The Reference Library
Diplomacy & Politics Glossary
Every term you need — from Model UN procedure to international law, economics, and political theory. Clear definitions, real examples, and cross-linked concepts.
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- 7,503 terms· showing letter A (465)
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Showing 465 entries
A
465 entriesA Priori Argument
An argument whose conclusion is justified by reason alone, derived from…
A2 (Answers To)
In competitive debate, "A2" (also "AT") is shorthand for "Answers To," meaning…
A2/AD
Anti-Access/Area Denial: a military strategy using long-range sensors and…
A4P
Action for Peacekeeping, a UN initiative launched in 2018 by Secretary-General…
A4P+
A4P+ is the UN's implementation strategy launched in 2021 to accelerate the…
Aarhus Convention
A 1998 UNECE treaty granting the public rights to environmental information,…
Abandonment Fear
The worry within an alliance that one's partner will fail to honor its…
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Egyptian president since 2014, former army chief who led the 2013 ouster of…
Abiy Ahmed
Prime Minister of Ethiopia since April 2018 and 2019 Nobel Peace Prize…
Abkhazia
A breakaway territory on Georgia's Black Sea coast that declared independence…
Above the Fold
A journalism term for the most prominent content placement—originally the top…
Abraham Accords
A series of 2020 US-brokered normalization agreements between Israel and Arab…
Absentee Ballot
A ballot cast by a voter who cannot or chooses not to attend a polling station…
Absolute Advantage
A situation where a country can produce a good or service more efficiently than…
Absolute Gains
Benefits a state obtains from cooperation without comparing them to others'…
Absolute Monarchy
A system of government in which a single hereditary ruler holds unrestricted…
Absolute Sovereignty
Complete and unrestricted authority of a state over its territory and…
abstain on substantive
A vote option on substantive matters in MUN where a delegate formally declines…
Abstention
A formal vote choice that registers neither support nor opposition, counted…
Abstention as Non-Obstruction (Charter Practice)
The established UN Security Council practice whereby a permanent member's…
Abstention Doctrine
A set of judicial principles under which a federal court declines to hear a…
Abuse Story
In competitive debate, the narrative a team tells the judge explaining how…
ACABQ (Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions)
The ACABQ is a 16-member subsidiary expert body of the UN General Assembly that…
Accelerated procedure
A fast-track asylum process used to decide claims considered manifestly…
Acceptance of Jurisdiction
A state's formal consent to be bound by the authority of an international court…
Access Journalism
A reporting style in which journalists prioritize maintaining close…
Accessibility in Debate
The practice of designing debate spaces, rules, and communication so that…
Accession Chapter
An accession chapter is one of 35 thematic policy areas of the EU acquis into…
Accession Negotiation Cluster
A thematic grouping of related EU accession chapters used since 2020 to open,…
Accessory Liability
Legal responsibility imposed on a person or state that aids, abets, or…
Acclamation
A method of decision-making in which a candidate or proposal is approved by…
Accomplice Liability
A doctrine holding a person criminally responsible for assisting, encouraging,…
Aceh conflict
A decades-long separatist insurgency in Indonesia's Aceh province led by the…
Achaemenid Empire
The first Persian empire (c. 550–330 BCE), founded by Cyrus the Great, which at…
Achmea v. Slovakia
A landmark CJEU ruling holding that investor-state arbitration clauses in…
Acquiescence in International Law
Acquiescence is a state's tacit acceptance of a legal situation through…
Acquis Communautaire
The accumulated body of EU law, rights, and obligations that all member states…
ACSC Australia
Australia's lead national cybersecurity agency, based within the Australian…
Act East Policy
India's 2014 rebrand of the Look East Policy under PM Modi, emphasizing more…
ACT Group Code of Conduct on Mass Atrocities
A voluntary pledge initiated by the ACT Group urging UN Security Council…
Act in Support of Ammunition Production (ASAP)
EU regulation adopted in July 2023 providing €500 million to accelerate…
Act of Aggression
An act by a state involving the use of armed force against the sovereignty,…
Act of Belligerency
An act by a state or Non-State Actor that constitutes participation in armed…
Act of God
A legal term for an extraordinary natural event, beyond human control or…
Act of State
A doctrine preventing courts of one country from questioning the validity of…
Act of State Doctrine
A principle preventing courts of one country from questioning the validity of…
Act of State Doctrine Exception
An exception allowing domestic courts to review foreign sovereign acts when…
Acting Capacity
A temporary designation allowing an official to perform the duties of a higher…
Action Cable
An action cable is a diplomatic telegram that directs the receiving post to…
Action for Peacekeeping
A UN reform initiative launched by Secretary-General António Guterres in 2018…
Action Memorandum
An action memorandum is an internal decision document that presents a policy…
Actionable Subsidy
A government subsidy that is permitted under WTO rules but can be challenged by…
Active Listening
A communication technique in which the listener fully concentrates,…
Active measures
Soviet- and Russian-origin term for covert and overt political influence…
Active Reading
Engaging with a text by questioning, summarizing, and evaluating content to…
Actus Reus
The physical act or unlawful conduct element of a crime, which must be proven…
Ad Hoc Arbitration
A form of arbitration conducted without an administering institution, in which…
Ad Hoc Coalition
A temporary, mission-specific grouping of states that cooperate on a single…
Ad Hoc Committee
A temporary committee created to address a specific issue or task, dissolved…
Ad Hoc Committee Cybercrime
UN General Assembly body created in 2019 to negotiate a global treaty on…
Ad Hoc Judge
A judge chosen by a party to a case before an international court when that…
Ad Hoc Tribunal
A temporary court established to prosecute specific crimes or conflicts, such…
Ad Hominem
An ad hominem attack targets a person’s character instead of addressing their…
Ad Populum Fallacy
A logical Fallacy that argues a claim is true because many people believe it.
