ap world vocab

Panama Canal

A man-made waterway connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean through the Isthmus of Panama, reducing travel time between the oceans.

Kurds

An ethnic group with aspirations for self-determination and an independent state, residing across Turkey, Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Armenia.

Cuban Missile Crisis

A 1962 confrontation between the US and the Soviet Union over missiles in Cuba, escalating tensions to the brink of nuclear war.

Joseph Stalin

Soviet Union leader known for totalitarian rule, industrialization, and significant role in World War II.

Bay of Pigs

A failed 1961 invasion of Cuba by CIA-backed Cuban exiles to overthrow Fidel Castro's regime.

League of Nations

Post-World War I organization for peace that failed to prevent World War II.

Zealot

A person fanatical and uncompromising in pursuing religious, political, or other ideals.

Malign

To speak critically or harmfully about someone or something.

Socialism

Socio-economic system with social ownership aiming for equitable wealth distribution.

Capitalism

Economic system with private ownership and profit pursuit, minimal government interference.

Great Depression

Severe 1930s economic depression causing widespread hardship.

Mexican Revolution

Armed struggle in Mexico from 1910 to 1920, leading to a constitutional republic.

Total War

Warfare mobilizing all resources to destroy the enemy's ability to wage war.

Pearl Harbor

1941 Japanese surprise attack leading to the US entry into World War II.

Detract

To diminish the worth or value of something.

Xenophobia

Fear or hatred of foreigners or people from different cultures.

Globalization

Increasing interconnectedness among countries, economies, and cultures.

Cold War

Geopolitical tension between the US/NATO and the Soviet Union lasting from 1945 to 1991.

McDonaldization

Applying fast-food industry principles to various aspects of society.

Global Warming

Long-term Earth's surface temperature increase due to human activities.

Iranian Revolution

1978–1979 events leading to the establishment of an Islamic republic.

Great Leap Forward

Mao Zedong's 1958 campaign for rapid industrialization, causing economic disaster.

Pervade

To spread throughout and be present in every part of something.

Alleviate

To make suffering, pain, or a problem less severe.

Warsaw Pact

1955 military alliance of the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries.

Usurp

To seize power or control unlawfully or by force.

World Health Organization (WHO)

UN agency responsible for international public health.

V-E Day

May 8, 1945, marking Nazi Germany's surrender to the Allies in Europe.

Cultural Revolution

Mao Zedong's 1966 movement to purge bourgeois elements in China.

Berlin Wall

Barrier dividing East and West Berlin during the Cold War.

38th Parallel

Latitude line demarcating North and South Korea.

Holocaust

Nazi Germany's genocide of six million Jews during World War II.

Iran Contra Affair

1980s US political scandal involving arms sales to Iran.

V-J Day

August 15, 1945, marking Japan's surrender to the Allies.

Central Powers

WWI coalition led by Germany, Austria-Hungary, and the Ottoman Empire.

Marshall Plan

1948 US initiative aiding Western Europe's post-WWII recovery.

Nelson Mandela

South African anti-apartheid leader and President (1994–1999).

Civil Disobedience

Deliberate refusal to comply with laws as peaceful protest.

Che Guevara

Argentine Marxist revolutionary and major Cuban Revolution figure.

Iran Hostage Crisis

1979–1981 standoff after Iran seized the US Embassy.

Viet Cong

Communist guerrilla force in South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.

Suffragist

Advocate for extending the right to vote, especially to women.

Enfranchise

To grant the right to vote to a person or group.

Iron Curtain

Post-WWII ideological and physical Europe division.

Antebellum

Referring to the period before a war, especially the American Civil War.

AIDS

Chronic condition caused by HIV damaging the immune system.

European Union

Political and economic union of 27 European states.

Pol Pot

Khmer Rouge leader responsible for a brutal genocide in Cambodia.

African Union

Organization promoting political and economic cooperation in Africa.

Persian Gulf War

1990–1991 conflict following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

Mutual Assured Destruction

 A military doctrine and strategic concept during the Cold War era, whereby both the United States and the Soviet Union possessed enough nuclear weapons to inflict unacceptable damage on each other, thereby deterring any nuclear attack.

G7

Group of Seven, an intergovernmental organization consisting of the world's seven largest advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Third Reich

 The Nazi regime in Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, from 1933 to 1945.

Subjugate

To bring under domination or control, often by force.

Battle of Britain

The military campaign of the Second World War in which the Royal Air Force defended the United Kingdom against large-scale attacks by Nazi Germany's air force, the Luftwaffe.

Star Wars

A proposed space-based missile defense system developed by the United States during the Cold War, officially known as the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI).

Fundamentalism

A strict adherence to the basic principles of any subject or discipline, often used to describe religious movements that emphasize a literal interpretation of sacred texts and a rejection of modern secularism and liberal values.

USSR

 Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, a former federal socialist state in Eurasia, established in 1922 and dissolved in 1991.

Anonymity

The state of being anonymous, or of having an unknown or unacknowledged identity.