Chapter 17

Warsaw Pact

A military alliance between the former Soviet Union and its satellite states, created in 1955, which established a unified military command and allowed the Soviet army to maintain large garrisons within the satellite states, ostensibly to defend them from outside attack.

bipolar system

Following World War II, the traditional european balance of power system gave way to two rival power blocs, one headed by the United States and the other by the former Soviet Union, each with overwhelming economic and military superiority and each unalterably opposed to the politics and ideology of the other.

keeper of the balance

In a balance of power system, the nationstate that functions as an arbiter in disputes, taking sides to preserve the political equilibrium.

unipolar system

In international relations theory, the existence of a single invincible superpower; the international system said to have existed after the collapse of the Soviet Union left the United States as the sole remaining (and thus unrivalled) military and economic superpower on the world stage.

deterrence

In international relations, the theory that aggressive wars can be prevented if potential victims maintain a military force sufficient to inflict unacceptable punishment on any possible aggressor.

balance of power system

a classic theory of international relations that holds that nations of approximately equal strength will seek to maintain the status quo by preventing any one nation from gaining superiority over the others. participating nations form alliances and frequently resort to war as a means of resolving disputes, seizing territory, gaining prestige, or seeking glory

idealism

a political philosophy that considers values, ideals, and moral principles as the keys to comprehending, and possibly changing, the behavior of nation states.

Marshall Plan

a post-World War II program of massive economic assistance to Western europe, inspired by the fear that those war-devastated countries were ripe for communist-backed revolutions.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

a specialized agency of the United Nations designed to promote worldwide monetary cooperation, international trade, and economic stability. It also helps equalize balance of payments by allowing member countries to borrow from its fund.

Monroe Doctrine

a status quo international policy laid down by U.S. president James Monroe, who pledged the United States would resist any attempts by outside powers to alter the balance of power in the american hemisphere.

equilibrium

a synonym for the word balance; also often used interchangeably with stability in the literature on international relations.

national interest

a term often invoked but seldom defined, it is usually associated with power enhancement; shorthand for whatever enhances the power and best serves the supreme purposes of the nation, including prosperity, prestige, security, and, above all, survival.

superpower

a term that evolved in the context of the Cold War to denote the unprecedented destructive capabilities and global reach of the United States and the Soviet Union and to differentiate these two nuclear behemoths from the Great powers that existed prior to the advent of the Nuclear age.

Bush Doctrine

asserts the right of the U.S. government to act pre-emptively to forestall or prevent hostile acts against the United States.

deterrence theory

holds that states acquire nuclear weapons mainly to deter the use of such weapons by other states; this idea spawned a whole new literature on war in the Nuclear age in the second half of the twentieth century.

derivative power

political power that arises indirectly as a result of achievements in other areas (art, science, technological prowess, and the like); derivative power is often a product of the heightened prestige or respect that results from such achievements.

Truman Doctrine

president harry truman's pledge of U.S. support for any free people threatened with revolution by an internal armed minority or an outside aggressor.

statecraft

the art of achieving political or strategic aims and objectives by force of example, persuasion, and the use of incentives rather than by coercion and threats; synonymous with statesmanship and far-sighted diplomacy.

containment

the global status quo strategic policy followed by the United States after World War II; the term stems from the U.S. policy of containing attempts by the Soviet Union to extend its sphere of control to other states as it had done in eastern europe. NatO, the Marshall plan, and the Korean and Vietnam wars grew out of this policy.

Zionism

the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to the land of abraham and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in what is now known as Israel

political realism

the philosophy that power is the key variable in all political relationships and should be used pragmatically and prudently to advance the national interest; policies are judged good or bad on the basis of their effect on national interests, not on their level of morality.

globalization

the process by which values, attitudes, preferences, and products associated with the most technologically advanced democracies are spread around the world via mass media and trade.

Great Powers

During the era of the classical balance of power in europe from the mid-seventeenth century to the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the states big enough to challenge or pose a threat to the status quo or to lead a coalition in defense of the status quo against acts of armed aggression or territorial expansion were called Great powers, at one time or another to include Great Britain, France, Russia, prussia (later Germany), austriahungary, Spain, and Sweden, as well as the United States from the 1890s on.