The practice and profession of managing international affairs. Diplomats are the people responsible for negotiating with foreign governments and mediating between them.
A group of countries that share a common language, religion or culture, often sharing similar interests. Diasporas can be a powerful economic force, especially in the modern world of cheap travel and easy communications.
Countries that recognise the sovereignty of each other, and therefore have no territorial claim or right over each other. A country that does not recognise another may be considered an enemy state.
The formal recognition by one country that another entity, such as a city or organisation, meets the conditions of statehood and is in control of its territory. The principle, enshrined in the Treaty of Westphalia, is central to the world’s international system and underpins many agreements between states.
An international body that promotes a specific cause, such as peace and security or economic co-operation. Most bodies that are called international are regional, although the African Union and Mercosur are also global in scope.
The United States, the dominant power in the world. For decades, successive presidents sought to prevent any single country from dominating Europe and Asia, and fought a four-decade-long Cold War with the Soviet Union to do so. But there is growing weariness amongst the American public with its current international role, and concern that the post-World War II international order does not always deliver for US interests. The wise application of American primacy can, however, still advance US values and interests – the military power of the United States evicted Iraqi troops from Kuwait, convinced Haiti’s junta to relinquish its grip on the country, broke the deadlock over the Balkans, ended Serb atrocities in Kosovo, and broke al-Qaida’s hold over Afghanistan.