AD-AS Model
A macroeconomic framework showing how aggregate demand and aggregate supply…
Adam Smith's Invisible Hand
The self-regulating behavior of the marketplace where individuals' pursuit of…
Adaptation Fund
A climate finance fund established under the Kyoto Protocol to support…
Adaptive Cyber Defense
A cybersecurity approach that continuously evolves in response to emerging…
Adaptive Expectations
An economic theory that people forecast future variables (like inflation) by…
ADB
The Asian Development Bank is a regional multilateral development bank founded…
Additional Member System
A mixed electoral system combining single-member district seats with party-list…
additional protocol I
A 1977 treaty supplementing the Geneva Conventions that governs the protection…
Additional Protocol II
A 1977 treaty supplementing the Geneva Conventions that sets minimum…
Additional Protocol III
A 2005 protocol to the Geneva Conventions creating the Red Crystal as a third…
Adhesion Contract
A standardized "take-it-or-leave-it" contract drafted by the stronger party,…
ADIZ East China Sea
An Air Defense Identification Zone declared by China in November 2013 over much…
ADIZ Incursions in the Taiwan Strait
ADIZ incursions in the Taiwan Strait are People's Liberation Army aircraft…
Adjacency Pact
An informal term for an agreement between neighboring states that manages…
Adjournment
The suspension or ending of a meeting or debate until a later time or date.
Adjudication
The formal legal process by which a court or tribunal hears a dispute and…
Administrative Burden
The learning, compliance, and psychological costs imposed on individuals or…
Administrative Counselor
An administrative counselor is a senior diplomatic officer responsible for the…
Administrative Discretion
The flexibility granted to bureaucrats in interpreting and applying laws and…
Administrative Law
Administrative law governs the activities and decisions of government agencies…
Administrative Law Judge
An official who presides over disputes involving administrative agencies,…
Administrative Procedure Act
Legislation that governs the process by which federal agencies develop and…
Administrative State
The network of executive-branch agencies that make, enforce, and adjudicate…
Administrative Tribunal
A specialized Quasi-Judicial Body that resolves disputes involving…
Administrative Tribunals
Administrative tribunals are specialized quasi-judicial bodies that resolve…
Admissibility Criteria
Standards used by international courts or bodies to determine whether a case or…
Admissibility of Refugee Claims
Criteria used to determine whether a refugee claim is eligible for examination…
Adoption by Consensus
Adoption by consensus is a United Nations decision-making procedure in which a…
Advantage
In policy debate, an "advantage" is a constructive argument showing that the…
Adversarial Bloc
A grouping of Model UN delegates whose policy positions oppose your own,…
Adversarial Campaigning
An electoral strategy that frames the opponent as a threat or illegitimate…
Adverse Possession
A legal doctrine allowing a person to acquire title to land by openly occupying…
Adverse Selection
A market failure where asymmetric information before a transaction causes the…
Advertorial
A paid advertisement designed to look like editorial content, blending a…
Advice and Consent
A constitutional requirement that certain presidential appointments and…
Advice and Consent of the Senate
A U.S. constitutional power requiring Senate approval of treaties, ambassadors,…
advisory jurisdiction
The authority of an international court to issue non-binding legal opinions on…
Advisory Opinion
Non-binding legal advice issued by an international court or tribunal upon…
Advocacy
Efforts by individuals or groups to influence public policy and decision-making…
Advocacy Coalition Framework
A theory explaining policy change by focusing on groups of actors who share…
Advocacy Group
An organized group that seeks to influence public policy and decision-making to…
Aegis Ashore
A land-based version of the U.S. Navy's Aegis ballistic missile defense system,…
Aegis BMD
A US Navy sea- and land-based ballistic missile defense system using the Aegis…
AfCFTA (African Continental Free Trade Area)
A 2018 trade agreement creating a continent-wide African free trade area, with…
AfDB
The African Development Bank, a multilateral development finance institution…
Aff Bias
A perceived structural advantage held by the affirmative side in a competitive…
Affidavit
A written statement of facts voluntarily made under oath or affirmation before…
Affinity Voting
The tendency of voters to support candidates who share their ethnic, religious,…
Affirmative Burden
The obligation of the affirmative team to establish a case that supports the…
Affirmative Case
The structured set of arguments presented by the affirmative team to support…
Affirmative Constructive
The first speech in a Policy debate where the affirmative team presents their…
Affirmative Defense
A legal defense in which the defendant introduces new facts that, if proven,…
Affirmative Strat
The overall strategic plan the affirmative team uses to win a policy debate…
Afforestation
The planting of trees on land that has not been forested in recent history,…
Afghan Compact
A 2006 framework agreement between Afghanistan and the international community…
African Continental Free Trade Area
A continent-wide free trade area among African Union member states, created to…
African Development Bank
A regional multilateral development bank headquartered in Abidjan that finances…
African Peer Review Mechanism
A voluntary self-monitoring system among African Union member states that…
