1.1: Power Vocabulary

Question 1

Power

Answer 1

The ability to influence other groups in global politics and achieve desired outcomes

Question 2

Soft power

Answer 2

A state or group tries to achieve its aims through persuasion or influence (outreach, cultural ties)

Question 3

Hard power

Answer 3

A state or group tries to achieve its aims through coercion (military force, sanctions)

Question 4

Smart power

Answer 4

A state or group tries to achieve its aims through both force and persuasion (payment, diplomacy, trade/aid)

Question 5

Multinational

Answer 5

Operating in more than one country e.g. multinational companies (MNCs)

Question 6

Ideology

Answer 6

Opinions or beliefs, often linked to a particular political system or culture

Question 7

Democratic

Answer 7

A system of government in which the population chooses those who govern them, through free and fair elections

Question 8

Intergovernmental

Answer 8

Between or involving governments of different countries

Question 9

Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)

Answer 9

Organizations composed primarily of sovereign states (referred to as member states)

Question 10

Military alliance

Answer 10

A relationship or cooperation between states that are committed to using their armed forces in supporting similar military objectives

Question 11

Sanctions

Answer 11

Official orders or laws stopping trade or communication with another state, as a way of forcing its leaders to make political changes

Question 12

Private sector

Answer 12

The industries and services in a country that are owned and run by private companies, and not the government

Question 13

Public sector

Answer 13

The industries and services in a country that are owned and run by the government

Question 14

Ideological

Answer 14

Relating to political principles and structures for ordering government and society

Question 15

Unipolar

Answer 15

When one state is more powerful than all the others

Question 16

Bipolar

Answer 16

When two states are equally powerful, and the main competition is between these two powers and not others

Question 17

Multipolar

Answer 17

When many states are powerful and compete with each other

Question 18

Realism

Answer 18

Realists view global politics as being dominated by states and in which states are the most important actors in global politics, locked in competition and usually defending and prioritizing their own national interest above any other factors (a state’s hard power capabilities: military power, economic sanctions, incentives)

Question 19

Competition

Answer 19

Seeking advantage over another actor or beginning a process where one actor wishes to achieve victory over the other

Question 20

Liberalism

Answer 20

Liberals view global politics as benefiting from states and other actors working together, following international law, respecting human rights and having a broader range of core interests than their core interests (soft power capabilities: international institutions, international law, human rights, global trade)

Question 21

Offensive realism

Answer 21

When states attempt to expand their power

Question 22

Defensive realism

Answer 22

When states attempt to defend themselves against external threats

Question 23

Coalitions

Answer 23

Groups of states who join together to achieve a particular purpose, usually a political one

Question 24

Economic power

Answer 24

States influencing global politics through economic channels, based on economic size. Can be a method of hard power (sanctions) and needed for states to be strong military powers

Question 25

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Answer 25

The total value of all goods and services produced in a country, in one year, except for income received from abroad (method to measure a state's economic power)

Question 26

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per person

Answer 26

Measures the size of the economy as a proportion of the total population (method to measure a state's economic power)

Question 27

Economic growth percentage

Answer 27

Measures the annual or quarterly percentage by which a state's economy has grown or decreased (method to measure a state's economic power)

Question 28

Inflation

Answer 28

A continuing increase in prices, or the rate at which prices increase

Question 29

Recession

Answer 29

A period of sustained negative economic growth, when there is less trade and business activity in a country than usual

Question 30

Military power

Answer 30

States influencing global politics through military resources (land/air/sea), measured by a state's military size or spending. Now primarily used against non-state actors or intra-state threats

Question 31

Airstrikes

Answer 31

Attacks in which military aircraft drop bombs

Question 32

Insurgency

Answer 32

An attempt by a group of people to take control of their government using force and violence

Question 33

Militant groups

Answer 33

Non-state armed groups that are willing to use strong or violent action in order to achieve political or social change

Question 34

Authoritarian

Answer 34

Strictly forcing people to obey a set of rules or laws, without consultation or scope for democratic challenge by the population

Question 35

Regime

Answer 35

A government, especially one that was not elected fairly or that you disapprove of for some other reason

Question 36

Structural power

Answer 36

States influencing global politics through its political ideas, structure, and frameworks, by promoting a favored political model e.g. democracy or capitalism

Question 37

Relational power

Answer 37

States influencing global politics through using its relationships with other states to change state behaviors, with hard, soft, and smart power

Question 38

Social/cultural power

Answer 38

States influencing global politics through exporting cultural resources across the world, connecting diverse populations at a human, rather than strategic, level

Question 39

Cyber power

Answer 39

States influencing global politics through the internet, empowering individual and state groups to launch cyber attacks and invest in cyber security

Question 40

Anarchic

Answer 40

Lacking any rules or order, or not following rules of society

Question 41

International law

Answer 41

The set of rules generally regarded and accepted as binding in relations between states and between nations, serving as the framework for the practice of stable and organized international relations

Question 42

Uprisings

Answer 42

Attempts by a group of people to change the government or laws in an area or state

Question 43

Diffused

Answer 43

Spread amongst a number of different global political actors