International Security Glossary

The absence of a central governing authority above sovereign states in the international system, a foundational assumption of realist theory.

A competitive buildup of military capability between two or more states, often driven by the security dilemma.

Conflict between opponents of significantly different military strength, where the weaker side employs unconventional tactics.

A distribution of capability among states that prevents any single state from achieving dominance.

A 1975 multilateral treaty banning the development, production, and stockpiling of biological weapons.

A system where all participating states commit to respond jointly to aggression against any member.

Comprehensive civil and military efforts to defeat an insurgency and address its root causes.

State-sponsored operations using digital means to disrupt, damage, or destroy an adversary's information systems or infrastructure.

The empirical observation that established democracies rarely go to war with one another.

Discouraging an adversary from aggression by threatening credible and unacceptable retaliation.

The systematic forced removal or killing of an ethnic or religious group from a given territory.

A state unable to perform core functions such as maintaining security, rule of law, or basic public services.

A set of four treaties (1949) and additional protocols establishing international legal standards for humanitarian treatment during war.

The dominance of one state over others in the international system through superior military, economic, or cultural power.

A security framework that centers on protecting individuals from threats including poverty, disease, and political violence.

A strategy combining conventional forces, irregular tactics, cyber operations, and disinformation to achieve political objectives.

The collection and analysis of information about foreign actors and threats to support national security decision-making.

A doctrine evaluating the moral justification for going to war (jus ad bellum) and the ethical conduct of war (jus in bello).

A Cold War doctrine in which both superpowers maintained enough nuclear weapons to survive a first strike and inflict devastating retaliation.

Efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons to additional states or non-state actors.

The deployment of international personnel, usually under UN mandate, to help maintain ceasefires and support peace processes in conflict zones.

An international relations theory emphasizing state power, national interest, and the anarchic nature of the global system.

A political commitment that sovereignty carries a duty to protect populations from mass atrocities, with international intervention as a last resort.

Coercive economic or diplomatic measures imposed to compel a change in a target state's behavior.

The principle that a state has supreme authority within its territory and is free from external interference in its domestic affairs.