African Union (AU)
A continental organization of 55 African states, succeeding the Organisation of…
African Union (AU) Peace Operations
Military and civilian missions led by the AU to prevent, manage, and resolve…
African Union Commission
The permanent secretariat of the African Union, based in Addis Ababa, that…
African Union Simulation
A Model UN committee that recreates organs of the African Union, where…
Afropessimism
A critical theory holding that anti-Blackness is a structural, foundational…
After-Action Review
A structured debrief held after an event or operation to identify what…
Age of Discovery
The period from the early 15th to the 17th century when European powers…
Age of Enlightenment
An intellectual movement in 17th–18th century Europe that elevated reason,…
Age of Exploration
The period from roughly the early 15th to the 17th century when European powers…
Age of Sail
The era, roughly the 16th to mid-19th centuries, when sailing ships dominated…
Agency Capture
When a regulatory agency comes to advance the interests of the industries it is…
Agenda Disad
A competitive debate disadvantage arguing the affirmative plan disrupts a…
Agenda Setting
The process by which certain issues are prioritized and framed for discussion…
Agenda Topic
The specific issue a Model UN committee formally debates after adopting its…
Agenda-Setting in Stakeholder Engagement
The process of prioritizing topics and issues to guide discussions and…
Agenda-Setting Power
The ability of an actor to influence the priorities and topics addressed in…
Agenda-Setting Strategies
Techniques used to prioritize issues and influence the focus of discussions or…
Agenda-Setting Theory
The process by which media or actors influence the importance placed on topics…
Agent Counterplan
A counterplan that enacts the affirmative's policy but assigns it to a…
agent-structure
A foundational IR debate over whether actors (agents) or the systems they…
Aggravating Circumstances
Facts surrounding a crime that increase the offender's culpability or sentence,…
Aggregate Demand
The total demand for all finished goods and services in an economy at a given…
Aggregate Supply
The total quantity of goods and services that producers in an economy are…
Aggregated Treaty Interpretation
A method of interpreting treaties by considering the combined effect of…
Aggregator Site
A website that collects, organizes, and republishes headlines, summaries, or…
Aggression
The use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, Territorial…
Agile Governance
An adaptive approach to policymaking and institutional management that…
Agonistic Pluralism
A political theory that emphasizes the positive role of ongoing conflict and…
Agreed Framework
A 1994 bilateral accord in which North Korea agreed to freeze its plutonium…
Agreed Framework 1994
A 1994 U.S.–North Korea accord freezing Pyongyang's plutonium program at…
Agreed Statement (Treaty Annex)
An agreed statement is a negotiated interpretive text annexed to a treaty that…
Agreement on Port State Measures
A binding FAO treaty that lets ports block foreign fishing vessels suspected of…
Agrément
The receiving state's formal approval of a foreign government's proposed…
Agricultural Attaché
An agricultural attaché is a specialized diplomatic officer posted to an…
Agricultural Revolution
A period of major change in farming practices that increased food production,…
Aide-mémoire
A short written summary of a diplomatic conversation or position, left with the…
Air Attaché
An air attaché is a commissioned air force officer accredited to a diplomatic…
Air War
The portion of a political campaign waged through mass broadcast and digital…
AIVD (Netherlands)
The AIVD is the Dutch General Intelligence and Security Service, responsible…
Al-Qaeda
A militant Islamist organization responsible for numerous terrorist attacks,…
Alassane Ouattara
Ivorian economist and politician serving as President of Côte d'Ivoire since…
ALBA
A Latin American and Caribbean political and economic bloc founded in 2004 by…
Alberto Fujimori
Peruvian president from 1990 to 2000, known for defeating Shining Path…
Alexander Lukashenko
Belarusian politician serving as the country's first and only president since…
Algerian War of Independence
The 1954–1962 anti-colonial war between the Algerian National Liberation Front…
Algorithmic Amplification
The process by which platform recommendation systems increase the reach and…
Algorithmic Bias
Algorithmic bias occurs when automated systems produce unfair results due to…
Algorithmic Transparency
The extent to which the processes and criteria used by algorithms are open and…
Algorithmic warfare
The use of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and automated data…
Alibi Defense
A criminal defense asserting that the accused was somewhere other than the…
Alienation
Karl Marx's concept describing workers' estrangement from their labor,…
all-states formula
A UN treaty-participation clause that opens a convention to signature or…
All-Weather Strategic Partnership
A diplomatic designation for a bilateral relationship described as resilient…
Alliance Cohesion
The degree to which members of a military or political alliance maintain unity…
Alliance Dilemma
The trade-off allied states face between the risks of entrapment in a partner's…
Alliance Entrapment
A situation where a state is dragged into an unwanted conflict due to…
Alliance Formation
The process by which states enter into formal agreements to cooperate for…
Alliance Management
The process by which states coordinate policies, share resources, and maintain…
Alliance of Sahel States (AES)
A confederation of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger formed in September 2023 after…
