Global Affairs
The Reference Library
Global Affairs Glossary
Key terms and definitions for global affairs. Every concept links to a full explanation — a reference for students, delegates, and researchers.
- Terms
- 543 terms
- Categories
- 1 category
A
39 entries- Absolute Advantage
- Absolute Gains
- Absolute Sovereignty
- Acquis Communautaire
- Adaptive Cyber Defense
- Adjacency Pact
- African Peer Review Mechanism
- African Union (AU) Peace Operations
- Agenda Setting
- Agenda-Setting Power
- Agenda-Setting Theory
- Agreed Framework
- Alliance Cohesion
- Alliance Entrapment
- Alliance Formation
- Alliance Management
- Allison's Rational Actor Model
- Anarchical Society
- Anarchy in International Relations
- Anschluss
- Antarctic Treaty System
- Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD)
- Appeasement
- Appeasement Policy
- Arms Control Verification
- Artificial Intelligence Arms Race
- ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Asylum
- Asylum Diplomacy
- Asylum Seeker
- Asylum Shopping
- Asymmetric Information
- Asymmetric Warfare
- Atrocity Prevention
- Autarky
- Authoritarian Resilience
- Autocratization
- Autonomous Weapons Systems
B
34 entries- Baghdad Pact
- Baker Plan
- Balance of Power
- Balance of Power Theory
- Balance of Threat
- Balance of Threat Theory
- Bandwagoning
- Banjul Charter
- Beggar-Thy-Neighbor Policy
- Beirut Declaration
- Belgrade Declaration
- Bilateral Diplomacy
- Bilateral Investment Treaty
- Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT)
- Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) Arbitration
- Bilateral Security Agreement
- Bilateral Swap Lines
- Bilateral Treaty
- Black Sea Grain Initiative
- Blue Economy
- Blue Helmets
- Bogotá Declaration
- Boko Haram
- Boomerang Effect
- Border Adjustment Tax
- Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS)
- Brahminization
- Breakout Capability
- Bretton Woods System
- Buenos Aires Consensus
- Burden Sharing
- Bureaucratic Inertia
- Bureaucratic Insulation
- Bureaucratic Politics Model
C
70 entries- Caesaropapism
- Cap and Trade
- Capacity Building
- Cartelization
- Caspian Sea Convention
- Catalan Independence Movement
- Ceasefire Agreement
- Ceasefire Monitoring
- Ceasefire Violation
- Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation
- Civilian Casualty Mitigation
- Clash of Civilizations
- Climate Adaptation
- Climate Change Mitigation
- Climate Finance
- Climate Finance Gap
- Climate Justice
- Climate Refugees
- Code of Conduct in the South China Sea
- Coercive Diplomacy
- Cold War 2.0
- Collective Defense
- Collective Defense Clause
- Collective Identity
- Collective Punishment Prohibition
- Collective Security
- Collective Security Arrangement
- Common but Differentiated Responsibilities
- Comprehensive Peace Agreement
- Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
- Compulsory Licensing
- Conference on Disarmament
- Confidence-Building Measures
- Conflict Diamonds
- Conflict Minerals
- Conflict-Related Sexual Violence
- Conscription
- Consensus Decision-Making
- Constructive Engagement
- Constructivism
- Constructivist Identity
- Constructivist Norm Cascade
- Constructivist Norm Entrepreneurs
- Constructivist Norms
- Constructivist Security Dilemma
- Constructivist Socialization
- Containment Doctrine
- Contested Multilateralism
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW)
- Counter-Narcotics Cooperation
- Counterinsurgency
- Counterterrorism Financing
- Crimean Annexation
- Crimes of Aggression
- Crisis Bargaining
- Crisis Diplomacy
- Crisis Stability
- Critical Geopolitics
- Critical Minerals Supply Chain
- Critical Raw Materials Act
- Cross-Strait Relations
- Currency Manipulation
- Currency Peg
- Cyber Deterrence
- Cyber Deterrence Strategy
- Cyber Espionage
- Cyber Norms
- Cyber Sovereignty
- Cybersecurity Governance
- Cyberwarfare
D
37 entries- Data Localization Policies
- De-Dollarization
- Debt Diplomacy
- Debt Trap Diplomacy
- Declaration on Friendly Relations
- Decolonial Theory
- Deep State
- Defense Industrial Base
- Defensive Alliance
- Defensive Alliances
- Defensive Realism
- Democratic Deficit
- Democratic Enlargement
- Democratic Peace Hypothesis
- Democratic Peace Theory
- Democratic Recession
- Deterrence by Denial
- Deterrence by Punishment
- Deterrence Theory
