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Annexation The act of annexing: of seizing
new territory to append to a country or state,
usually using force.Autocracy A community or state in
which unlimited authority is exercised
by a single individual.Barbarian In ancient times, a group of
people, land, or culture not belonging to
one of the great civilizations (Greek or
Roman), and so considered less socially
advanced and uncivilized.Bourgeoisie The middle class, particularly
with reference to its perceived materialistic
values or conventional attitudes.Bureaucracy A government characterized by
specialization of functions, adherence to fixed
rules, and a hierarchy of authority.Caliphate The rule or rank of a caliph—an
Islamic spiritual and political leader regarded
as the direct successor of Muhammad.Capitalism An economic system in which the
means of production are privately owned, firms
compete to sell goods for profit, and workers
exchange their labor for a wage.Civil war A war fought by opposing
inhabitants of the same country.Class A status hierarchy within the social
system, reflecting power, wealth, education,
and prestige.Colony The area occupied by a body of
settlers living in a new territory, often already
occupied by an indigenous people that is
subject to control by the settlers’ parent state.Communism An ideology that advocates the
elimination of private property in favor of
communal ownership, based on the political
manifesto of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.Conscription Compulsory enrolment into
the military service.Constitution A written collection of the
fundamental principles and laws of a nation.Consumerism The state of an advanced
capitalist society in which the buying and
selling of various goods and services define
the era. The term also refers to a perception
that individuals desire goods to construct
self-identity.Coup d’état A sudden, illegal, and violent act
of overthrowing a government or leader. It is
often committed by members of the current
political establishment.Crusade A holy war undertaken on behalf
of a religious cause. Often used to refer to
expeditions launched by European Christians
in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to reclaim
the Holy Land from Muslims.Democracy A form of government in which
supreme power is vested in the people and
exercised by their elected representatives.Dictator An absolute ruler, especially one
who assumes complete control without the
free consent of the people. This ruler can
exercise their power oppressively.Direct democracy Government by the people
in fact, rather than merely in principle—citizens
vote on every issue affecting them—as
practiced in ancient Athens.Divine right of kings A doctrine that holds
that a monarch derives legitimacy from God,
and is not subject to any earthly authority.Dynasty A line of rulers from the same family
or group, or a period in time when a country is
ruled by them.Egalitarianism A philosophy that advocates
social, political, and economic equality.Emancipation The act of being freed from
legal, social, or political restrictions.Embargo A government order to cease
trade or other commercial activity with
a particular country, often used as a
diplomatic measure.Emigration The act of leaving one’s own
country and moving permanently to another.Empire An extensive group of countries or
people under the rule of a single leader,
oligarchy, or sovereign state.Enlightenment Also known as the Age of
Reason, a period of intellectual advances in
the 18th century that involved a questioning of
religious understandings of the world and the
application of reason.Eugenics The belief, or the study of the belief,
that the human population can be improved
upon by controlling breeding.Fascism An ideology typified by strong
leadership, stress on a collective identity, and
the use of violence or warfare to further the
interests of the state. The term derives from
the Italian fascio—a tied bundle of sticks—
referring to collective identity, and was first
applied to Mussolini’s regime.Feudalism A medieval political system that
consisted of small geographical units—such
as principalities or dukedoms—ruled by the
nobility, where the peasant population lived
in a state of bondage to their ruler.Genocide The deliberate killing of a
large group of people, especially a whole
religious group, race, or nation.Guerrilla A member of an unofficial, often
politically-motivated, military group that
uses surprise attacks and sabotage against
larger regular forces, such as the official army
or police.Hegemony The winning and holding of
power and the formation of social groups
during that process.Ideology A framework of ideas that provide
a viewpoint or set of beliefs for a social group.Immigration The act of entering a foreign
country to live there permanently.Imperialism The policy of extending the
dominion of a nation through direct intervention
in the affairs of other countries, and seizure of
territory and subjugation of peoples in building
an empire.Industrial Revolution A stage of
development, originating in the UK in the
18th century, during which economies were
transformed by new forms of mechanization
from a mainly agricultural economy to an
urban, industrialized one.Insurgency A condition of revolt against
a government that is less than an organized
revolution and is not recognized as warfare.Jihad In Islam, a religious duty to struggle
against evil in the name of God, whether
spiritually or physically.Just war theory A doctrine of military ethics
comprising Jus ad bellum (“right to war”), which
is the need for a moral and legal basis for war,
and Jus in bello (“justice in war”), which is
the need for the moral conduct of warfare.GLOSSARY
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Labor camp A prison camp where people
are forced to do difficult manual labor, often
in bad conditions.Leftism, left wing Ideology of the political
“left.” It is characterized by an interventionist
approach to social welfare and an
internationalist worldview. The concept
originated in 18th-century France, when
nobility who sought to improve the peasants’