Alliance Restraint
The use of an alliance relationship to limit, constrain, or veto the risky or…
Allison's Rational Actor Model
A framework treating states as unitary, goal-maximizing actors that choose…
Allotments
In MUN, allotments are the country and committee assignments a conference gives…
ALPHV
ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, was a Russian-speaking ransomware-as-a-service…
Alternative Disadvantage
An argument that presents a different Disadvantage to the same plan or…
Alternative Dispute Resolution
A set of processes—chiefly negotiation, mediation, conciliation, and…
Alternative Media
News and information outlets that operate outside mainstream commercial or…
Alternative Vote
A preferential single-winner electoral system in which voters rank candidates…
Ambassador
The highest-ranking diplomatic envoy a state sends to represent it in another…
Ambassador Extraordinary
A diplomat of the highest rank sent by one head of state to another,…
Ambassador Plenipotentiary
A senior diplomat formally vested with full authority to represent their head…
Ambassador-at-Large
A senior diplomat appointed to handle a specific issue or region rather than…
ambassador's residence
The official home of a head of diplomatic mission in the receiving state,…
Ambassador's Residence
The official home of a head of mission, distinct from the embassy chancery,…
Ambush Interview
A journalistic tactic in which a reporter confronts a subject unexpectedly,…
Amended Protocol II CCW
A 1996 amendment to the CCW's protocol on landmines, booby-traps and other…
Amendment
A formal proposal to change, add, or delete parts of a Draft Resolution or…
Amendment Number
The identifier assigned by the dais to each proposed amendment to a draft…
Amendment Process
The formal procedure by which changes or additions are made to a constitution.
Amendment to the Second Degree
An amendment that modifies another pending amendment rather than the underlying…
Amendment Voting Bloc
An informal coalition of MUN delegates who coordinate their votes on proposed…
Amendments Lapse If Resolution Fails
The procedural principle that any amendments attached to a draft resolution…
Amendments to Be Voted En Bloc
A procedural motion in Model UN to vote on a group of amendments together in a…
Amendments To Be Voted On Individually
A Model UN procedural motion to separate each proposed amendment to a draft…
American Carbon Registry
A voluntary greenhouse gas registry, founded in 1996, that issues and tracks…
American Revolution
The late-18th-century conflict and political movement in which thirteen British…
Amicus Curiae
A Latin term meaning 'friend of the court'; a person or group offering…
Amicus Curiae Brief
A document submitted by a non-party to a court case offering information or…
Amplification Effect
The process by which certain information, ideas, or Misinformation gain…
Analogy
A rhetorical device that compares two different things to clarify or persuade…
Analytic Skepticism
A critical approach that involves questioning assumptions and evaluating…
Anarchical Society
A concept in international relations describing a system where sovereign states…
Anarchy
In IR theory, the absence of a central authority above sovereign states,…
Anarchy in International Relations
A condition in the international system where no central authority exists above…
ANC Youth League
The ANC Youth League was a political organization that mobilized young South…
Anchor
A news anchor is the lead on-air presenter of a television or radio news…
Anchor Text
The visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that provides context about the…
Anchoring Bias
A Cognitive Bias where individuals rely too heavily on the first piece of…
Anchoring Effect
People rely too heavily on the first piece of information encountered when…
Anchoring in Negotiation
The tactic of establishing an initial offer or position that influences the…
Ancien Régime
The Ancien Régime refers to the political and social system of France before…
Ancient Senate Committee
A specialized MUN crisis committee that simulates a historical senate—most…
Andrés Manuel López Obrador
Mexican left-wing politician who served as President of Mexico from December…
Angela Merkel
German politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021,…
Angolan Civil War
A protracted conflict in Angola (1975–2002) between the MPLA government and…
Annales School
A French historiographical movement that prioritizes long-term social,…
Annan Plan Cyprus
A 2002–2004 UN-brokered proposal to reunify Cyprus as a bizonal, bicommunal…
Annapolis process
A 2007–2008 round of US-brokered Israeli–Palestinian final-status negotiations…
Annexation
The forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state without the…
Annexation of Crimea
Russia's 2014 military seizure and unilateral incorporation of Ukraine's…
Annual Report
A yearly publication in which an organization documents its activities,…
annulment ICSID
A limited post-award review procedure under Article 52 of the ICSID Convention…
Anocracy
A regime type that mixes democratic and autocratic features, typically unstable…
Anonymous Source
A person who supplies information to a journalist on the condition that their…
Anschluss
The political annexation of one state by another, historically referring to…
ANSSI (France)
France's national cybersecurity agency, responsible for defending state…
Antarctic Treaty
A 1959 international agreement reserving Antarctica for peaceful scientific…
Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting
The annual diplomatic forum where parties to the Antarctic Treaty negotiate…
