Geopolitics and World Affairs Flashcards
Grade 12 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key concepts, organizations, and strategies in geopolitics and international relations for 12th grade.
Flashcards
- Geopolitics
- Study of how geography, location, and natural resources shape state power and foreign policy.
- NATO (Article 5)
- Collective defense clause: an attack on one NATO member is treated as an attack on all 32 members.
- Containment
- U.S. Cold War strategy of preventing Soviet expansion without direct military confrontation; articulated by George Kennan.
- Soft Power
- Influence through cultural attraction, diplomacy, and values rather than military or economic coercion (coined by Joseph Nye).
- Deterrence / MAD
- Preventing attack by threatening unacceptable retaliation; Mutual Assured Destruction applied this logic to nuclear weapons.
- UN Security Council
- 15-member body with 5 permanent members (U.S., UK, France, Russia, China) each holding veto power over binding resolutions.
- Détente
- Relaxation of Cold War tensions in the 1970s; associated with Nixon, Kissinger, and the SALT I arms treaty.
- Failed State
- A state that can no longer provide basic security, services, or governance to its citizens.
- Multilateralism
- International cooperation through collective institutions and agreements; contrasts with unilateralism.
- Sphere of Influence
- A region where one dominant power exerts primary political or military control over weaker neighboring states.
- Belt and Road Initiative
- China's massive global infrastructure investment program; criticized as 'debt diplomacy' that creates geopolitical leverage.
- Liberal Internationalism
- Theory that economic interdependence, democratic institutions, and international organizations reduce the likelihood of war.
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