680Glossaryinternational events, organizations, and especially commitments
such as alliances; often used to refer to the policy of Britain in
the 1880s–90s or the US in the 1920s–30s.
Nuclear Fission. Term in physics for splitting the nucleus of
heavy atoms (such as uranium atoms) into two nuclei, thereby
releasing great amounts of energy; the scientific principle
behind the atomic bomb.
Sphere of Influence. Term in diplomacy for the claim of a
strong state to exercise significant authority in a weaker region
without fully annexing it; used to describe claims in 19th
century imperialism and the cold war.
Total War. A war in which all of a society’s resources are
dedicated to war, all possible weapons developed and used, all
possible personnel conscripted and used, all parts of enemy
territory become part of the war zone, and all behavioral
scruples may be abandoned.Chapter 30
Baby Boom. The dramatic upswing in the birth rate in the
western world during the generation following World War II.
Deindustrialization. One of the major trends of post-1945
European economic history, in which heavy industry and
manufacturing account for a steadily smaller percentage of the
economy.
Economic Miracle. Term for the dramatic European economic
recovery after World War Two, especially the German recovery
known as the Wirtschaftswunder.
Guest Workers. Term for the immigrant labor force in
some European countries (especially Germany), where they
are not citizens and have no rights as citizens or as
immigrants.
Mixed Economy. A national economy, especially in Europe
during the Cold War, which combines elements of capitalism
with elements of state-planned economies, such as French
dirigisme.
Participation Rate. Measurement used by economists to study
what segments of the population are employed in the economy;
used especially to evaluate the role of the youth or the aged, the
comparative role of men and women, and the effects of policies
such as retirement of workers.
Service Economy. A “tertiary sector” in the economic
analysis of modern economies, comprised of those
occupations not engaged in agriculture or industry, a sector
in which workers provide a service instead of a product;
including occupations such as teachers, bankers, journalists,
and civil servants.
Urbanization. The growth of towns and cities, and the
evolution of an urban-centered civilization; in Europe, a
centuries old pattern of the shift of wealth, population, political
power, and cultural focus to the cities which accelerated rapidly
in the 19th century.
Chapter 31
Cold War. The global conflict between the United States and
its western allies in NATO and the Soviet Union and its
communist allies in the period between World War Two and the
collapse of the Soviet system, 1945–1989; characterized by
constant war-readiness but not combat.
Containment. The policy adopted by the United States and
its western allies of blocking the spread of communism by
confronting it in every region where it seemed to be spreading
from communist states; stated in the Truman Doctrine and first
applied to conflict in Greece and Turkey.
Decolonization. The breakup of European colonial empires
and the granting (or winning) of independence to colonized
countries around the world, following World War Two,
1945–1975.
Détente. French term (literally, relaxation or an easing) used in
the language of diplomacy to describe improving relations
between rivals after a period of conflict; specifically applied to
the easing of the Cold War beginning in the late 1960s and
early 1970s.
Iron Curtain. Image created by Winston Churchill in a 1946
speech to portray the division of Europe into a democratic west
and a communist east, separated by impenetrable barrier
maintained by the Red Army.
Nationalization. An economic policy in states with socialist
and mixed economies, in which some sectors of the economy
(such as railroads and airlines) are acquired by the state and
operated in the public interest rather than for private profit.
Planned Economy. An economy in which the government
develops a plan to sponsor growth and development (by
regulations or benefits) instead of an unregulated free economy;
includes early-modern mercantilist economies, war-time
managed economies, communist economies, and mixed
economies.
Welfare State. A country with, or a policy of, state-provided
social services and benefits (especially for the poorest citizens),
such as free medical care, free public education, unemployment
and accident insurance, paid vacations and retirement pensions.Chapter 32
Destalinization. A policy of admitting the “crimes of the
Stalin era” in communist states, such as the secret police terror
and the gulag system, and attempting some degree of
liberalization of the totalitarian regime; begun by Khrushchev in
1956, culminating in Gorbachev’s reforms.
Ethnic Cleansing. Violent policy of converting an ethnically-
mixed region into one with a homogeneous population by any
means necessary, including the terrorizing of civilian
populations by planned mass rapes, forced expulsion of people
from their homes, or massacres; specifically used in Yugoslav
wars of 1990s, chiefly by Serbians in Bosnia.