 | Term | Definition |
| |
Amnesty |
the act of granting pardon to a large group of people |
| |
Bilingualism |
the practice of teaching immigrant students in their own language |
| |
Brinkmanship |
the willingness to go to the brink of war to force an opponent to back down |
| |
Communism |
an economic system in which the central government directs all major economic decisions |
| |
Confederacy |
a loose union of independent states; name of government used by the southern states that seceded during the Civil War |
| |
Conservative |
a person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom |
| |
Containment |
the policy designed to keep the Soviet Union from expanding its power |
| |
Corporation |
an organization that is authorized by law to carry on an activity but treated as though it were a single person |
| |
Détente |
relaxation of tensions between the United States and its two major Communist rivals, the Soviet Union and China |
| |
Downsizing |
reducing a company in size by laying off workers and managers to become more efficient |
| |
Ethnic Cleansing |
the expulsion, imprisonment, or killing of ethnic minorities by a dominant majority group |
| |
Euro |
the basic currency shared by the countries of the European Union since 1999 |
| |
Fascism |
a political system headed by a dictator that calls for extreme nationalism and racism and has no tolerance for opposition |
| |
Flexible Response |
the buildup of conventional troops and weapons to allow a nation to fight a limited war without using nuclear weapons |
| |
Impeachment |
a formal accusation of misconduct in office against a public official |
| |
Imperialism |
the actions used by one nation to exercise political or economic control over smaller or weaker nation |
| |
Insurrection |
an act of rebellion against the established government |
| |
Internationalism |
a national policy of actively trading with foreign countries to foster peace and prosperity |
| |
Isolationism |
the avoidance of involvement in world affairs |
| |
Liberal |
a person who generally believes the government should take an active role in the economy and in social programs but that the government should not dictate social behavior |
| |
Multinational Corporation |
large corporation with overseas investments |
| |
Nuclear Proliferation |
the spread of nuclear weapons to new nations |
| |
Nullification |
the failure or refusal of a U.S. state to aid in the enforcement of federal laws within its state limits |
| |
Political Machine |
an organization linked to a political party that often controlled local government |
| |
Segregation |
the separation or isolation of a race, class, or group |
| |
Self-Determination |
belief that people in a territory should have the ability to choose their own government |
| |
State Sponsored Terrorism |
violent acts against civilians that are secretly supported by a government in order to attack other nations without going to war |
| |
Subversion |
a systematic attempt to overthrow a government by using persons working secretly from within |
| |
Suffrage |
the right to vote |
| |
Terrorism |
the use of violence by non-governmental groups against civilians to achieve a political goal by instilling fear and frightening governments into changing policies |
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