Antarctic Treaty System
A framework of agreements governing Antarctica that reserves the continent for…
Anthony Albanese
Australian Labor Party politician serving as the 31st Prime Minister of…
Anthropocentrism Kritik
A debate kritik arguing that the affirmative's human-centered worldview causes…
Anti-Access/Area Denial (A2/AD)
A military strategy using long-range sensors and weapons to prevent an…
Anti-access/Area-denial (A2/AD)
A military strategy combining long-range systems to prevent an adversary from…
Anti-Coercion Instrument
An EU regulation enabling the Union to respond to economic coercion by third…
Anti-Corruption Compliance
The system of policies, controls, and training a firm or agency uses to…
Anti-Defection Law
A statute that disqualifies elected legislators who switch parties or defy…
Anti-Dumping
Measures taken to protect domestic industries from foreign companies selling…
Anti-Dumping Duty
An Anti-Dumping duty is a tariff imposed on imports priced below fair market…
Anti-dumping investigation
A formal probe by a government into whether imported goods are being sold below…
Anti-Dumping Measures
Trade defense tools used to protect domestic industries from foreign companies…
Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention
A 1997 treaty prohibiting the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of…
Anti-Personnel Mines
Explosive devices designed to detonate from the presence, proximity, or contact…
Anti-Secession Law (2005)
The Anti-Secession Law is a 2005 PRC statute authorizing the use of…
Anti-Suit Injunction
A court order restraining a party from commencing or continuing legal…
Anti-Vehicle Mines
Explosive devices designed to disable or destroy vehicles, typically detonated…
Antiblackness Kritik
A competitive debate argument claiming the opponent's advocacy reproduces…
Anticipatory Breach
A contract doctrine where one party signals, before performance is due, that it…
Antitrust Policy
Government rules and enforcement actions that prevent monopolies, cartels, and…
António Guterres
Portuguese politician and diplomat serving as the ninth Secretary-General of…
António Salazar
Portuguese authoritarian leader who ruled as Prime Minister from 1932 to 1968…
Anwar Sadat
Egyptian president from 1970 to 1981 who launched the 1973 October War and…
any-state formula
A treaty clause opening accession to any state without restriction, contrasted…
AOIP (ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific)
ASEAN's 2019 strategic document outlining its collective approach to the…
AP I customary status
The doctrine that many provisions of Additional Protocol I to the Geneva…
APM
APM stands for anti-personnel mine, a munition designed to detonate from the…
Apparentment
An electoral arrangement that lets allied party lists combine their votes for…
Appeal as of Right
A procedural entitlement allowing a party to appeal a decision to a higher…
Appeal of Chair Ruling
A procedural motion by which a delegate challenges a ruling made by the chair,…
Appeasement
A Foreign Policy strategy of conceding to aggressive demands to avoid conflict,…
Appeasement Disad
A negative debate argument claiming the affirmative plan signals weakness to an…
Appeasement Policy
A diplomatic strategy where concessions are made to an aggressive state to…
Appellate Advocacy
The practice of arguing cases before appellate courts, focused on legal error,…
Appellate Body Crisis
The paralysis of the WTO Appellate Body since December 2019, caused by the…
Appellate Jurisdiction
The authority of a higher court to review and revise the decisions of a lower…
Applied Tariff
The customs duty a country actually charges on an imported good, which may be…
Appointment Television
Programming that audiences deliberately schedule their lives around to watch…
Apportionment
The process of allocating legislative seats among administrative units (states,…
Apprenticeship
A structured training arrangement combining paid on-the-job work with formal…
Appropriation Clause
A constitutional provision that authorizes government spending only if approved…
Appropriations
Legislative acts that allocate specific funding for government programs and…
Appropriations Bill
An Appropriations bill authorizes government spending for specific programs or…
Appropriations Committee
A Legislative Committee responsible for determining the specific allocation of…
Appropriations Rider
A provision added to an Appropriations Bill that may be unrelated to the main…
Appropriations Subcommittee
An Appropriations subcommittee is a smaller legislative group focused on…
Approval by Acclamation
A procedural method of adopting a motion, resolution, or candidate without a…
Approval Voting
Voters can select as many candidates as they approve of, and the candidate with…
APT26
APT26 is a designation used by some threat-intelligence vendors for a suspected…
APT28
A Russian state-sponsored cyber-espionage group attributed to GRU Unit 26165,…
APT29
A Russian state-sponsored cyber-espionage group, attributed to the SVR foreign…
APT34
An Iran-linked cyber-espionage group, also known as OilRig or Helix Kitten,…
APT35
An Iranian state-aligned cyber-espionage group, also known as Charming Kitten,…
APT37
A North Korea-linked cyber-espionage group, active since at least 2012, that…
APT43
APT43 is a North Korean state-sponsored cyber-espionage group known for…
Arab League (League of Arab States)
A regional organization of 22 Arab states founded in 1945, coordinating…
Arab League Council
The supreme decision-making body of the League of Arab States, composed of…
Arab League Simulation
A Model UN committee that simulates the League of Arab States, where delegates…
Arab Spring
