Nationalism, Geopolitics, and Middle East Interventions Flashcards

Vocabulary terms and definitions covering nationalism, geopolitics, theories of state expansion, and the historical context and consequences of U.S. intervention in the Middle East.

Nationalism

Strong pride and loyalty toward one’s nation.

Nation-State Ideal

The belief that each nation should have its own independent state.

Nation

A group of people connected through culture, language, history, or ethnicity.

State

A political unit with borders, government, population, and sovereignty.

Othering

Treating certain groups as outsiders or inferior.

Imagined Community

A concept by Benedict Anderson stating nations are socially constructed communities where members feel connected despite never meeting.

4 Elements of an Imagined Community

Imagined, Limited, Sovereign, and Community.

Berlin Conference

An 1884–1885 meeting where European countries divided Africa among themselves.

Hegemony

Dominance of one country/group over others politically or economically.

School of the Americas

U.S. military training school criticized for training Latin American military leaders involved in human rights abuses.

UN Security Council

The UN body responsible for maintaining international peace and security, consisting of five permanent members with veto power.

Permanent Members of the UN Security Council

United States, Russia, China, United Kingdom, and France.

Privilege (UNSC)

The veto power held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Supranational Organization

An organization where countries cooperate and share some sovereignty, such as the United Nations.

El Mozote

A massacre in El Salvador during the Cold War involving U.S.-trained forces.

Geopolitics

The study of how geography influences politics and power.

Critical Geopolitics

The study of how governments and media shape political ideas.

Heartland Theory

Halford Mackinder's theory that controlling Eastern Europe and Central Asia meant controlling the world.

World Island

The combined landmass of Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Mackinder

The geographer who created the Heartland Theory.

Ratzel

Friedrich Ratzel, who believed states act like living organisms that need territorial expansion to survive.

Lebensraum

“Living space”; the Nazi justification for territorial expansion during WWII based on Ratzel's ideas.

Cold War

A political conflict between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.

Domino Theory

The idea that communism would spread country by country.

NATO

A military alliance formed against Soviet expansion.

Woodrow Wilson

U.S. president who promoted self-determination and the League of Nations.

League of Nations

International peace organization created after WWI.

Operation Desert Storm

A 1991 war aimed at removing Iraqi forces from Kuwait.

Military-Industrial Complex

The connection between the military, government, and defense companies.

Halliburton

A corporation heavily connected to Iraq War contracts, formerly headed by Dick Cheney.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Dick Cheney

U.S. Vice President during the Iraq War and former Halliburton CEO.

Hubris

Excessive pride or confidence causing mistakes.

George Tenet

CIA director before the Iraq invasion.

Colin Powell

Secretary of State who presented claims of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) to the UN.

Ahmed Chalabi

Iraqi exile who provided misleading information supporting the invasion.

NIE

National Intelligence Estimate.

Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

Resolution expanding U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

Mujahadeen

Afghan fighters supported by the U.S. against the Soviets.

B2 Bomber Strategy

A heavy bombing strategy using stealth bombers.

Blowback

Unintended negative consequences of a country's foreign policy actions.

L. Paul Bremer

Head of the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq who instituted de-Ba’athification and disbanded the Iraqi army.

CPA

Coalition Provisional Authority; the body that governed Iraq after the invasion.

Drones

Unmanned aircraft used for surveillance and attacks, specifically in places like Pakistan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Somalia, and Iraq.

Guantanamo Bay

A U.S. detention camp in Cuba for terrorism suspects.

De-Ba’athification

A policy created by L. Paul Bremer that removed government workers connected to Saddam Hussein’s party.

Mohammad Mosaddegh

The democratically elected leader of Iran who nationalized the oil industry and was overthrown in a 1953 CIA-backed coup.

The Shah

The dictator who replaced Mosaddegh with U.S. support, whose rule eventually led to the Iranian Revolution in 1979.