- Diaspora Diplomacy
- Digital Divide
- Digital Services Act
- Diplomatic Backchannel
- Diplomatic Bootlegging
- Diplomatic Immunity
- Diplomatic Immunity Waiver
- Diplomatic Recognition
- Disarmament
- Disengagement Agreement
- Doha Round
- Dollar Diplomacy
- Domestic Analogy
- Dual Circulation Strategy
- Dual Containment
- Dual-Use Dilemma
- Dual-Use Technologies
- Dublin Convention
E
31 entries- East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone
- Ecological Security
- Economic Coercion
- Economic Interdependence
- Economic Sanctions
- Economic Sanctions Evasion
- Economic Sanctions Snapback
- Economic Statecraft
- Economic Statecraft Instruments
- Embargo
- Energy Security
- Enhanced Forward Presence
- Entebbe Raid
- Environmental Diplomacy
- Environmental Impact Assessment
- Environmental Peacebuilding
- Environmental Refugees
- Environmental Security
- Epistemic Communities
- Epistemic Community
- Eurasianism
- European Coal and Steel Community
- European Defence Community
- European Neighbourhood Policy
- European Peace Facility
- European Political Community
- Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
- Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
- Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Disputes
- Exploratory Diplomacy
- Extraordinary Rendition
F
22 entries- Failed Coup
- Failed Peacebuilding
- Failed State
- Failed State Index
- Falsified Election
- Federated States
- Financial Action Task Force (FATF)
- Finlandization
- First Strike Capability
- Forced Labor Sanctions
- Foreign Aid Conditionality
- Foreign Direct Investment Screening
- Foreign Interference
- Foreign Policy Realism
- Forever Wars
- Forum-Shifting
- Fragile State
- Fragmented Sovereignty
- Friendshoring Policy
- Functional Cooperation
- Functional Spillover
- Functionalism
G
23 entries- Gas Diplomacy
- Geneva Conventions
- Geo-Economics
- Geo-Engineering
- Geoeconomic Fragmentation
- Geoeconomics
- Global Britain
- Global Commons
- Global Governance Gap
- Global Health Diplomacy
- Global Health Security Agenda
- Global Public Goods
- Global Tax Deal
- Global Value Chains
- Golan Heights Status
- Grand Bargain
- Great Power Competition
- Great Power Concert
- Great Power Peace
- Great Power Rivalry
- Green Hydrogen Diplomacy
- Greenland Sovereignty Question
- Gunboat Diplomacy
H
17 entries- Hegemonic Decline
- Hegemonic Stability
- Hegemonic Stability Theory
- Hegemonic War
- Hegemony
- Hizbullah
- Holy See Diplomacy
- Horn of Africa Initiative
- Houthi Movement
- Hub-and-Spokes Alliance System
- Human Development Index
- Human Security
- Humanitarian Access
- Humanitarian Ceasefire
- Humanitarian Corridors
- Humanitarian Intervention
- Hydropolitics
I
27 entries- Idlib De-escalation Zone
- Imperial Overstretch
- Inclusive Multilateralism
- Inclusive Security
- Indigenous Diplomacy
- Indivisibility of Security
- Indo-Pacific Strategy
- Informal Diplomacy
- Information Operations
- Information Warfare
- Insurance Doctrine
- Insurgency
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
- Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF)
- Internal Displacement Monitoring
- Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Safeguards
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) Conditionality
- International Regime
- International Seabed Authority
- Internet Governance
- Internet Governance Forum
- Investment Screening Mechanism
- Iran Nuclear Deal
- Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
- Istanbul Convention
- ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change
J
12 entriesK
11 entriesL
16 entries- Land Reform Diplomacy
- Leaders' Declaration
- Lebanon's Confessional System
- Legitimacy Crisis
- Lend-Lease
- Liberal Hegemony
- Liberal Institutionalism
- Liberal International Order
- Liberal Internationalism
- Lifeline Sanctions
- Line of Actual Control
- Line of Control
- Logistics Support Agreement
- Long Peace
- Loss and Damage
- Loss and Damage Fund
M
17 entries- Madrid Conference
- Maghreb Union
- Major Power Concert
- Malacca Dilemma
- Mass Atrocity Response
- Maximum Pressure Campaign
- Mekong River Commission
- Middle Power Diplomacy
- Migration Governance
- Military-Industrial Complex
- Minilateral Coalition
- Mistral Sale Controversy
- Multilateral Environmental Agreement