A series of pro-democracy uprisings and protests across the Arab world…
Arab-Israeli Six-Day War
1967 conflict where Israel fought Egypt, Jordan, and Syria, resulting in…
Arbitral Award
A binding decision issued by an arbitral tribunal resolving a dispute submitted…
Arbitral Tribunal
A panel of one or more arbitrators chosen by disputing parties to resolve a…
Arbitration Clause
A contractual provision in which parties agree in advance to resolve future…
Arctic Council
An intergovernmental forum of eight Arctic states and six Indigenous Permanent…
Arendtian Banality of Evil
Hannah Arendt's concept that ordinary people can commit evil acts simply by…
Arendtian Eichmann in Jerusalem
Describes the concept of ordinary individuals committing evil acts through…
Arendtian Eichmann Trial Analysis
Hannah Arendt's examination of Adolf Eichmann's trial highlighted the concept…
Arendtian Natality
Natality in Arendt's philosophy highlights birth as the origin of new…
Arendtian Political Action
Hannah Arendt’s concept that genuine political freedom arises from collective…
Arendtian Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt’s analysis of totalitarian regimes characterized by ideological…
Arendtian Vita Activa
Hannah Arendt's concept distinguishing active life involving labor, work, and…
ARF (ASEAN Regional Forum)
The ASEAN Regional Forum is an annual multilateral dialogue on security issues…
Argentine Default 2001
Argentina's December 2001 suspension of payments on roughly US$93 billion of…
Argument Collapse
A debate moment when one side's case loses its logical or evidentiary basis…
Argument Extension
A debate technique where a speaker carries forward and develops a previously…
Argument Selection
The strategic process of choosing which claims, evidence, and lines of…
Ariel Sharon
Israeli general and politician who served as the 11th Prime Minister of Israel…
Armed Conflict
A situation of sustained combat between two or more organized armed groups,…
Armed Conflict, Non-International
A non-international armed conflict (NIAC) is protracted armed violence between…
Armed Non-International Conflict
A conflict occurring within a state between governmental forces and Non-State…
Armed Non-State Actor
An organized group not affiliated with any government that engages in Armed…
Armenian Genocide
The systematic destruction of Ottoman Armenians from 1915 to 1923 by the…
Arms Control Verification
The set of technical and legal procedures used to confirm that states are…
Arms Trade Treaty
A multilateral treaty regulating the international trade in conventional…
Arraignment
A formal court hearing at which a criminal defendant is read the charges…
Arria-Formula Meeting
An Arria-formula meeting is an informal, confidential gathering of UN Security…
Arrow system
A family of Israeli exo-atmospheric anti-ballistic missile interceptors…
ARSA (Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army)
A Rohingya insurgent group active in Myanmar's Rakhine State, best known for…
ARSIWA
The Articles on Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, a…
Artemis Accords
A US-led set of non-binding bilateral principles for cooperative civil…
Article 109 review conference
A UN Charter mechanism (Article 109) for convening a general conference of…
Article 19 (Loss of Vote for Arrears)
Article 19 of the UN Charter strips a member state of its General Assembly vote…
Article 2(7) (Domestic Jurisdiction Clause)
Article 2(7) of the UN Charter bars the Organization from intervening in…
Article 215 TFEU
Article 215 TFEU is the legal basis empowering the EU Council to adopt economic…
Article 25 (Binding Force of Council Decisions)
Article 25 of the UN Charter obligates member states to accept and carry out…
Article 27 (UN Charter Voting)
Article 27 of the UN Charter governs Security Council voting, requiring nine…
Article 27 of the UN Charter
Article 27 of the UN Charter governs voting in the Security Council, requiring…
Article 27 UN Charter
Article 27 of the UN Charter governs Security Council voting, requiring nine…
Article 27(3) UN Charter
Article 27(3) of the UN Charter requires nine affirmative Security Council…
Article 31(2) TEU Constructive Abstention
Constructive abstention is the EU mechanism allowing a Member State to abstain…
Article 31(2) TEU Constructive Abstention
Constructive abstention is a Treaty on European Union mechanism allowing a…
Article 370 Kashmir
A provision of the Indian Constitution that granted Jammu and Kashmir special…
Article 4 destruction
The obligation under Article 4 of the Ottawa Convention for each state party to…
Article 5 (NATO)
The collective defense clause of the 1949 North Atlantic Treaty under which an…
Article 51 (Inherent Right of Self-Defence)
Article 51 of the UN Charter preserves the inherent right of states to…
Article 51 (Inherent Right of Self-Defense)
Article 51 of the UN Charter preserves the inherent right of individual or…
Article 51 (UN Charter)
The UN Charter provision recognizing the inherent right of individual or…
Article 52 (Regional Arrangements)
Article 52 of the UN Charter authorises regional arrangements to address…
Article 6 Paris Agreement
The provision of the 2015 Paris Agreement that lets countries cooperate to meet…
Article 6.2
A provision of the Paris Agreement allowing countries to cooperatively trade…
Article 6.2 cooperative approaches
A Paris Agreement mechanism allowing countries to bilaterally trade…
Article 6.4
A Paris Agreement mechanism enabling a centralized UN crediting system for…
Article 6.8
Provision of the Paris Agreement establishing a framework for non-market…
Article 99 (Secretary-General Initiative)
