international relations terms

part 2

state-nation

a political organization that allows for a multiplicity of “imagined communities“ to coexist beneath a single democratic roof

nation-state

a “country“ where the alignment between the boundaries of the state and nation are identical

nation

a large group of people having a common origin, language, tradition, and usage constitutes a political entity.

limited war

a war in which the weapons used, the nations or territory involved, or the objectives pursued are restricted in some way, in particular one in which the use of nuclear weapons is avoided

diplomacy

the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations without arousing hostility or causing conflict

commander in chief

another term for the president of the united states. in this role, the civilian head of the US military- by which design- helps to avoid a military coup.

the only branch of the US government that can formally declare war

legislative- congress

the US and the USSR

during the cold war, this policy of nuclear deterrence is what prevented both a limited and a full scale nuclear exchange between the superpowers

MAD

acronym for mutually assured destruction

defcon

any one of the five levels of US military defense readiness that are ranked from 5 to 1 according to the perceived threat to national security, with 1 indicating the highest level of perceived threat

guerilla war

a type of warfare fought by irregulars in fast-moving, small-scale actions against orthodox military and police forces, and, on occasion, against rival insurgent forces, either independently or in conjunction with a larger political-military strategy

total war

a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded

proxy war

a war in which opposite sides use third parties as substitutes for fighting each other directly is called what?