AP Euro AMSCO Unit 9

Globalization

The increasing interconnectedness of economies, cultures, and political systems worldwide, driven by advances in communication, trade, and technology.

European Greens

A coalition of Green political parties across Europe, founded in 1984, advocating for environmental protection, sustainable development, and social justice.

Die Grünen

The German Green Party, founded in 1979, which became one of the most influential Green parties in Europe, promoting environmental policies and social reforms.

Existentialism

A 20th-century philosophical movement emphasizing individual freedom, choice, and responsibility in a world without inherent meaning.

Friedrich Nietzsche

A German philosopher who declared "God is dead" and promoted nihilism, challenging traditional morality and religious values.

Nihilist

A person who believes life has no intrinsic meaning or value, often rejecting established institutions and morality.

Jean-Paul Sartre

A French existentialist philosopher and writer who argued that individuals define themselves through actions and must take responsibility for their choices.

Postmodernism

A philosophical and cultural movement questioning objective truth, reason, and traditional narratives, emerging in the mid-20th century.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

A German theologian who opposed Nazi policies and was executed for participating in a plot to assassinate Hitler.

Martin Niemöller

A German pastor who initially supported Hitler but later opposed Nazi repression, known for his poem "First they came..." condemning apathy to persecution.

Pope John Paul II

The first non-Italian pope in centuries (1978-2005), known for supporting human rights, opposing communism, and influencing the collapse of the Soviet Bloc.

Second Vatican Council

A major Catholic Church reform (1962-1965) initiated by Pope John XXIII, modernizing liturgy, allowing Mass in vernacular languages, and promoting interfaith dialogue.

Pope John XXIII

The pope who convened the Second Vatican Council, seeking to modernize the Church and engage with contemporary issues.

Pope Paul VI

The pope who continued the Second Vatican Council, promoting church reforms and greater engagement with the modern world.

Futurism

An Italian artistic movement celebrating speed, technology, and modernity, rejecting traditional artistic styles.

Pop Art

A mid-20th-century art movement that used commercial imagery and mass culture, pioneered by Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein.

Modernist

A broad cultural movement rejecting traditional artistic and literary styles in favor of experimentation and abstraction.

Bauhaus

A German design and architecture movement emphasizing functional, minimalist design and modern materials.

Igor Stravinsky

A Russian composer whose ballet The Rite of Spring broke musical conventions with its complex rhythms and dissonance.

Arnold Schoenberg

An Austrian composer who pioneered atonal music, rejecting traditional harmonies.

Richard Strauss

A German composer known for operas and symphonic poems, blending traditional and modernist elements.

Franz Kafka

A Czech writer of absurd, existential works, such as The Metamorphosis, in which a man transforms into an insect.

James Joyce

An Irish writer known for Ulysses, a groundbreaking stream-of-consciousness novel exploring a single day in Dublin.

Virginia Woolf

A British modernist writer who used stream of consciousness in works like Mrs. Dalloway to explore gender roles and psychology.

Consumer Culture

A society focused on mass consumption, advertising, and material goods, particularly after World War II.

Neonatalism

Policies promoting higher birth rates, including financial incentives and government support for families.

National Rally

A far-right political party in France, formerly known as the National Front, advocating nationalism, strict immigration controls, and opposition to the European Union.

Xenophobia

The fear or dislike of people from other countries, often leading to anti-immigration policies and nationalist movements in Europe.

Freedom Party of Austria

A right-wing populist party founded in 1956, known for its strong anti-immigration stance and criticism of multiculturalism.

Birth Control

Methods used to prevent pregnancy, including contraceptive pills, which became widely available in the 20th century and contributed to changing social norms.

Abortion

The termination of a pregnancy, a controversial issue with varying legal restrictions across European nations, often opposed by religious groups.

Eugenics

A now-discredited movement advocating for the selective breeding of humans to "improve" genetic traits, infamously associated with Nazi racial policies.

Fertility Treatment

Medical procedures, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), that assist individuals or couples in conceiving children.

Genetic Engineering

The modification of genes to alter physical traits or treat diseases, raising ethical concerns about human genetic manipulation.

