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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Showing 131 entries — matching your filters
A
13 entriesABC Model of Attitude (Affective-Behavioural-Cognitive)
The ABC Model of Attitude holds that every attitude comprises three…
Act Utilitarianism
Act utilitarianism is the moral theory holding that an action is right if and…
Affective Component of Attitude
The affective component of attitude is the emotional or feeling dimension of an…
Ahimsa (Non-Violence)
Ahimsa is the ethical principle of non-injury to all living beings in thought,…
All India Services (Conduct) Rules
The All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 prescribe the standards of…
Ambedkar on Liberty, Equality and Fraternity
Ambedkar's doctrine holds that liberty, equality, and fraternity form an…
Amygdala Hijack
An amygdala hijack is an immediate, overwhelming emotional reaction…
Annihilation of Caste (Ambedkar)
Annihilation of Caste is B.R. Ambedkar's 1936 undelivered address arguing that…
Applied Ethics
Applied ethics is the branch of moral philosophy that uses ethical theories and…
Aptitude for Civil Service
Aptitude for civil service denotes the cluster of dispositions—including…
Aristotelian Golden Mean
The Aristotelian Golden Mean is the ethical doctrine that moral virtue lies in…
Aristotle's Doctrine of the Golden Mean
Aristotle's Doctrine of the Golden Mean holds that moral virtue lies in a…
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is a tenth-century-BCE treatise on virtue ethics…
B
6 entriesB.R. Ambedkar's Concept of Social Justice
B.R. Ambedkar's concept of social justice is a political-moral philosophy…
Behavioural Component of Attitude
The behavioural component of attitude is the predisposition to act toward an…
Bentham's Felicific Calculus
The felicific calculus is Jeremy Bentham's method for quantifying the pleasure…
Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle
Bentham's Greatest Happiness Principle holds that an action is right insofar as…
Buddha's Four Noble Truths
The Four Noble Truths are the foundational doctrine of Buddhism, diagnosing…
Buddha's Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path is the Buddhist ethical framework of eight…
C
7 entriesCategorical Imperative
The categorical imperative is Immanuel Kant's supreme moral principle requiring…
Central Route to Persuasion
The central route to persuasion is a mode of attitude change in which a…
Code of Ethics versus Code of Conduct
A code of ethics states the aspirational values and principles guiding an…
Cognitive Component of Attitude
The cognitive component of attitude is the set of beliefs, thoughts, and…
Compassion in Public Service
Compassion in public service is the administrative disposition that combines…
Consequentialism
Consequentialism is the normative ethical theory holding that the moral…
Constitutional Morality (Ambedkar)
Constitutional morality is the disciplined adherence to constitutional values…
D
9 entriesDaniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Model
Daniel Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Model is a competency framework…
Daridra Narayana (Vivekananda's Concept)
Daridra Narayana is Swami Vivekananda's concept identifying the divine with the…
Dedication to Public Service
Dedication to public service is the foundational value committing a public…
Deontological Ethics
Deontological ethics judges the morality of an action by its conformity to duty…
Descriptive Ethics
Descriptive ethics is the empirical study of the moral beliefs, judgments, and…
Dimensions of Ethics
Dimensions of ethics refers to the analytical branches through which moral…
Divine Command Theory
Divine command theory is a metaethical position holding that an action is…
Doctrine of Double Effect
The doctrine of double effect holds that an action with both a good intended…
Door-in-the-Face Technique
The door-in-the-face technique is a sequential persuasion tactic in which a…
E
14 entriesE-Governance as a Tool of Probity
E-governance as a tool of probity is the use of digital technology to embed…
Ego-Defensive Function of Attitude
The ego-defensive function of attitude is the psychological process by which a…
Elaboration Likelihood Model of Persuasion
The Elaboration Likelihood Model is a dual-process theory of persuasion holding…
Emotional Intelligence in Administration
Emotional intelligence in administration is the capacity of public officials to…
Emotional Labour