Article 99 of the UN Charter empowers the Secretary-General to bring to the…
Article 99 (Secretary-General Initiative)
Article 99 of the UN Charter empowers the Secretary-General to bring to the…
Article 99 of the UN Charter
Article 99 of the UN Charter authorizes the Secretary-General to bring to the…
Article Cutting
A research practice in competitive debate where evidence from published sources…
Articulation
The clarity and precision with which a speaker physically produces words and…
Artificial Intelligence Arms Race
Competitive development and deployment of AI technologies for military…
ASAP (Act in Support of Ammunition Production)
ASAP is a 2023 EU regulation providing €500 million to boost ammunition and…
Asch Conformity Effect
A psychological phenomenon where individuals conform to group opinions or…
ASCM
The WTO Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, which disciplines…
ASD (Australian Signals Directorate)
Australia's national signals intelligence and cybersecurity agency, responsible…
ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)
A 10-member Southeast Asian regional organization operating by consensus, with…
ASEAN Ministerial
A Model UN committee simulating the ASEAN Foreign Ministers' Meeting, where…
ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific
ASEAN's 2019 strategic document articulating a cooperative, inclusive vision…
ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF)
A multilateral platform for security dialogue and confidence-building among…
ASEAN Special Envoy on Myanmar
A rotating diplomatic role created by ASEAN to mediate Myanmar's post-coup…
Asia rebalance
A US foreign policy reorientation under the Obama administration shifting…
Asia-Pacific Dream
A Chinese foreign-policy vision articulated by Xi Jinping in 2014 calling for…
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
A 21-member regional economic forum founded in 1989 to promote free trade,…
Asian Development Bank
A Manila-based regional development bank, founded in 1966, that finances…
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
A Beijing-based multilateral development bank, founded in 2016, that finances…
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
A China-initiated multilateral development bank founded in 2016 with 109…
Associated Press Style
A standardized set of writing, grammar, and citation rules maintained by the…
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS)
ARATS is a Beijing-based nominally non-governmental body established in 1991 to…
Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS)
ARATS is a Beijing-based nominally non-governmental body established in 1991 to…
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
A regional intergovernmental organization of ten Southeast Asian states…
Assurance Game
A coordination game where mutual cooperation is the best outcome for all…
Astana Process
A parallel diplomatic track on the Syrian conflict launched in January 2017 by…
Astroturf Campaigning
A political tactic that disguises sponsored or coordinated advocacy as…
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is creating fake grassroots movements to disguise orchestrated…
Asylum
Protection granted by a state to individuals fleeing persecution from their…
Asylum and Migration Pact (EU)
A 2024 EU legislative package overhauling asylum, border, and migration rules…
Asylum Cooperative Agreements
Bilateral deals letting a state transfer asylum seekers to a third country…
Asylum Diplomacy
The use of granting Asylum as a diplomatic tool to influence relationships…
Asylum Procedures Directive
An EU directive setting common rules for how member states grant and withdraw…
Asylum Procedures Regulation EU
EU regulation adopted in 2024 harmonising asylum procedures across member…
Asylum Seeker
An individual who flees their home country seeking international protection but…
Asylum Shopping
The practice where Asylum seekers apply for refugee status in multiple…
Asymmetric Defense
A military posture in which a weaker actor offsets a stronger opponent's…
Asymmetric Federalism
A federal system in which constituent units hold different powers, rights, or…
Asymmetric Information
A condition where one party in a negotiation or transaction has more or better…
Asymmetric Information Bargaining
A bargaining situation where one party holds private information about its…
Asymmetric Warfare
Conflict where opposing forces differ significantly in military capabilities or…
At-Large Election
An election in which candidates are chosen by the entire jurisdiction's voters…
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Indian politician who served three terms as Prime Minister of India and was a…
ATCM
The Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting is the annual decision-making forum…
Athena Mechanism
The Athena Mechanism was the European Union's financial instrument for…
Atkinson Index
A measure of income inequality that incorporates a society's aversion to…
Atlantic Charter
A 1941 joint statement by the US and UK setting out shared post-war aims,…
Atlantic Council CBDC Tracker
A public dashboard by the Atlantic Council's GeoEconomics Center that tracks…
Atomic Bomb Survivors
People who survived the 1945 US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,…
Atrocity Prevention
A field of policy and practice aimed at preventing genocide, crimes against…
ATT (Arms Trade Treaty)
The Arms Trade Treaty is a multilateral treaty regulating the international…
ATT Extraterritorial Controls
Arms Trade Treaty obligations that require states to regulate arms transfer…
ATT Secretariat
The administrative body, based in Geneva, that supports implementation of the…
ATT Working Group
