PLSC 102 - Ch. 2 VOCAB

balance of power

any system in which actors (e.g. states) enjoy relatively equal power, such that no single state or coalition of states is able to dominate other actors in the system

capitalism

the economic system in which the ownership of the means of production is in private hands; the system operates according to market forces whereby capital and labor move freely

colonialism

the practice of founding, maintaining, and expanding a state’s reach to territory abroad, motivated by expectation of economic gain, political agreement, or cultural supremacy

containment

a foreign policy designed to prevent the expansion of an adversary by blocking its opportunities to expand through foreign aid programs or through use of coercive force; the major U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War era

detente

the easing of tense relations; in the context of this volume, detente refers to the relaxation and reappraisal of threat assessments by political rivals, for example, the United States and Soviet Union during the later years of the Cold War

domino effect

a metaphor that posits that the loss of influence over one state to an adversary will necessarily lead to a subsequent loss of control over neighboring states, just as dominos fall one after another

imperialism

the policy and practice of extending the domination of one state over another through territorial conquest or economic domination

League of Nations

the international organization formed at the conclusion of World War I for the purpose of preventing another war; based on collective security

legitimacy

the moral and legal right to rule, which is based on law, custom, heredity, or the consent of the governed

nationalism

a sense of national consciousness where people identify with a common history, language, or customs, often placing primary emphasis on one’s own nation’s culture and interests over those of other nations

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

military and political alliance between Western European states and the United States; established in 1948 for the purpose of defending Europe from aggression by the Soviet union and its allies; post-Cold War expansion to Eastern Europe

populism

belief that champions the common person, contrasting people’s concerns with those of the elite; often opposing big business and financial interests

rollback

a strategy of using, or threatening the use of, armed force to aggressively coerce an adversary into abandoning occupied territory

socialism

an economic and social system that relies on intensive government intervention or public ownership of the means of production in order to distribute wealth among the population more equitably; in radical Marxist theory, the stage between capitalism and communism

sovereignty

the authority of the state, based on recognition by other states and non-state actors, to govern matters within its own borders that affect its people, economy, security, and form of government

summits

talks and meeting among the highest level government officials from different countries

superpowers

highest-power states as distinguished from other great powers; term coined during the Cold War to refer to the United States and the Soviet Union

Treaties of Westphalia

treaties ending the Thirty Years’ War in Europe in 1648; in international relations, represents the beginning of state sovereignty within a territorial space

war on terror

declaring to use a given society’s material and non-material resources to defeat those using terror, often non-state actors targeting non-combatants to instill fear in the population

Warsaw Pact

the military alliance formed by the states of the Soviet bloc in 1955 in response to the rearmament of West Germany and its inclusion in NATO; permitted the stationing of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe

weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons which can kill or bring major harm to large numbers of people or structures