conditions sat to the left of the king.Liberalism A philosophy originating in
the 18th century that advocates the rights
of the individual over those of the state or
Church, opposing absolutism and the divine
right of kings.Martial law The law temporarily imposed by
the military when civil law is suspended in a
country or state.Marxism The philosophy underpinning the
writings of Karl Marx, proposing that the
economic order of society determines the
political and social relationships within it.Meritocracy The belief that rulers should be
selected on the basis of ability, rather than
wealth or birth.Militia A body of citizens, who may have
some level of military training, who are called
on to supplement a country’s professional army
in times of emergency.Nation-state A sovereign state inhabited by a
largely homogenous group of people, who
share common features such as language,
descent, and traditions.Nationalism Loyalty and devotion to the
home nation, and the political belief that its
interests should be pursued as the primary
goal of a political policy.Nomadic Relating to, or characteristic of,
nomads—a group of people who move from
place to place, often in relation to the seasons,
and within a specific territory.Oligarchy A form of government in which
power is held by a small group and exercised
in their own interest, usually to the detriment
of the general population.Paramilitary A group of civilians that have
military training and are organized according
to military structure, which often acts as
support for a country’s official military force.Partisan An absolute supporter of a particular
political leader, party, or cause who typically
exhibits unquestioning allegiance.Pilgrimage A journey to a shrine or sacred
site as an act of religious devotion.Prehistory The period of human past before
written records began, and so largely
understood through archaeological history.Proletariat The lowest social or economic
class of a community.Propaganda The organized spread of
information, ideas, and opinion, often via
the media, to either promote or damage
a government, movement, institution etc.Puppet state A country that is nominally
independent, but in fact relies on an external
foreign power, which often controls the state
using military force.Racism The belief that all members of a
certain race share similar characteristics and
attributes, and that this means that certain
races are inherently superior or inferior.Rationalism The belief that reason, not
emotion or intuition, should govern the actions
that people take.Reformation A 16th-century European
political and religious movement that sought
reform from the Roman Catholic Church and
papal authority, and resulted in the
establishment of the Protestant Churches.Renaissance A period of time in Europe
from the 14th–17th century marked by great
achievements in the arts, literature, and
learning, often regarded as the transition
from the medieval to the modern world.Reparations Compensation—usually money,
material, or labor—paid by a defeated nation
to make up for damage, injuries, and economic
losses suffered by another country as the
result of war.Republic A state with no monarch, in which
power resides with the people and is exercised
by their elected representatives.Revolution An overthrow of the current
political regime or social order, sometimes
using violent measures, by the governed people.Rightism, right wing The ideology of
the political “right,” loosely defined as
favoring conservative, pro-market attitudes,
a preference for individual rights over
interventionist government, a strict approach
to law and order, and nationalism. The concept
originated in 18th-century France, when those
who were broadly in support of the monarchy
sat to the right of the king.Separatists A group of people who advocate
separation from an organization or group.Serf Especially in medieval Europe, a lower
class person bound to undertake agriculturalwork on his lord’s land. A serf could be
transferred with the land should it be sold
to a new landowner.Socialism An ideology and method of
government that advocates state ownership
and regulation of industry, and central control
over the allocation of resources, as opposed
to allowing these to be determined by
market forces.Sovereignty Supreme power as exercised by
an autonomous state or ruler, free from any
external influence or control. Usually used to
refer to a nation’s right to self-determination in
internal affairs and international relations with
other countries.Space Age A period in the 20th century
characterized by space exploration. It is
considered to have started in October 1957
when the Soviet Union first launched the
satellite Sputnik I into orbit.State An organized authority that has
legitimate control over a territory, and a
monopoly of the use of force within its territory.Suffrage The right to vote in elections or
referenda. Universal suffrage refers to the right
to vote of citizens regardless of their gender,
race, social status, or wealth. Women’s
suffrage describes the right of women to vote
on the same basis as men, as campaigned for
in the early 20th century by activists such as
the “suffragettes.”Superpower A sovereign nation with great
political and military power, capable of
influencing international politics.Totalitarianism A regime that subordinates
the rights of the individual in favor of the
interests of the state, through control
of political and economic affairs and
prescription of the attitudes, values, and
beliefs of the population.Treaty A formal contract that sets out
agreements—such as an alliance, the end of
hostilities, or a trade agreement—between
two or more states.Vassal In a feudal system, a man granted
the use of land by a king, lord, or other
superior landowner, in return for homage
and allegiance.Viceroy A ruler who controls a colony on
behalf of his or her sovereign.Zionism A worldwide political movement that
proclaims that the Jewish people constitute a
nation, and are therefore entitled to a homeland.
It originally focused on creating a country for
Jewish people, and now looks to develop and
protect the modern state of Israel.US_342-343_Glossary.indd 343 15/02/2016 16:46