Summer news
Power and Sovereignty
Legitimacy and Interdependence
Rights and Justice
Development and Sustainability
100

Since May, this deadly disease continues to spread across the Democratic Republic of Congo, even spreading briefly to Uganda and France

What is Ebola?

100

Companies like Volkswagen and Adidas, along with a willingness to cooperate with others, give Germany a solid amount of this power, characterized by the ability to influence through attraction and persuasion.

What is soft power?

100

This approach to interdependence in places like Africa, Asia, or Latin America may try to analyze relationships between people groups that were disrupted by colonialism in the past few centuries

What is postcolonialism?

100

This type of political actor might use collective bargaining or appeal to the ILO to achieve their goals of fair treatment in the workplace.

What is a labor union?

100

Mixed into discussions of the building of these structures is natural resources, noise pollution, and even national security

What are data centers?

200

A massive fuel shortage has paralyzed the economy of this Caribbean island, with blackouts happening all summer

What is Cuba?

200
Places like Palestine, Somaliland, Kurdistan, or Taiwan can lack this from the international community, hindering their claims to sovereignty.

What is international recognition?

200

Democracy is an easy way to establish legitimacy, because it implies this, a phrase from John Locke meaning "the people have given their approval to follow the government"

What is "consent of the governed"

200
The modern regime of human rights was founded with this 1948 declaration.

What is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights?

200

In theory, this type of development allows for wealthier travelers to visit a place without disrupting the environment or indigenous people of the region. The results have been mixed.

What is ecotourism?

300

Iran and the USA have both frozen trade in this Southwest Asian body of water

What is the Strait of Hormuz?

300

A military alliance or trade agreement can provide this kind of power, built through agreements with others.

What is relational power?

300

NATO or the OAS are examples of this kind of agreement, in which an attack on one is an attack on all.

What is a collective security agreement?

300

This term is used to emphasize the authority of Native peoples to care for the land and resources of a place 

What is indigenous sovereignty?

300

This broad set of goals allows for increased economic development while also respecting the environment and human rights.

What are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

400

A new law in Malaysia forbids children under 16 from doing this, following in the footsteps of countries like Turkey and Australia.

What is using social media?

400

A state is fully able to limit its own sovereignty, which it might do to join these. Examples might include OPEC or the EU.

What are intergovernmental organizations? (IGOs)

400

A person, government, or other actor can lose legitimacy with these strategies. Examples might be critical news reports, dehumanization or villainization.

What is de-legitimization?
400

This doctrine allows for a violation of traditional norms of sovereignty if certain criteria regarding human rights violations is met.

What is Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?

400

Debates about how to address poverty and economic development include a discussion of equality, in which everyone gets the same amount, to this, in which an equal outcome is guaranteed.

What is equity?

500

The Russia-Ukraine conflict saw a change in tactics over the summer, with increased drone attacks against Wildberries, which is a Russian company providing this service

What is retail/E-commerce?

500

A tradition stretching back to the Wars of Religion in Germany, this type of sovereignty emphasizes that each state has exclusive sovereignty over its own territory.

What is Westphalian Sovereignty?

500

This UN court can mediate and rule in case of disputes between states. The most visible recent case was that of South Africa v. Israel in 2024

What is the International Court of Justice (ICJ)?

500

Of the nine core human rights treaties, these are two of the topics covered.

What are...

1. Racial discrimination

2. Civil and political rights

3. Economic, social, and cultural rights

4. Discrimination against women

5. Torture and cruel treatment

6. Rights of children

7. Migrant workers and families

8. Rights of disabled people

9. Preventing enforced disappearences

500

This measure of development rates three factors: Long and Healthy Life, Knowledge, and A Decent Standard of Living. As of 2023, Iceland tops the list of states, while South Sudan is on the bottom.

What is the Human Development Index (HDI)?

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