Southernmost continent in the world.  It has no permanent residents and doesn't belong to any country.

:  There are two types, exclusionary and inclusionary.  Exclusionary is meant to keep people out, such as the border between the U.S. and Mexico.  Inclusionary is meant to facilitate trade and movement, such as the U.S.-Canada border.

The process of creating boundaries.

Many boundaries are natural boundaries, formed by rivers, mountains, etc.   There are also political boundaries.  These are often formed through war and compromise in treaties and agreements.  In countries often form cultural boundaries that used to belong to a groups cultural homeland.   However, countries in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere aren't arranged by culture but politics, and Western countries turned their former colonies into nations without respect for culture.

Religious, political, economic, conflict, etc. that causes disunity in a state.

The attempt by a country to establish settlements and impose political and economic control and principles.   It was a big thing in the 17^th through 20^th century for countries in Europe to take areas around the world and make them into colonies.

association of sovereign states by a treaty or agreement.   It deals with issues such as defense, foreign affairs, trade, and a common currency.

Regulated trade and colonization in Africa.  It formalized the scramble to gain colonies in Africa and set up boundaries for each country’s colonies.

Decolonization is the movement of American/European colonies gaining independence. Some were peaceful struggles while others became violent.

Devolution is the both the decentralization of a government from a unitary to a federal system or a fracturing of a government like Balkanization.

Domino theory is the idea that if one land in a region came under the influence of Communists, then more would follow in a domino effect. The domino theory was used by successive United States administrations during the Cold War, to justify American intervention around the world.

An Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is a sea zone over which a state has special rights over the exploration and use of marine resources. The country that controls the EEZ has rights to the fishing, whaling, etc., as well as the raw material resources.

An ethnic conflict is a war between ethnic groups often as a result of ethnic nationalism or fight over natural resources. Ethnic conflict often includes genocide. It can also be caused by boundary disputes.

A forward capital is a symbolically relocated capital city usually because of either economic or strategic reasons. A forward capital is sometimes used to integrate outlying parts of a country into the state. An example would be Brasília.

A frontier is a zone where no state exercises complete political control. It is usually uninhabited or sparsely inhabited. It separates countries where a boundary cannot be found. A current example can be found between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Geopolitics is the study that analyzes geography, history and social science with reference to international politics. It examines the political and strategic significance of geography, where geography is defined in terms of the location, size, and resources of places.

Gerrymandering is the process of redrawing legislative boundaries for the purpose of benefiting the political party in power. The process is usually used to turn “too close to call” states into a party’s favor.

Global commons is that which no one person or state may own or control and which is central to life. A global common contains an infinite potential with regard to the understanding and advancement of the biology and society of all life. (Forests, oceans, land mass and cultural identity)

Conflicts over the location, size, and extent of borders between nations. There is conflict over where exactly the border is between the U.S. and Mexico, especially along the Rio Grande because the river has changed course and moved, and it is the traditional border.