War Flashcards
Four Asian Tigers
The Four Asian Tigers or Asian Dragons are the highly developed economies of Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and Taiwan. These regions were the first newly industrialized countries.
tiananmen square massacre
The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, commonly known in China as the June Fourth Incident (六四事件), were student-led demonstrations in Beijing in 1989. More broadly, it refers to the popular national movement inspired by the Beijing protests during that period, sometimes referred to as the ‘89 Democracy Movement (八九民运).
devolution
the transfer or delegation of power to a lower level, especially by central government to local or regional administration.
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th President of the United States from 1981 to 1989.
Gorbachev
Mikhail S(ergeyevich) [mi-kahyl sur-gey-uh-vich,, mi-keyl;; Russian myi-khuh-yeel syir-gye-yi-vyich] (Show IPA), born 1931, Soviet political leader: general secretary of the Communist Party 1985–91; president of the Soviet Union 1988–91; Nobel Peace Prize 1990.
parestroika
(in the former Soviet Union) the policy or practice of restructuring or reforming the economic and political system. First proposed by Leonid Brezhnev in 1979 and actively promoted by Mikhail Gorbachev, perestroika originally referred to increased automation and labor efficiency, but came to entail greater awareness of economic markets and the ending of central planning.
glasnost
(in the former Soviet Union) the policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information, initiated by leader Mikhail Gorbachev from 1985.
thatcherism
the political and economic policies advocated by the former British Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, particularly those involving the privatization of nationalized industries and trade union legislation.
tony blair
British statesman who became prime minister in 1997 (born in 1953)
yugoslavia
a republic in S Europe on the Adriatic: formed 1918 from the kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and part of Austria-Hungary; a federal republic 1945-91 comprised of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia. Yugoslavian, adjective, noun.
bosnia
a historic region in SE Europe: a former Turkish province; a part of Austria-Hungary (1879–1918) now part of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
rwanda
a republic in central Africa, E of the Democratic Republic of the Congo: formerly comprising the N part of the Belgian trust territory of Ruanda-Urundi; became independent 1962. 10,169 sq. mi. (26,338 sq. km).
cambodia
a republic in SE Asia: formerly part of French Indochina. 69,866 sq. mi. (180,953 sq. km).
kosovo
an autonomous province of Serbia, in the SW: chiefly Albanian in population since the 13th century; Serb suppression of separatists escalated to a policy of ethnic cleansing in 1998, provoking NATO airstrikes against Serbia in 1999 and takeover by UN administration; unilaterally declared independence in 2008. Mainly a plateau. Capital: Priština. Pop: 1 847 708 (2013 est). Area: 10 887 sq km (4203 sq miles) Full Serbian name Kosovo-Metohija (Serbian) (ˈkɔsɔvɔmɛˌtɔhija)
weapons of mass destruction
a chemical, biological or radioactive weapon capable of causing widespread death and destruction.
george w. bush
The son of former president George H. W. Bush, he was elected governor of Texas in 1994. In 2000, he secured the Republican nomination for the presidency and narrowly defeated Al Gore, the Democratic party nominee, in an election marred by charges of irregularities in the counting of votes, especially in Florida. Although Gore won more popular votes, Bush prevailed in the Electoral College after a Supreme Court decision resolved the Florida controversy in his favor.
bill clinton
William Jefferson Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001.
nafta
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement among the United States, Canada and Mexico designed to remove tariff barriers between the three countries.
welfare state
a system whereby the government undertakes to protect the health and well-being of its citizens, especially those in financial or social need, by means of grants, pensions, and other benefits. The foundations for the modern welfare state in the US were laid by the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
apartheid
(in South Africa) a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
nelson mandela
Nelson (Rolihlahla) [raw-lee-lah-luh] (Show IPA), 1918–2013, South African black antiapartheid activist: president of South Africa 1994–99.
congolese conflict
The First Congo War (1996–1997) was a foreign invasion of Zaire led by Rwanda that replaced President Mobutu Sésé Seko with the rebel leader Laurent-Désiré Kabila.
hutu
a member of a Bantu-speaking people forming the majority population in Rwanda and Burundi. They are traditionally a farming people and were historically dominated by the Tutsi people; the antagonism between the peoples led in 1994 to large-scale ethnic violence, especially in Rwanda.
tutsi
a member of a people forming a minority of the population of Rwanda and Burundi, who formerly dominated the Hutu majority. Historical antagonism between the peoples led in 1994 to large-scale ethnic violence, especially in Rwanda.
