Global Economic Theories, International Peace Metrics, Practical Ethics, and Digital Governance Vocabulary

A set of vocabulary flashcards defining key concepts, figures, and statistical benchmarks across international relations theories, practical ethical dilemmas, and modern digital governance impacts.

Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention

Thomas L. Friedman's thesis stipulating that no two countries that both have a McDonald's restaurant have ever fought a war against each other once their economies reach a level supporting a middle class big enough to sustain it.

James Cantalupo

President of McDonald's International who characterized a country's desire for McDonald's as a symbol of economic maturity, growth, and openness to foreign investment.

Greens Peace Theory

David Plotz's geopolitical theory proposing that countries where golf is popular do not fight wars against other golfing nations.

Golf Nation Threshold

A statistical benchmark calculated by David Plotz requiring a country to have at least $1$ course per $1{,}000{,}000$ people to qualify as a serious golf nation.

Ethical Regifting Criteria

The moral guidelines proposed by Randy Cohen stating that a gift may be passed along if minimal emotional sentiment from the original giver is attached and doing so will not wound the giver.

Avila Kilmurray

A key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process who asserted that the Good Friday Agreement, which passed with over $71$ percent support in $1998$, would likely not pass today due to the presence of social media.

Francis Fukuyama's Populism Thesis

Political scientist Francis Fukuyama's conclusion that technology broadly and the internet in particular are the most salient explanations for the timing and conspiratorial character of modern global populism.

Political Fragmentation (Richard Pildes)

Law professor Richard Pildes's concept describing how modern communications technology enables rapid political mobilization against government action, making effective democratic governance increasingly difficult.

Information Platform Disincentives (Eswar S. Prasad)

Cornell professor Eswar S. Prasad's economic observation that large media platforms limit quality filters on content to maximize user engagement through belief-confirming algorithms, disproving the notion that the truth will naturally prevail.

Direct Emotional Political Discourse (Maria Papageorgiou)

Newcastle University researcher Maria Papageorgiou's term for the shift in political communication from a formal diplomatic style to direct, emotionally driven messaging aimed at reaching the general public via social media.

Duncan Watts

University of Pennsylvania professor who critiques technological doomsaying as scientifically fruitless, pointing out that social media platforms also enable positive outcomes like support groups and high-quality educational channels.

Zone Flooding (Jack Goldstone)

Public policy professor Jack Goldstone's term for using unregulated social media to overwhelm the public sphere with falsehoods, destroying citizen confidence in objective truth and threatening democratic survival.

Haidt-Twenge Research Findings

Studies by Jonathan Haidt and Jean Twenge establishing a correlation between smartphone proliferation and sharp increases in adolescent anxiety, depression, and suicidality.

Demise of Writing (Derek Thompson)

Derek Thompson's concept warning that outsourcing writing to artificial intelligence deprives humans of the cognitive exercise of deep thinking and reasoning.

2024 Nation's Report Card Reading Data

Data showing $12\text{th}$-grade reading scores hit a $32$-year low in $2024$, with the percentage of students reading below proficiency rising to $32$ percent from $20$ percent in $1992$.

The Lancet School Phone Ban Study (April 2025)

A study published in The Lancet concluding that current evidence does not support school policies prohibiting daytime phone use in their existing form.