to individual and corporate clients for set fees. The Bahamas and the Cayman Islands are leaders in this sector.

oligarchs A small group of wealthy, very private businessmen who control (along with organized crime) important aspects of the Russian economy.

One Belt, One Road Also known as the “New Silk Road” initiative, this is a program that China is using to attempt to reorient global trade networks so that they focus on the Eurasian landmass rather than the Atlantic and Pacific ocean basins, a move that could have major geopolitical ramifications.

Organization of American States (OAS) Founded in 1948 and headquartered in Washington, DC, an organization that advocates hemispheric cooperation and dialogue. Most states in the Americas, except Cuba, belong to the OAS.

Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) An international organization (formed in 1960) of 12 oil-producing nations that attempts to influence global prices and supplies of oil. Algeria, Gabon, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela are members.

orographic effect The influence of mountains on weather and climate, usually referring to the increase of precipitation on the windward side of mountains, and a drier zone (or rain shadow) on the leeward or downwind side of the mountain.

orographic rainfall Enhanced precipitation over uplands that results from lifting and cooling of air masses as they are forced over mountains.

Ottoman Empire A large, Turkish-based empire (named for Osman, one of its founders) that dominated large portions of southeastern Europe, North Africa, and Southwest Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries.

Outback Australia’s large, generally dry, and thinly settled interior.

outsourcing A business practice that transfers portions of a company’s production and service activities to lower-cost settings, often located overseas.

Pacific Alliance A trade-oriented agreement formed in 2011 which includes Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile; Costa Rica and Panama are in the process of joining the alliance.

Palestinian Authority (PA) A quasi-governmental body that represents Palestinian interests in the West Bank and Gaza.

Pancasila The official national philosophy of Indonesia, which emphasizes belief in one God, a just and civilized humanity, the unity of Indonesia, democracy, and social justice.

parallels See latitude

Paris Agreement A 2015 international agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change signed by most of the world’s countries and aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to global climate change.

pastoral nomadism A traditional subsistence agricultural system in which practitioners depend on the seasonal movements of livestock within marginal natural environments.

pastoralists Nomadic and sedentary peoples who rely on livestock (especially cattle, camels, sheep, and goats) for sustenance and livelihood.

perestroika A program of partially implemented, planned economic reforms (or restructuring) undertaken during the Gorbachev years in the Soviet Union and designed to make the Soviet economy more efficient and responsive to consumer needs.

permafrost A cold-climate condition in which the ground remains permanently frozen.

physical geography A major subfield of geography more closely aligned with the natural sciences. It studies the processes and patterns in the natural world in terms of climate, vegetation, landforms, and hydrosphere, and how humans modify these systems.

physiological density A population statistic that relates the number of people in a country to the amount of arable land.

Pidgin English A version of English that also incorporates elements of other local languages, often utilized to foster trade and basic communication between different culture groups.

place As a geographic concept, this term not only describes a location but also encompasses the meaning that people give to such areas, as in “sense of place.” This diverse fabric of placefulness is of great interest to geographers because it tells us much about the human condition throughout the world.

plantation America A cultural region that extends from midway up the coast of Brazil, through the Guianas and the Caribbean, and into the southeastern United States. In this coastal zone, European-owned plantations, worked by African laborers, produced agricultural products for export.

plate tectonics A geophysical theory that postulates Earth’s surface is made up of numerous large segments (tectonic plates) that move very slowly. The tensions between these tectonic plates, through long periods of time, have shaped Earth’s surface and topography. In the shorter term, plate movement cause some areas of Earth to be more prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.

podzol soil A Russian term for an acidic soil of limited fertility, typically found in northern forest environments.

pollution exporting The process of exporting industrial pollution and other waste material to other countries. Pollution exporting can be direct, as when waste is simply shipped abroad for disposal, or indirect, as when highly polluting factories are constructed abroad.

