19. World Order and Global Governance - Heywood, 5th Edition

The distribution of power between and amongst states and other key actors, giving rise to a relatively stable pattern of relationships and behaviours.

The tendency of the international system to revolve around two poles (major power blocs).

An attempt to eradicate a people – identified by their nationality, race, ethnicity, or religion – through acts including mass murder, forced resettlement, and forced sterilization.

A power that commands much greater power than any of its potential rivals, and so dominates world politics.

An international system in which there is one pre-eminent state; the existence of a single great power.

The theory that twenty-first century conflict would not primarily be ideological or economic, but rather cultural: it would be conflict between nations from ‘different civilizations’.

A leading or paramount power.

An international system in which there are three or more power centres, creating a bias in favour of fluidity and, perhaps, instability.

A state deemed to rank amongst the most powerful in a hierarchical state system, reflecting its influence over minor states.

The tendency for imperial expansion to be unsustainable as wider military responsibilities outstrip the growth of the domestic economy.

A shift in long-term or prevalent weather conditions; the term is almost always used to refer to the phenomenon of ‘global warming’.

A collective term for the five large, fast-growing economies of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

An institution with formal procedures and a membership comprising three or more states, sometimes called an ‘international governmental organization’ (IGO).

Benefits that accrue to states from a policy or action regardless of their impact on other states.

Benefits that improve a state’s position relative to other states, promoting their position within a hierarchy.