territory

territory

1. the geographical domain under the jurisdiction of a political unit, esp of a sovereign state

2. the district for which an agent, etc., is responsible

3. an area inhabited and defended by an individual animal or a breeding group of animals

4. a region of a country, esp of a federal state, that enjoys less autonomy and a lower status than most constituent parts of the state

5. a protectorate or other dependency of a country

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

territory

the geographical area under the formal jurisdiction or control of a recognized political AUTHORITY. GIDDENS (1985) distinguished between the jurisdiction of modern NATION STATES, where the borders are strictly demarcated and highly administered, and the much more loosely defined and often contested and ill-defined frontiers of preindustrial empires. He sees this as an exemplification of the much greater control over time and space possessed by modern governments (see TIME-SPACE DISTANCIATION).

Collins Dictionary of Sociology, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2000