Polynesia A Pacific Ocean region, broadly unified by language and cultural traditions, that includes the Hawaiian Islands, Marquesas Islands, Society Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, Cook Islands, American Samoa, Samoa, Tonga, and Kiribati.

population density The population of an area as measured by people per spatial unit, usually people per square mile or square kilometer.

population pyramid The structure of a population measuring the percentage of young and old, presented graphically as a pyramid-shaped graph. This graph plots the percentage of all different age groups along a vertical axis that divides the population into male and female.

postindustrial economy An economy in which the tertiary and quaternary sectors dominate employment and expansion.

prairie An extensive area of grassland in North America. In the more humid eastern portions, grasses are usually taller than in the drier western areas, which are in the rain shadow of the Rocky Mountain range.

primate city The largest urban settlement in a country that dominates all other urban places, economically and politically. Often, but not always, the primate city is also the country’s capital. Primate cities are usually three to four times larger than the next largest city in a country.

proven reserves The amount of a non-renewable energy source (oil, coal, and gas) still in the ground that is feasible to exploit under current market conditions.

purchasing power parity (PPP) An important qualification to GNI per capita data is the concept of PPP, an adjustment that takes into account the strength or weakness of local currencies.

Quran (or Koran) A book of divine revelations received by the prophet Muhammad that serves as a holy text in the religion of Islam.

rain shadow A drier area of lower precipitation, usually on the leeward or downwind side of a mountain range, that receives less rain and snowfall than the windward or upwind side.

rate of natural increase (RNI) The standard statistic used to express natural population growth per year for a country, a region, or the world, based on the difference between birthrates and death rates. RNI does not consider population change from migration. Though most often a positive figure (such as 1.7 percent), RNI can also be expressed as a negative figure (such as –.08 percent) for no-growth countries.

refugee A person who flees his or her country because of a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, or political affiliation.

region A geographic concept of areal or spatial similarity, large or small.

regional geography Regional geography focuses on areal units that share particular characteristics. This book examines 12 world regions and outlines processes that unite these areas as well as divides them.

religion A belief in and worship of a superhuman god or gods, usually organized into a system of designated behaviors, texts, holy places, and world views. The major world religions in terms of number of followers are Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

remittances Monies sent by immigrants working abroad to family members and communities in their countries of origin. For many countries in the developing world, remittances often amount to billions of dollars each year. For small countries, remittances can equal 5 to 10 percent of a country’s gross domestic product.

remote sensing A method of digitally photographing Earth’s surface from satellites or high altitude aircraft so that the image captured can be manipulated by computers to translate information into certain electromagnetic bandwidths, which, in turn, emphasizes certain features and patterns on Earth’s surface.

Renaissance–Baroque period A historical period, dated roughly from the 16th to the 19th century, characterized by certain urban planning designs and architectural styles that are still found today in many European cities: wide, ceremonial boulevards; large monumental structures (palaces, public squares, churches, and so on); and ostentatious housing for the urban elite.

renewable energy Energy sources, such as solar, wind, and hydro, that are replenished by nature at a faster rate than they are used or consumed and generally have a low environmental impact.

replacement rate The average number of children born to women in order to have a stable population. The global replacement rate is 2.1.

rift valley Deep trenches or valleys on Earth’s surface created where tectonic plates diverge from each other.

rimland The mainland coastal zone of the Caribbean, beginning with Belize and extending along the coast of Central America to northern South America.

Russification A policy of the Soviet Union designed to spread Russian settlers and influences to non-Russian areas of the country.

rust belt Regions of heavy industry that experience marked economic decline after their factories cease to be competitive.

Sahel The semidesert region at the southern fringe of the Sahara, and the countries that fall within this region, which extends from Senegal to Sudan. Droughts in the 1970s and early 1980s caused widespread famine and dislocation of population.

salinization The accumulation of salts in the upper layers of soil, often causing a reduction in crop yields, resulting from irrigation using water with high natural salt content and/or irrigation of soils that contain a high level of mineral salts.

Sanskrit The original Indo-European language of South Asia, introduced into northwestern India perhaps 4,000 years ago, from which modern Indo-Aryan languages evolved. Over the centuries, Sanskrit has become the classical literary language of the Hindus and is widely used as a scholarly second language, much like Latin in medieval Europe.

Schengen Agreement The 1985 agreement between most European Union member countries and some neighbors to reduce border formalities in order to facilitate freer movement of Europeans between countries for work, study, or tourism. Initially this agreement created a new “Schengenland” of a borderless Europe where one could move freely, for example, between France, Germany, and Italy. By 2015, however, many countries had reestablished border controls in response to the large number of unauthorized migrants entering Europe.

sectarian violence Conflicts that divide people along ethnic, religious, and sectarian lines.

sectoral transformation The evolution of a labor force from being highly dependent on the primary sector to being oriented around more employment in the secondary, tertiary, and quaternary sectors.