Emotional labour is the management of one's own feelings and their outward…
Emotional Quotient (EQ)
Emotional Quotient is a measure of an individual's capacity to perceive,…
Empathy (Emotional Intelligence Competency)
Empathy is the emotional intelligence competency of accurately perceiving,…
Ethical Altruism
Ethical altruism is the normative doctrine holding that a moral agent is…
Ethical Dilemma
An ethical dilemma is a decision situation in which two or more morally…
Ethical Egoism
Ethical egoism is the normative theory holding that moral agents ought to act…
Ethical Relativism
Ethical relativism is the metaethical position that moral judgments are valid…
Ethics versus Morals
Ethics denotes the systematic, codified rules governing conduct within a…
Eudaimonia
Eudaimonia is the central concept of Aristotelian ethics denoting human…
Eudaimonia (Aristotle)
Eudaimonia is Aristotle's term for the highest human good, achieved through the…
F
1 entryG
2 entriesH
2 entriesI
6 entriesImpartiality (Foundational Value of Civil Service)
Impartiality is the civil service value requiring officials to act without…
Instrumental Value
Instrumental value is the worth a thing possesses as a means to achieve some…
Integrity (Foundational Value of Civil Service)
Integrity is the foundational civil service value requiring an official's…
Intrinsic Value
Intrinsic value is the worth a thing possesses in and of itself, as an end,…
Intrinsic vs Instrumental Value
Intrinsic value is worth a thing possesses as an end in itself, while…
Is-Ought Problem (Hume's Guillotine)
The is-ought problem holds that no purely descriptive premise about what is can…
J
1 entryK
9 entriesKant on Duty versus Inclination
Kant's distinction holds that an action has genuine moral worth only when…
Kant's Categorical Imperative
The Categorical Imperative is Kant's supreme moral principle commanding actions…
Kant's Concept of the Good Will
Kant's concept of the good will holds that the only thing good without…
Kant's Formula of Universal Law
Kant's Formula of Universal Law is a test of moral permissibility requiring…
Katz's Functional Theory of Attitudes
Katz's Functional Theory of Attitudes holds that attitudes serve four…
Kautilya's Arthashastra
The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian Sanskrit treatise on statecraft,…
Kautilya's Four Upayas (Sama, Dana, Bheda, Danda)
Kautilya's Four Upayas are the graduated statecraft methods—Sama…
Kautilya's Saptanga Theory of State
Kautilya's Saptanga theory holds that a state comprises seven interdependent…
Knowledge Function of Attitude
The knowledge function of attitude is the psychological function by which…
M
10 entriesMahatma Gandhi's Seven Social Sins
Mahatma Gandhi's Seven Social Sins are seven paired moral failures, published…
Means versus Ends Debate
The means versus ends debate concerns whether the moral worth of an action…
Meta-Ethics
Meta-ethics is the branch of moral philosophy that investigates the nature,…
Middle Path (Madhyama Pratipada)
The Middle Path is the Buddha's doctrine of a moderate course of conduct…
Mill's Higher and Lower Pleasures
Mill's distinction holds that pleasures differ in quality, not merely quantity,…
Mixed Model of Emotional Intelligence
The Mixed Model of Emotional Intelligence, developed by Daniel Goleman, defines…
Moral Absolutism
Moral absolutism is the ethical position that certain actions are intrinsically…
Moral Attitude
A moral attitude is a learned, evaluative predisposition that orients a person…
Moral Intuitionism
Moral intuitionism is the metaethical view that humans apprehend certain basic…
Moral Relativism
Moral relativism is the metaethical position that moral judgments are true or…
N
4 entriesNaturalistic Fallacy
The naturalistic fallacy is the alleged error of defining the moral property…
Nolan Committee's Seven Principles of Public Life
The Seven Principles of Public Life are a UK ethical code—selflessness,…
Non-Partisanship in Public Service
Non-partisanship is the obligation of public servants to serve the government…
Normative Ethics
Normative ethics is the branch of moral philosophy that establishes standards…
O
1 entryP
10 entriesPanchsheel (Buddhist Five Precepts)
Panchsheel denotes the Buddhist Five Precepts, the foundational ethical…
Peripheral Route to Persuasion
The peripheral route to persuasion is a mode of attitude change in which…
Phronesis (Practical Wisdom)
Phronesis is Aristotle's intellectual virtue of practical wisdom that…
Plato's Allegory of the Cave
