Political Oppression, Independence Movements and Global Conflicts

Genocide

the deliberate mass murder or physical extinction of a particular racial, religious, political, or cultural group

Ethnic Cleansing

a policy of killing or forcibly removing an ethnic group from its lands; used by the Serbs against the Muslim minority in Bosnia

Caliphate

the office of the caliph

Pan-Africanism

the unity of all black Africans, regardless of national boundaries

Civil Disobedience

refusal to obey laws that are considered to be unjust

Zaibatsu

the Japanese economy, a large financial and industrial corporation

Principle of Nonalighnment

Jawaharlal Nehru’s refusal to align India with any bloc or alliance

Discrimination

prejudicial treatment usually based on race, religion, class, sex, or age

Pan-Arabism

Arab unity regardless of national boundaries

Intifada

“uprising”, a militant movement that arose during the 1980s among supporters of the Palestine Liberation Organization living in Israel

Apartheid

“apartness”, the system of racial segregation in South Africa from the 1950s to 1991

HIV/AIDS

human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; any of the strains of HIV-1 and HIV-2 that infect and destroy the immune system’s helper T cells causing a large drop in their numbers, and becomes AIDS when a person has 20% or less than the normal level of helper T cells

Privatization

the sale of government-owned companies to private firms

Trade Embargo

a policy prohibiting trade with a particular country

Cartels

groups of drug businesses

Megacity

a very large city

Magic Realism

a form of expression unique to Latin American literature; it combines realistic events with dreamlike or fantasy backgrounds

Budget Deficit

the state that exists when a government spends more than it collects in revenues

Postmodernism

an artistic movement that emerged in the 1980s; its artists do not expect rationalist in the world and are comfortable with many “truths”

Popular Cultura

entertainment created for a profit and for a mass audience

Cultural Imperialism

referring to Western nations’ control of other world cultures similar to how they had controlled colonial governments

Per Capita

per person

Unify

to make into a unit or whole; unite

Sector

a sociological, economic, or political subdivison of society

Deflation

a contraction in the volume of available money or credit that results in a general decline in prices

Jurisdiction

the limits or territory within which authority may be exercised

Corruption

impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle

Peacekeeping Forces

military forces drawn from neutral members of the United Nations to settle conflicts and supervise truces

Nuclear Proliferation

the spread of nuclear weapons production technology and knowledge to nations without that capability

Bioterrorism

the use of biological and chemical weapons in terrorist attacks

Pandemic

a widespread outbreak of a disease

Nongovernmental Organization

an organization that has no government ties and works to address world problems

Multinational Corporations

a company with divisions in more than two countries

Globalization

the movement toward a more integrated and interdependent world economy

Collateralized Debt Obligation

a security guaranteed by a pool of bonds, loans, and other types of debt

Subprime Investments

investments based on loans that have an interest rate that is higher than a prime rate and is extended especially to low-income borrowers

Microchip

also called an integrated circuit; a tiny assembly of electronic components and their connections that is produced in or on a tiny bit of material, usually silicon

Ecology

the study of the relationship between living things and their environment

Deforestation

the clearing of forests

Desertification

formation of degraded soil, turning semi-arid lands into nonproductive deserts

Greenhouse Effect

global warming caused by the building of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

Sustainable Development

economic development that does not limit the ability of future generations to meet their basic needs