1. What are the differences between the terms country, state, and nation?

1. What are the four criteria that must be met for a political unit to be defined as a state?

2. What is sovereignty and why is it essential for a state to maintain it?

1. Why does a state need defined borders and a permanent population to maintain sovereignty?

2. What does it mean that most states are multinational, and what challenges does this create?

1. How does the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan illustrate the challenges of defining statehood and sovereignty?

2. Why does Taiwan's limited international recognition affect its status as a state?

1. What characteristics define a nation, and how does a nation differ from a state?

1. What makes Iceland and Japan examples of nation-states, and what role do immigration policies play in maintaining this status?

1. How has Canada addressed the challenges of being a multinational state with distinct English and French-speaking populations?

2. What is the significance of Canada's creation of Nunavut and its recognition of First Nations?

1. What is an autonomous region and why do states grant autonomy to geographically or culturally distinct areas?

2. How does the example of Åland illustrate the relationship between autonomous regions and their parent states?

1. What is the difference between an autonomous region and a semiautonomous region, and how does the Navajo reservation exemplify semiautonomy?

2. What rights and limitations does tribal sovereignty provide to Native American reservations like the Navajo?

1. What is a stateless nation and why do stateless nations exist despite the world having more nations than states?

2. How does the example of the Kurdish people illustrate the challenges faced by stateless nations spread across multiple countries?

1. What is a multistate nation and how do the examples of Hungarians and Koreans illustrate this concept?

1. How does the current mixture of nations without states, nations in multiple states, and states with multiple nations reflect the distribution of cultures and evolution of politics over the last 600 years?

1. How did the relationship between language, culture, and political boundaries change from the 1500s to the 1800s in Europe?

2. What role did nationalism play in the unification of Italy between 1858 and 1871?

1. What is nationalism and how does it function as a centripetal force?

2. What are examples of centripetal forces that unite people within a country?

3. How do centrifugal forces divide people and break states apart, and what is an example of this in Belgium?

1. What is the difference between imperialism and colonialism?

2. What were the three main motivations for European imperialism and colonialism, and how did the concept of terra nullius justify European conquests?

1. Which European powers led the first wave of colonialism and what regions did they colonize?

2. How did the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution influence the spread of independence movements in the Americas?

1. What economic and competitive factors drove the second wave of European colonization in Africa and Asia during the 19th century?

2. How did the Berlin Conference create state boundaries in Africa, and what were the consequences of ignoring existing ethno-linguistic and cultural boundaries?

3. How does Nigeria's linguistic diversity illustrate the problems created by colonial boundary-drawing?

1. What is self-determination and how did the United Nations support colonial independence movements?

2. What is decolonization and what was its outcome for European colonial territories?

3. What is neocolonialism and how did it emerge as a new form of control after political independence?

1. Why did many newly independent African states experience civil wars after 1960?

2. What were the causes and consequences of the 1994 Rwandan genocide?

3. How do mismatched cultural and political boundaries create ongoing geopolitical problems in Africa and the Middle East?

1. What was the Cold War and how did it influence newly independent states emerging from colonialism?

2. What were satellite states and how did the Soviet Union maintain control over Eastern European countries?

3. What was the significance of the Berlin Wall and what did its construction represent?

1. What is devolution and how did it lead to the creation of 15 independent states from the Soviet Union?

2. How did the breakup of Czechoslovakia differ from the breakup of Yugoslavia in terms of violence and ethnic tensions?

3. What is ethnic cleansing and how was it used during the breakup of Yugoslavia?

1. How did the collapse of communism and the Soviet Union change the balance of power in Europe and globally?

2. Why did Russia's loss of influence in Eastern Europe lead to military interventions in Georgia and Crimea?

3. How did Russia justify its annexation of Crimea in 2014, and why did most countries reject this justification?

1. What is territoriality and how do people express it at local, national, and international scales?

2. How do states maintain sovereignty within their borders through both the consent of people and international negotiation?

1. Why do people often disagree over territorial boundaries despite maps showing them as clear, precise lines?

1. How has the division between Sunni and Shia Islam contributed to territorial conflicts between Saudi Arabia and Iran?

2. How do both religious and ethnic differences intensify the rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran?

1. Why are multiple countries willing to risk conflict over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea?

2. How has China attempted to expand its territorial claims in the Spratly Islands through dredging and land reclamation?

1. What is neocolonialism and how did it emerge after decolonization?

2. How did newly independent nations remain economically dependent on their former colonial powers?

3. How did conditional loans from developed countries affect the economic independence of developing nations?

1. What is a choke point and why are water-based choke points more vital to global commerce than land-based ones?

2. How do countries benefit economically and geopolitically from controlling strategic choke points?

3. What makes the Strait of Hormuz the world's most important choke point?

4. Why did Russia's control of Crimea provide strategic advantages related to the Turkish Straits and global commerce?