Plato's Allegory of the Cave is a dialogue in Book VII of the Republic…
Plato's Conception of Justice in the Republic
Plato's conception of justice holds that justice is each part of the soul and…
Plato's Philosopher King
The philosopher king is Plato's ideal ruler, a guardian whose knowledge of the…
Plato's Theory of Forms
Plato's Theory of Forms holds that non-material, eternal, and perfect abstract…
Political Attitude
A political attitude is a learned, relatively enduring evaluative disposition…
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice is a preformed, usually negative attitude toward a group, while…
Public Service Motivation (Perry-Wise)
Public Service Motivation is the predisposition to serve the public interest…
R
6 entriesRabindranath Tagore's Philosophy of Freedom
Rabindranath Tagore's philosophy of freedom holds that true liberty is an…
Rajarshi (Kautilya's Ideal Ruler)
Rajarshi is Kautilya's concept of the ideal ruler who combines kingly power…
Rawls's A Theory of Justice
A Theory of Justice is John Rawls's 1971 treatise deriving principles of…
Rawls's Difference Principle
Rawls's Difference Principle permits social and economic inequalities only when…
Rawls's Veil of Ignorance
The veil of ignorance is John Rawls's thought experiment in which rational…
Rule Utilitarianism
Rule utilitarianism is the ethical theory holding that an act is right if it…
S
15 entriesSalovey and Mayer's Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence
The Ability Model of Emotional Intelligence is Salovey and Mayer's framework…
Sarvodaya (Gandhian Concept)
Sarvodaya is the Gandhian principle of the welfare of all, holding that social…
Second ARC Report on Ethics in Governance
The Second ARC's fourth report, "Ethics in Governance," was a 2007 Indian…
Self-Awareness (Emotional Intelligence Competency)
Self-awareness is the emotional intelligence competency by which an individual…
Self-Motivation (Emotional Intelligence Competency)
Self-motivation is the emotional intelligence competency by which an individual…
Self-Regulation (Emotional Intelligence Competency)
Self-regulation is the emotional intelligence competency of managing one's own…
Social Influence and Persuasion
Social influence is the process by which a person's attitudes, beliefs, or…
Social Intelligence (Goleman)
Social intelligence is Daniel Goleman's framework describing the human capacity…
Social Skills (Emotional Intelligence Competency)
Social skills are the emotional intelligence competency comprising adeptness at…
Socrates: Virtue is Knowledge
Socrates' doctrine that virtue is knowledge holds that all moral excellence…
Socratic Method (Elenchus)
The Socratic Method, or elenchus, is a dialectical mode of inquiry that tests a…
Sources of Ethics
Sources of ethics are the origins from which an individual or society derives…
Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga and Human Unity
Sri Aurobindo's Integral Yoga is a spiritual philosophy seeking the…
Stereotype
A stereotype is a fixed, oversimplified, and widely held belief that attributes…
Swami Vivekananda's Practical Vedanta
Practical Vedanta is Swami Vivekananda's reinterpretation of Advaita philosophy…
T
7 entriesTagore's 'Where the Mind is Without Fear'
"Where the Mind is Without Fear" is Rabindranath Tagore's poem invoking a…
Tagore's Universal Humanism (Vishwa Bharati Ideal)
Tagore's Universal Humanism is Rabindranath Tagore's ethical philosophy holding…
Thiruvalluvar's Thirukkural on Ethics
The Thirukkural is a classical Tamil ethical treatise of 1,330 couplets by…
Thurstone Scale of Attitude Measurement
The Thurstone Scale is an interval-level attitude measurement technique that…
Tolerance (Foundational Value of Civil Service)
Tolerance is the foundational civil service value requiring administrators to…
Trolley Problem
The trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics that pits saving five…
Trusteeship (Gandhian Concept)
Gandhian trusteeship is an ethical doctrine holding that the wealthy hold their…
U
2 entriesV
4 entriesValue-Expressive Function of Attitude
The value-expressive function of attitude is the psychological purpose by which…
Values and Beliefs
Values and beliefs are the internalized standards of worth and the convictions…
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is a normative theory that locates moral worth in the character…
Vivekananda on Strength and Fearlessness
Vivekananda's doctrine holds that strength and fearlessness are the foundation…