secularism The term describes both the separation of politics and religion, as well as the nonreligious segment of a population. An example of the first usage is the secularism of the U.S. Constitution, which clearly separates state from church; whereas in the second usage it is common to refer to the growing secularism of Europe, referring to the disinterest in religion of a large part of the population.

sediment load The amount of sand, silt, and clay carried by a river.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Formed in 2001, a geopolitical group composed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan that focuses on common security threats and works to enhance economic cooperation and cultural exchange in Central Asia.

sharia law A legal system based on Islamic religious tradition as stated in the Quran (Koran).

shield A large upland area of very old exposed rocks. Shields range in elevation from 600 to 5000 feet (200 to 1500 meters). The three major shields in South America are the Guiana, Brazilian, and Patagonian.

Shiite A Muslim who practices one of the two main branches of Islam. Shiites are especially dominant in Iran and nearby southern Iraq.

shogun The true ruler of Japan before 1868. In contrast, the emperor’s power was merely symbolic.

shogunate The political order of Japan before 1868, in which power was held by the military leader known as the shogun, rather than by the emperor, whose authority was merely symbolic.

Sikhism An Indian religion combining Islamic and Hindu elements, founded in the Punjab region in the late 15th century. Most of the people of the Indian state of Punjab currently follow this religion.

Silk Road An historical trade route that extended across Central Asia, linking China with Europe and Southwest Asia.

siloviki Members of military and security forces within Russia.

Slavic peoples A group of peoples in eastern Europe and Russia who speak Slavic languages, a distinctive branch of the Indo-European language family.

social and regional differentiation A process by which certain classes of people, or regions of a country, grow richer when others grow poorer.

socialist realism A artistic style once popular in the Soviet Union that was associated with realistic depictions of workers in their patriotic struggles against capitalism.

Southern African Development Community (SADC) An intergovernmental organization concerned with the socio-economic cooperation, integration, and security of its 15 member states in southern Africa. It is headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

sovereignty The ability of a government to control its territorial state without any interference from outside sources or bodies.

Soviet Union Created in 1917, a sprawling communist state that dominated the region until 1991. Also known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (or USSR).

space A geographic concept that represents a more abstract, quantitative, and model-driven approach to understanding how objects and practices are connected and impact each other.

Spanglish A hybrid combination of English and Spanish spoken by Hispanic Americans.

Special Economic Zones (SEZs) Relatively small districts in China that have been fully opened to global capitalism.

spheres of influence In countries not formally colonized in the 19th and early 20th centuries (particularly China and Iran), limited areas gained by particular European countries for trade purposes and more generally for economic exploitation and political manipulation.

squatter settlement Makeshift housing on land not legally owned or rented by urban migrants, usually in unoccupied open spaces within or on the outskirts of a rapidly growing city.

steppe Semiarid grasslands found in many parts of the world. Grasses are usually shorter and less dense in steppes than in prairies.

structural adjustment programs Controversial yet widely implemented programs used to reduce government spending, encourage the private sector, and refinance foreign debt. Typically, these International Monetary Fund and World Bank policies trigger drastic cutbacks in government-supported services and food subsidies, which disproportionately affect the poor.

subduction zone A tectonic boundary where one colliding plate slips under another.

Suez Canal A pivotal waterway connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean opened by the French in 1869.

Sunni A Muslim who practices the dominant branch of Islam.

sustainable agriculture A system of agriculture where organic farming principles, a limited use of chemicals, and an integrated plan of crop and livestock management combine to offer both producers and consumers environmentally friendly alternatives.

sustainable development An organizing principle for meeting human development goals while at the same time sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the resources and ecosystem services (clean air or water) upon which the economy and society depend.

Sustainable Development Goals Goals resulting from a UN–led effort to end extreme poverty by focusing on 17 key indicators, the top five of which are no poverty, zero hunger, good health, quality education, and gender equality, with key benchmarks for 2030.

swidden Also called slash-and-burn agriculture or shifting cultivation, a form of cultivation in which forested or brushy plots are cleared of vegetation, burned, and then planted to crops, only to be abandoned a few years later as soil fertility declines.

syncretic religions Religions that feature a blending of different belief systems. In Latin America, for example, many animist practices were folded into Christian worship.

systematic geography See thematic geography

taiga The vast coniferous forest of Russia that stretches from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean. The main forest species are fir, spruce, and larch.