- Multilateral Sanctions
- Multitrack Diplomacy
- Munich Agreement
- Munich Security Conference
N
32 entries- National Security Strategy
- NATO Strategic Concept
- Naval Quarantine
- NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)
- Neo-Functionalism
- Neoclassical Realism
- Neoliberal Institutionalism
- Neutrality Doctrine
- New START Treaty
- Nile Basin Initiative
- Nodding Agreement
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Non-Combatant Evacuation Operation
- Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Diplomacy
- Non-Intervention Principle
- Non-Proliferation Regime
- Non-Proliferation Treaty
- Non-Recognition Doctrine
- Non-State Actor
- Non-State Armed Groups
- Nonproliferation Regime
- Normative Power Europe
- North Korea Sanctions Regime
- Nuclear Deterrence
- Nuclear Fallout
- Nuclear Latency
- Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
- Nuclear Posture Review
- Nuclear Sharing
- Nuclear Triad
- Nuclear Umbrella
- Nyon Arrangement
O
7 entriesP
32 entries- Panmunjom Declaration
- Paris Agreement
- Paris Rulebook
- Partition Plan
- Peace Dividend
- Peace Enforcement
- Peace Enforcement Operations
- Peace through Strength
- Peacebuilding
- Peacebuilding Commission
- Peacekeeping
- Persian Gulf Security Architecture
- Plaza Accord
- Polisario Front
- Polish Corridor
- Polycrisis
- Port State Control
- Potsdam Conference
- Power Projection
- Power Transition Theory
- Preemptive Self-Defense
- Preemptive Strike
- Preventive Diplomacy
- Principled Engagement
- Prisoner Exchange
- Proliferation Security Initiative
- Protectionism
- Proxy Conflict
- Proxy Insurgency
- Proxy War
- Public Diplomacy
- Pushback Operations
Q
1 entryR
15 entries- R2P (Responsibility to Protect)
- Reconquista Narrative
- Refugee Burden Sharing
- Refugee Convention Cessation Clause
- Refugee Resettlement
- Refugee Status Determination
- Regime Complex
- Regional Hegemon
- Regional Security Complex
- Reparations Diplomacy
- Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
- Responsibility to Protect (R2P)
- Revisionist State
- Rio Treaty
- Rome Statute
S
42 entries- Sahel Crisis
- Sanctions Busting
- Sanctions Carve-Out
- Sanctions Evasion
- Sanctions Snapback Mechanism
- Sea Lines of Communication
- Second-Strike Capability
- Securitization Theory
- Security Assurances
- Security Community
- Security Dilemma
- Security Guarantee
- Security Sector Reform
- Self-Reliance Doctrine
- Senkaku Islands Dispute
- Settler Colonialism
- Shadow Fleet
- Singapore Summit
- Smart Sanctions
- Solidarity Clause
- South-South Cooperation
- Sovereign Wealth Fund
- Sovereignty Paradox
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
- Sphere of Influence
- Spheres of Influence
- Spratly Islands Dispute
- Statelessness
- Status of Forces Agreement
- Stockholm Syndrome
- Strait of Hormuz
- Strategic Ambiguity
- Strategic Autonomy
- Strategic Hedging
- Strategic Petroleum Reserve
- Structural Realism
- Submarine Cable Security
- Successor State
- Sudan Peace Process
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Integration
T
24 entries- Technology Transfer Restrictions
- Tiananmen Square Massacre
- Tibet Question
- Total Defense
- Track Four Diplomacy
- Track One and a Half Diplomacy
- Track One Diplomacy
- Track Three Diplomacy
- Track Two Diplomacy
- Track Zero Diplomacy
- Transatlantic Partnership
- Transboundary Pollution
- Transitional Justice
- Transnational Advocacy Networks
- Transnational Crime
- Treaty of Lisbon
- Treaty of Maastricht
- Treaty of Nice
- Treaty of Rome
- Treaty Regime
- Triple Entente
- Tripolar System
- Twin Deficits
- Two-State Solution
U
11 entriesV
2 entriesW
18 entries- Wagner Group
- Washington Consensus
- Wassenaar Arrangement Controls
- Water Diplomacy
- Water Security
- Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD) Proliferation
- Weapons-Free Zone
- Western Sahara Conflict
- Westphalian Sovereignty
- Wilsonian Idealism
- Withdrawal Agreement
- World Bank Development Projects
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- World Trade Organization (WTO) Dispute Settlement
- World Trade Organization (WTO) Plurilateral Agreements
- World Trade Organization (WTO) Tariff Negotiations
- World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement
- World Trade Organization Plurilateral Agreements
