“Centrifugal forces” are forces within a country that work to pull that country apart. They are more common in larger states, particularly states that contain a large number of different nationalities competing for control and/or self-determination.

A “forward-thrust capital” is a capital that is deliberately located, or relocated, to a specific region within a country. Islamabad in Pakistan and Brasilia in Brazil are the two most notable examples of “forward-thrust capitals."

For much of Brazil’s history, its economic development has been largely concentrated in the coastal regions, and more specifically in the southeastern coastal region where Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paolo, and other wealthy Brazilian cities are located. In an effort to accelerate the growth of the interior of the country, and to further unify the disparate regions of the vast Brazilian territory, the government moved the capital from Rio to Brasilia in 1960.

Quebec is the French-speaking province of Canada that contains the important cities of Montreal and Quebec City. Due to its status as a majority French-speaking province within an English-speaking state Quebec has many distinct cultural features that distinguish it from the rest of Canada. Quebec routinely seeks self-determination through referendums and political movements. After a very slim referendum victory in 1998, support for the separatist Bloc Quebecois has slipped, as has that party's power in the national parliament.

Centripetal forces pull a country together- like a common language, shared culture, or spirit of nationalism do. Centrifugal forces pull a country apart- often ethnic or ideological differences, but geographic features like mountain ranges as well, since they physically divide people within the country and can make communication difficult.

Gerrymandering refers to the process wherein political officials redraw electoral districts to favor a certain political party, ethnic group, coalition, or social class. The process can be done either by "packing" districts with specific kinds of voters or by drawing lines so as to create districts which have small advantages in voter numbers. Gerrymandering intentionally creates uneven representation and is usually seen as a negative process.

Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating the layout of voting districts in order to give particular groups greater voting power while concentrating the voting power of opposing groups.

Gerrymandering occurs when governments choose electoral boundaries to favor one particular party. Electioneering is to take part in the activities of a campaign. State formation and district formation are not related to gerrymandering. Racial steering is persuading members of a certain race to live with people of their own race, maintaining the homogeneity of neighborhoods.

The Heartland Theory was first proposed by Halford Mackinder. According to Mackinder’s theory any government that was able to control central Eurasia would eventually amass enough power to dominate the world. It has been widely criticized due to a rather overwhelming lack of historical evidence, yet it remains somewhat influential in the field of political geography.

The policy of “lebensraum” is most closely associated with territorial expansion. It was the policy of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. It involved the expansion of German territory into the sovereign territory of other nations so that the German people would have more room in which to settle so as to ensure the continued growth of the German nation. Although it is quite closely associated with eugenics, and a little less so with cultural homogenization, it is directly associated with territorial expansion. “Lebensraum” is a German word that means living space.