Chapter 8

NATO

Definition: North Atlantic Treaty Organization, military alliance between 16 democratic states

OAS

Definition: Organization of American States, 35 states in the Western Hemisphere, Cuba used to be a part but isn't allowed to play much anymore because they were bad and are on time out :( (besides, they don't fit in so they can't sit with us), promotes social, cultural, political, and economic links

OSCE

Definition: Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe, 56 members, US, Canada, Russia, founded 1975, same idea as the Warsaw Pact but updated

Dependencies/Remaining Colonies

Definition: US Department of State lists 68 places in the world that it calls dependent, most are islands Ex: Greenland, Hong Kong, Macao

Western Sahara/Morocco Sovereignty Debate

Definition: Western Sahara (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic) is seen as a sovereign state by most African countries, Morocco does not and claims the territory; Spain had controlled it but withdrawn in 1976 (and declared independent by Polisario Front); then Mauritania and Morocco annexed it, Mauritania left and Morocco claimed it, UN has tried to fix it but cant

Anocracy

Definition: a country that is not fully democratic nor fully autocratic but rather displays a mix of the two

Autocracy

Definition: a country that is run according to the interests of the ruler rather than the people, leaders who are selected according to clearly defined rules of succession from within the political elite, citizens' participation sharply restricted or surpressed

Frontier

Definition: a zone where no state exercises complete political control

China/Taiwan Sovereignty Debate

Definition: according the China, they are not separate, came from a civil war in China (1940s) between nationalists and communists

Federal

Definition: allocates strong power to units of local government within the country, United States, Russia, Canada, Brazil, India, Belgium

Colonialism

Definition: an effort by one country to establish settlements in a territory and to impose its political, economic, and cultural principles on that territory Ex: European States established colonies to promote Christianity, extract useful resources and to serve as captive markets for their products, and establish relative power through the number of their colonies

Turmoil in the Caucuses (reference countries that are part of the Caucuses)

Definition: between the Black and Caspian seas, gets name from the mountains that separate Russia from Azerbaijan and Georgia, USSR used to break it up when they were in charge of them, when the regions broke up the little conflicts got way out of proportion and now they use guns, every one of them want to just make themselves a separate nation-state

Physical Boundaries

Definition: coincide with significant features of the natural landscape Ex: deserts, mountains, water

Balance of Power

Definition: condition of roughly equal strength between opposing countries or alliances

Cultural Boundaries

Definition: follow the distribution of cultural characteristics Ex: Geometric (lines drawn on a map) and Ethnic (language, religion)

COMECON

Definition: formed in 1949 with 10 members, Council for Mutual Economic Assistance, designed to promote trade and sharing of natural resources, 8 Eastern European Communist states, Cuba, Mongolia, and Vietnam

State Terrorist Attacks: Libya

Definition: government was accused of sponsoring 1986 bombing of a nightclub in Berlin, Germany, killed 3, one was US soldier, ground between us and them was a little shaky anyway because one of their planes was shot down and BOOM, we were upset anyway so we thought bombs were the answer to everything so KABOOM no more Tripoli and Benghazi! It was a real shame when the US missed Colonel Muammar el-Qaddafi, BUT DON'T WORRY!! we got him :) after a bunch of air and naval attacks from alllllll the people who didn't like the meany (they were called anti-Qaddafi forces <-- such a creative name)

State Support for Terrorism

Definition: in recent years, states have been helping terrorists by providing sanctuary for terrorists wanted by other countries, supplying weapons, money and intelligence, and planning attacks using terrorists; Afghanistan and Pakistan sheltered, Iraq and Iran supplied them

Warsaw Pact

Definition: military agreement among Communist Eastern European countries to defend each other in case of attack

Arab Spring

Definition: most dramatic shift in govts in recent years, began late 2010 and reached worst part in 2011 springtime, was many protests in Southwest Asia and North Africa, protests resulted in forcing power from autocratic rulers in Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen, used demonstrations, rallies, strikes, and other forms of civil disobedience led by college-aged people; social networking made this a global affair

Polar Claims

Definition: no military investigations are permitted; has the only large landmasses on Earth that are not part of a state, some claims overlap; The Antarctic Treaty signed 1959 by 47 states says they can have research but not military

Unitary

Definition: places most power in the hands of central government officials, common in Europe, France, China

United Nations

Definition: provides a forum for the discussion of international problems Examples: 1955, 16 countries joined when Nazi Germany was liberated; 1960, 17 new members; 1990-1993, 26 new members

Nation States (Europe and Central Asia)

Definition: state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity Ex: Denmark, Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan

Eurozone

Definition: where the euro can be used, single bank was (European Central Bank) was given responsibility for setting interest rates and minimizing inflation in this area, it worked the first few years and made it easier for trade and economies, but now the economically stable countries are paying for the ones going down hill