International Relations Vocabulary:

1. alliance system: political, economic or military alignment of nations; promotes the

common interests of members (ex: NATO)
2. balance of power: nations aligning themselves to maintain peace and security; no one
nation able to impose a major threat on others
3. bipolar world: world co-domination of two superpowers with opposing ideologies (ex:
Cold War)
4. cooperation: supportive action or joining together for common interests
5. cultural imperialism: the spread and domination of a particular nation’s culture, values
and beliefs throughout the world by way of trade, electronic communication, businesses
and the media
6. domestic policy: a government’s plan to deal with internal issues of the country
7. foreign policy: a government’s plan to deal with international issues that impact it
8. globalization: the growing economic and cultural interdependence of nations
9. hegemon: the most powerful political, economic and military nation-state in the world
(ex: USA)
10.international relations: multilateral interaction between nation-states
11.international system: maintaining a beneficial and peaceful pattern of interaction among
major global players
12.major players/actors: countries, organizations and institutions that have a great
influence on world affairs (ex: France, Red Cross, Sony)
13.multinational corporations (MNCs): private companies that have operations and or
divisions in many countries
14.multipolar world: when several major nations compete for power and influence
15.national interest: a country determining its involvement in world affairs based on the
outcome or benefits it receives
16.national sovereignty: a nation’s right to establish its own form of government and laws
without external influence
17.nation: a group of people who share a common identity; language, history, culture,
etc..but lack a defined country (ex: Palestinians, Kurds, Kashmiris)
18.nation-state: most powerful political unit in the world; having definite boundaries and
organized institutions
19.nongovernmental organizations (NGOs): nonprofit international agencies having a
particular common cause (ex: Greenpeace; Doctors Without Borders, etc..)
20.regional blocs: specific areas of the world cooperating together for political, economic
and social reasons (ex: European Union; NAFTA, ASEAN)
21.transnational agencies: organizations trying to promote global unity for peace and
security (ex: United Nations)
22.transnational pressures: global problems that undermine the power and status of many
nation-states (ex: pollution, terrorism, AIDS, natural disasters, etc…)
23.unipolarity: the existence of a particularly powerful state that is both able and willing to
manage the international system (ex: USA, 19th Century Great Britain)