Taliban A harsh, Islamic fundamentalist political group that ruled most of Afghanistan in the late 1990s. In 2001, the Taliban lost power, but later regrouped in Pakistan and continues to fight against the Afghan government in southern and eastern Afghanistan.

territory A concept integral to the practice of sovereignty delimiting the area over which a state exercises control and which is recognized by other states.

terrorism The systematic use of terror to achieve political or cultural goals.

thematic geography (systematic geography) The subject areas around which geographers organize their research efforts such as environmental, population, cultural, political or economic geography, to name a few.

theocracy A political state led by religious authorities. Also called a theocratic state.

theocratic state See theocracy.

total fertility rate (TFR) The average number of children who will be borne by women of a hypothetical, yet statistically valid, population, such as that of a specific cultural group or within a particular country. Demographers consider TFR a more reliable indicator of population change than the crude birthrate.

township Racially segregated neighborhoods created for nonwhite groups under apartheid in South Africa. They are usually found on the outskirts of cities and classified as black, coloured, or South Asian.

Trans-Siberian Railroad A key southern Siberian railroad connection completed during the Russian empire (1904) that links European Russia with the Russian Far East terminus of Vladivostok.

transhumance A form of pastoralism in which animals are taken to high-altitude pastures during the summer months and returned to low-altitude pastures during the winter.

transmigration The planned, government-sponsored relocation of people from one area to another within a state territory.

transnational migration Complex social and economic linkages that form between home and host countries through international migration. Unlike earlier generations of migrants, 21st-century immigrants can maintain enduring and complex ties to their home countries as a result of technological advances.

Treaty of Tordesillas A treaty signed in 1494 between Spain and Portugal that drew a north–south line some 300 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde islands. Spain received the land to the west of the line and Portugal the land to the east.

tribalism Allegiance to a particular tribe or ethnic group rather than to the nation-state. Tribalism is often blamed for internal conflict in Sub-Saharan states.

tribes A group of families or clans with a common kinship, language, and definable territory but not an organized state.

tsar A Russian term (also spelled czar) for “Caesar,” or ruler. Tsars were the authoritarian rulers of the Russian empire before its collapse in the 1917 revolution.

tsetse fly A fly that is a vector for a parasite that causes sleeping sickness (typanosomiasis), a disease that especially affects humans and livestock. Livestock is rarely found in areas of Sub-Saharan Africa where the tsetse fly is common.

tsunami A very large sea wave induced by earthquakes.

tundra Arctic biome with a short growing season in which vegetation is limited to low shrubs, grasses, and flowering herbs.

typhoon A large tropical storm, similar to a hurricane, that forms in the western Pacific Ocean in tropical latitudes and can cause widespread damage to the Philippines and coastal Southeast and East Asia.

UNASUR (Union of South American Nations) A supranational organization that seeks to integrate trade and population movements within South America. Created in 2008, it is modeled after the European Union.

unitary state A political system in which power is centralized at the national level.

urban decentralization The process in which cities spread out over a larger geographical area.

urban heat island An effect in built-up areas in which development associated with cities often produces nighttime temperatures some 9 to 14°F (5 to 8°C) warmer than nearby rural areas.

urban primacy A state in which a disproportionately large city (for example, London, New York or Bangkok) dominates the urban system and is the center of economic, political, and cultural life.

urbanization The process of people moving to and residing in cities. High rates of urbanization in a country is often associated with greater levels of industrialization and economic development. Today over half of the world’s population is urbanized.

Urdu One of Pakistan’s official languages (along with English), Urdu is very similar to the Indian language of Hindi, although it includes more words derived from Persian and Arabic and is written in a modified form of the Persian Arabic alphabet. Although most Pakistanis do not speak Urdu at home, it is widely used as a second language and is extensively employed in education, the media, and government, thus giving Pakistan a kind of cultural unity.

viticulture Grape cultivation.

Warsaw Pact The Cold War military alliance of eight Soviet-controlled eastern European states created to counter the west’s NATO Pact. The Warsaw Pact was formed in 1954 and disbanded in 1991.

water stress A condition where water availability is less than water demand, either currently or projected for the future.

watershed An area that serves as a catchment for the waters of a river system; a drainage basin

White Australia Policy Before 1973, a set of stringent Australian limitations on nonwhite immigration to the country. It has been largely replaced by a more flexible policy today.

World Bank An international financial institution that provides loans to countries of the world for capital projects.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Formed as an outgrowth of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1995, the WTO is a large collection of member states dedicated to reducing global barriers to trade. The WTO currently includes 164 countries.