History & Civilization

— A —

• Anarchy Order without permission.
• Apartheid A legal system of racial segregation where the minority rules — South Africa's word, but the structure appears elsewhere and is not limited to race.

— B —

• Border A line on a map, a security concept, or a human rights crisis.
• BRICS The most significant geopolitical realignment most people can't define — and it's still aligning.

— C —

• Civilized What the conqueror and the conquered each called themselves.
• Colonization The political control of one people by another. Built on extraction, enforced by propaganda or violence.
• Crime An act or event that violates the rights of others — defined by law, which is defined by some of those others.

— D —

• Decolonization The end of formal colonial rule and the beginning of arguing about what that means. (see also Colonization)
• Defense Personal safety, national security, and the claim that justifies attack.

— E —

• Empire A state that rules over other peoples by force, law, and/or economic "arrangement."

— G —

• Global South The nations left out of the postwar order — not a geography, a structural condition with a plan. (see also BRICS)

— I —

• Imperialism The extension of a nation's power over others. By conquest, trade, or culture. Consent not required.
• Incarceration Confinement as punishment, deterrent, or rehabilitation. Sometimes just for being. State function and business model.

— M —

• Monarchy Rule by birthright: royalty, nobility, and aristocrats. Kings, queens, and dynasties. Celebrated, ceremonial, and sometimes unseen.

— N —

• Nationalism Love of country as a political force. Ranges from pride to persecution.

— O —

• Occupation Military control of an area; often starts as temporary. Also your job. Also the space you take up.

— P —

• Protest Public expression or civic disorder. Often the same event with different headlines. (see Riot)
• Proxy War A conflict where outside powers fuel or exploit local combatants, keeping the battlefield — and the destruction — over there.

— R —

• Reconstruction The period after the Civil War when the US attempted constitutional enforcement and multiracial democracy — and failed at least both.
• Reparations Compensation for historical injustice. Deserved if not delivered.
• Revolution Turning a new page on authority, government, or technology. Your participation or say not required.
• Riot A chaotic, lawless protest — often not without reason — or an exaggeration of one that is not. (see Protest)

— S —

• Settler Someone who moves to a new territory and calls it their own.

— T —

• Terrorism Violent assault on people or institutions intended to intimidate, silence, or destroy. By hate, ideology, or power. (see also Bully)
• The Middle East On the way to the Far East, a region divided by foreigners drawing lines on a map with heavy hands — disregarding sovereignty and the people who lived there.
• Treaty A binding agreement between nations. A record of what's ignored when convenient.

— V —

• Violence Actual harm upon people, groups, and institutions. With or without guns. (see also War)

— W —

• War Organized violence against a defined enemy in the name of defense, aggression, or policy. (see also Violence)