Nuclear Proliferation

The spread of nuclear weapons and technology to additional countries, increasing global security concerns.

Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)

A 1968 international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons while promoting peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Organization for European Economic Cooperation (OEEC)

Established in 1948 to administer Marshall Plan funds and promote economic cooperation among European nations.

European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)

Formed in 1951 to integrate coal and steel industries among six European countries, aiming to prevent future wars and promote economic growth.

European Parliament

A legislative body representing EU member states, responsible for passing laws and overseeing the European Union's budget and policies.

European Economic Community (EEC)

Created by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, it aimed to integrate European economies by removing trade barriers and forming a Common Market.

Common Market

A term used to describe the EEC, emphasizing free trade, economic cooperation, and the free movement of goods, labor, and capital among member states.

Euro

The common currency adopted by many EU countries in 2002 to facilitate trade and economic integration.

European Union (EU)

A political and economic union formed in 1993 by the Maastricht Treaty, expanding cooperation beyond economics to include security, justice, and environmental policies.

Brexit

The United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union following a 2016 referendum, officially completed in 2020.

Woodrow Wilson

The U.S. president (1913-1921) who advocated for self-determination in his Fourteen Points after World War I, inspiring nationalist movements in colonized regions.

Self-Determination

The principle that nations have the right to govern themselves without external interference, a key idea in decolonization efforts.

Indian National Congress

A political party in British India that led the movement for independence, later becoming the ruling party of independent India.

Mandate System

A League of Nations policy that placed former German and Ottoman territories under European control, delaying independence in regions like the Middle East.

Viet Minh

A Vietnamese nationalist and communist group, led by Ho Chi Minh, that fought for independence from French colonial rule.

Ho Chi Minh

A Vietnamese communist leader who led the Viet Minh in defeating French forces and later became the first leader of communist North Vietnam.

Sukarno

The first president of Indonesia who declared independence from Dutch rule in 1945 and later ruled as an authoritarian leader.

National Liberation Front (FLN)

An Algerian nationalist movement that fought for independence from France, leading to a violent war (1954-1962).

Second-Wave Feminism

A feminist movement that emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, focusing on gender equality in employment, education, reproductive rights, and family roles.

Simone de Beauvoir

A French writer and philosopher whose book The Second Sex (1949) critiqued traditional gender roles and helped lay the foundation for modern feminism.

Birth Control Pill

A contraceptive introduced in the 1960s that gave women greater control over reproduction and contributed to changes in gender roles and workplace participation.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

A medical procedure developed in the late 20th century that allows fertilization outside the body, helping individuals and couples conceive children.

Thatcherism

The conservative economic policies of Margaret Thatcher, emphasizing free markets, privatization, and reduced government welfare.

Mary Robinson

The first female president of Ireland (1990-1997) and a human rights advocate who later served as the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Édith Cresson

The first female Prime Minister of France (1991-1992), known for advocating economic reforms and reducing gender inequality in government.

Welfare State

A government system that provides extensive social services, such as healthcare, education, and unemployment benefits, to support citizens from "cradle to grave."

Pensions

Regular payments made by the government or employers to retired individuals to ensure financial stability in old age.

Cradle-to-Grave

A term describing comprehensive welfare programs that provide social services throughout a person's lifetime, from birth to death.

Margaret Thatcher

The British Prime Minister (1979-1990) who promoted free-market policies, reduced government spending, and privatized industries, challenging the welfare state.

Leonid Brezhnev

The leader of the Soviet Union (1964-1982) who maintained strict communist control, suppressed political dissent, and oversaw economic stagnation.

Détente

A policy of easing Cold War tensions between the U.S. and the USSR, marked by arms control agreements and diplomatic negotiations in the 1970s.

Mikhail Gorbachev

The last leader of the Soviet Union (1985-1991) who implemented glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring), leading to the collapse of the USSR.

Boris Yeltsin

The first democratically elected president of Russia (1991-1999) who played a key role in dismantling the Soviet Union and transitioning Russia to a market economy.

