Chapter 12 - International Relations

Warlords

Private authority figures who control their own local armies or militias.

Failed states

States that lack the basic institutions and capacities of government and struggle to maintain control over their territories.

Illicit international economy

Cross-border economic activity that takes place outside of national or international laws

Nationalization

A government seizing the assets of a private company that operates on its territory.

Pirates

Non-state gangs who commit robbery or criminal violence on the high seas.

Caliphate

A state governed in accordance with Islamic law.

Separatism

Process by which groups within a state look a break away, usually to form their own new state.

Self-determination

The idea that nations have the right to form their own states or otherwise govern themselves as they see fit.

Refugee

A person who has left his or her home country and is unwilling to return to it because of persecution or fear of persecution

Migrant

A person who moves from one place to another, usually to find better work or living conditions.