A
territory is a clearly defined geographical area, usually considered to be a possession of a person, organization, or institution. An
organism which claims territory is said to be
territorial.
In politics, the term refers to an area of land under jurisdiction of a governmental authority.
Such jurisdiction can take many forms:
- A legally administered territory, which is a non-sovereign geographic area that has voluntarily come under the authority of another government. For example, American Samoa is a territory of the government of the United States.
- An illegally occupied territory, which is a geographic area that claims sovereignty, but is being illegally or forcibly subjugated to the authority of a foreign government. For example, the nation of Tibet is currently considered to be illegally occupied by the Chinese government.