International Relations Vocabulary:

  1. alliance system: political, economic or military alignment of nations; promotes the common interests of members (ex: NATO)
  2. balance of power: nations aligning themselves to maintain peace and security; no one nation able to impose a major threat on others
  3. bipolar world: world co-domination of two superpowers with opposing ideologies (ex: Cold War)
  4. cooperation: supportive action or joining together for common interests
  5. cultural imperialism: the spread and domination of a particular nation’s culture, values and beliefs throughout the world by way of trade, electronic communication, businesses and the media
  6. domestic policy: a government’s plan to deal with internal issues of the country
  7. foreign policy: a government’s plan to deal with international issues that impact it
  8. globalization: the growing economic and cultural interdependence of nations
  9. hegemon: the most powerful political, economic and military nation-state in the world (ex: USA)
  10. international relations: multilateral interaction between nation-states
  11. international system: maintaining a beneficial and peaceful pattern of interaction among major global players
  12. major players/actors: countries, organizations and institutions that have a great influence on world affairs (ex: France, Red Cross, Sony)
  13. multinational corporations (MNCs): private companies that have operations and or divisions in many countries
  14. multipolar world: when several major nations compete for power and influence
  15. national interest: a country determining its involvement in world affairs based on the outcome or benefits it receives
  16. national sovereignty: a nation’s right to establish its own form of government and laws without external influence
  17. nation: a group of people who share a common identity; language, history, culture, etc..but lack a defined country (ex: Palestinians, Kurds, Kashmiris)
  18. nation-state:most powerful political unit in the world; having definite boundaries and organized institutions
  19. nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): nonprofit international agencies having a particular common cause (ex: Greenpeace; Doctors Without Borders, etc..)
  20. regional blocs: specific areas of the world cooperating together for political, economic and social reasons (ex: European Union; NAFTA, ASEAN)
  21. transnational agencies: organizations trying to promote global unity for peace and security (ex: United Nations)
  22. transnational pressures: global problems that undermine the power and status of many nation-states (ex: pollution, terrorism, AIDS, natural disasters, etc…)
  23. unipolarity: the existence of a particularly powerful state that is both able and willing to manage the international system (ex: USA, 19th Century Great Britain)