Solidarity

A Polish labor movement led by Lech Wałęsa, advocating for workers' rights and democratic reforms, which played a major role in ending communist rule in Poland.

The Troubles

A conflict (1960s-1998) in Northern Ireland between Catholic nationalists seeking union with Ireland and Protestant unionists supporting British rule, marked by paramilitary violence.

Basque

An ethnic group in northern Spain and southwestern France with a distinct language and culture, some of whom sought independence from Spain.

ETA (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna)

A Basque separatist group that carried out violent attacks in Spain from the 1960s until its dissolution in 2018, aiming for Basque independence.

Yugoslavia

A multiethnic country in the Balkans that dissolved in the 1990s amid violent nationalist conflicts and wars.

Bosnian Muslims

A major ethnic group in Bosnia and Herzegovina who were targeted during the Bosnian War (1992-1995) in acts of genocide by Serbian forces.

Ethnic Cleansing

The forced removal or extermination of an ethnic group to create a homogenous population, as seen in the Balkans and during the Bosnian Genocide.

Kosovo

A region in the Balkans where ethnic Albanians fought for independence from Serbia in the 1990s, leading to NATO intervention against Serbian forces.

Chechnya

A predominantly Muslim region in southwestern Russia that sought independence in the 1990s, leading to brutal wars and Russian military repression.

Super Power

A dominant nation with significant global influence in military, economic, and political affairs, such as the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A military alliance formed in 1949 between the U.S., Canada, and Western European nations to counter Soviet expansion.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An international financial organization established in 1944 to stabilize currencies and support global trade.

World Bank

An international financial institution providing loans to countries for infrastructure development and economic recovery.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

A 1948 agreement aimed at reducing trade barriers and expanding international commerce, later replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO).

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Established in 1995 to oversee global trade agreements, enforce trade rules, and settle disputes among nations.

Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON)

A Soviet-led economic organization (1949-1991) designed to integrate and control the economies of Eastern Bloc nations.

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance formed in 1955 between the USSR and its satellite states in response to NATO.

Soviet Bloc

The Eastern European nations under Soviet influence during the Cold War, including Poland, East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria.

Planned Economies

Economic systems where governments control production, distribution, and pricing, as seen in the Soviet Union and its satellite states.

Berlin Wall

A physical barrier built in 1961 by East Germany to prevent its citizens from fleeing to West Berlin, symbolizing Cold War divisions.

Nikita Khrushchev

The Soviet leader (1953-1964) who promoted de-Stalinization and led the USSR during key Cold War crises like the Cuban Missile Crisis.

De-Stalinization

Khrushchev's policy of reducing Stalin's oppressive control, easing censorship, and reforming the Soviet economy.

Prague Spring

A 1968 movement in Czechoslovakia led by Alexander Dubček, promoting political liberalization and reform, which was crushed by Soviet-led Warsaw Pact forces.

Glasnost

A policy introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1980s promoting openness, transparency, and limited freedom of speech in the USSR.

Perestroika

Gorbachev's economic reform policy aimed at restructuring the Soviet planned economy by introducing limited market mechanisms.

Cold War

A period of geopolitical tension between the Soviet Union and the United States, characterized by ideological conflict, military rivalry, and proxy wars from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.

Franklin Roosevelt

U.S. President from 1933-1945, he led the country during the Great Depression and most of World War II.

Winston Churchill

British Prime Minister during World War II, known for his leadership and oratory skills. He played a key role in rallying British resistance against Nazi Germany.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote peace, security, and cooperation among countries worldwide.

Josef Stalin

Leader of the Soviet Union during World War II, known for his role in the establishment of Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe, and his policies of collectivization and industrialization.

Truman Doctrine

U.S. policy (beginning 1947) to prevent the spread of communism in Europe (Containment). Financial aid was given to countries threatened by communist takeover (particularly Greece & Turkey).

Iron Curtain

The term used to describe the division between the Soviet-controlled (communist) Eastern Europe and democratic Western Europe during the Cold War.

Nuclear Arms Race

The competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to develop and stockpile nuclear weapons during the Cold War.