A subsidiary body of the Arms Trade Treaty that meets between Conferences of…
Attaché
A specialist diplomatic officer assigned to an embassy to advise on a…
Attorney Work Product Doctrine
A legal rule shielding materials prepared by or for a lawyer in anticipation of…
Attorney-Client Privilege
A legal rule protecting confidential communications between a lawyer and client…
Attribution
In media and journalism, attribution is the practice of identifying the source…
Attribution Bias
The tendency to attribute others’ behaviors to their character while…
Attribution Error
The tendency to attribute others' actions to their character while attributing…
Attribution Theory
Explains how individuals infer the causes of behaviors and events, affecting…
AU
The African Union is a continental bloc of 55 African states that coordinates…
AU IDP Convention
The 2009 African Union treaty (Kampala Convention) that obliges states to…
AU Peace and Security Council
The African Union's standing decision-making body for preventing, managing, and…
AU policy organs
The decision-making bodies of the African Union that set continental policy,…
AUC
The African Union Commission is the permanent secretariat of the African Union,…
Audience Adaptation in Debate
The practice of tailoring a debate speech's content, language, and delivery to…
Audience Analysis
Identifying and understanding the characteristics, needs, and expectations of…
Audience Costs
The domestic political costs a leader pays for backing down from public threats…
Audience Fragmentation
The division of media audiences into smaller groups based on different…
Audience Rapport Building
Audience Rapport Building involves establishing trust and connection with…
Audience Segmentation
Dividing an audience into distinct groups based on characteristics to tailor…
Audience with the Monarch
A formal meeting granted by a reigning sovereign to an ambassador, head of…
Audience-Centered Writing
Audience-centered writing tailors content, tone, and structure to meet the…
Audit Trail
A chronological, tamper-evident record of actions, decisions, or transactions…
Auditor General
An independent public official who audits government accounts and reports to…
August 2022 PLA Exercises Around Taiwan (Pelosi Visit Response)
A six-zone live-fire encirclement of Taiwan conducted by the PLA from 4–10…
Augusto Pinochet
Chilean general who ruled as military dictator from 1973 to 1990 after…
AUKUS
A 2021 trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom,…
AUKUS Pillar 1
The submarine workstream of the AUKUS pact, providing Australia with…
AUKUS Pillar 2
The advanced-capabilities track of the AUKUS pact, covering joint development…
AUKUS submarine pact
A trilateral security partnership between Australia, the UK, and the US,…
Aung San Suu Kyi
Burmese politician, Nobel Peace laureate, and former State Counsellor of…
Australia Group
An informal multilateral export-control forum whose members harmonize licensing…
Australia Magnitsky
Australia's thematic sanctions regime allowing targeted financial sanctions and…
Australian Ballot
A standardized, government-printed ballot listing all candidates that voters…
Austrian School
A heterodox economic tradition originating in late-19th-century Vienna that…
Austro-Prussian War
An 1866 conflict between Prussia and Austria (with their respective German…
Auswärtiges Amt
The Federal Foreign Office of Germany, the cabinet ministry responsible for…
Aut Dedere Aut Judicare
An obligation requiring states to either extradite a suspected offender to…
Autarky
An economic policy or condition where a country aims for self-sufficiency,…
Author Indict
A rhetorical move in competitive debate where one side challenges the…
Author Quals
Shorthand in competitive debate for the credentials of an evidence card's…
Authoritarian Backsliding
The gradual erosion of democratic institutions and norms, leading to increased…
Authoritarian Regime
An authoritarian regime concentrates power in a single leader or party with…
Authoritarian Resilience
The capacity of non-democratic regimes to adapt, survive crises, and maintain…
Authoritarianism
A governing system characterized by concentrated power, limited political…
Authority Fallacy
Accepting a Claim as true solely because an authority figure endorses it,…
Authorized Departure
Authorized Departure is a U.S. State Department procedure permitting voluntary…
Autocratization
Autocratization is the process by which a political regime becomes less…
Automated Content Moderation
The use of algorithms and artificial intelligence to identify and manage…
Automatic Stabilizers
Fiscal mechanisms—chiefly progressive taxes and transfer programs—that…
Autonomous Treaty Interpretation
Interpretation of treaty terms based on their independent meaning within…
Autonomous Weapon Systems
Weapons that can select and engage targets without human Intervention, raising…
Autonomous Weapons Systems
Military technologies capable of selecting and engaging targets without human…
Availability Cascade
A self-reinforcing process where a collective belief gains more plausibility…
Availability Heuristic
A Cognitive Bias where people judge the likelihood of events based on how…
AVM
AVM (anti-vehicle mine) is a landmine designed to disable or destroy vehicles,…
Avoidance of double counting
A principle in climate accounting ensuring that a single emission reduction is…
Awards Ceremony
The closing session of a Model UN conference where delegates and delegations…
Ayatollah Khamenei
Ali Khamenei is the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, holding…
Ayatollah Khomeini
Iranian Shia cleric who led the 1979 Islamic Revolution and served as the first…