Historiography/General Terms/Pre-War Europe

Terms	Definitions
authoritarian government	A government in which one leader or group of people holds absolute power, but social and economic institutions are not under their control
totalitarianism	a form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution or laws or opposition etc.)
dictatorship	form of government in which the leader has absolute power and authority
historiography	The principles, methods, and philosophical issues of historical research.
traditionalist/revisionist/post-revisionist	Soviets to blame for Cold War/US to blame for the Cold War/ US and Soviets to blame for the Cold War
functionalist/intentionalist	Holocaust came about due to extreme war time conditions/ Nazis had prewar plan to kill the Jews
proxy war	war in which powerful enemy countries use other, less-powerful countries as substitutes to do their fighting for them; this is generally achieved by manipulating the less-powerful countries with information, and providing them with money and military equipment and training (spanish civil war, cold war, Korean War)
total war	the channeling of a nation's entire resources into a war effort
civil war	a war between people of the same country
conservatism	a political or theological orientation advocating the preservation of the best in society and opposing radical changes (church, army, nationalism)
liberalism	a political orientation that favors progress and reform
nationalism	the idea that your national culture and interests are superior to any other
imperialism	a policy of extending your rule over foreign countries
militarism (arms race)	the attempt to build up a strong army and navy
marxism	the socialist ideology that the proletariat would rise to defeat capitalism and that class struggle is necessary to create change
communism	a political theory favoring collectivism in a classless society
capitalism	an economic system based on open competition in a free market, in which individuals and companies own the means of production and operate for profit
moral compass	a range or scope of inner guidance and understanding in relation to ethical or moral decision making.
Social Darwinism	The application of ideas about evolution and "survival of the fittest" to human societies - particularly as a justification for their imperialist expansion
Taylorism	scientific management, encouraged the development of mass production techniques and the assembly line, led to a revolution in American education of social science.
Fordism	system of standardized mass production attributed to Henry Ford