Key Terms

al-Qaeda

an Islamic terrorist organization financed and led by militant Saudi Arabian national Osama bin Laden and responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States in 2001

Arab Spring

a popular movement calling for government reform and democracy that spread across the Arab world in 2011

bulletin board system (BBS)

pre-internet computer networks that consisted of personal computers connected with each other via modems and phone lines

climate change

broad changes in temperature, weather, storm activity, wind patterns, sea levels, and other influences on the planet

European Union (EU)

a single-market zone created in 1993 to allow the free movement of goods, services, money, and people among European member states

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

a 1947 trade agreement among twenty-three countries to reinforce postwar economic recovery, later replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO)

global warming

the general rise in Earth’s temperature that scientists have observed over approximately the past two hundred years

globalization

the interconnectedness of societies and economies throughout the world as a result of trade, technology, and adoption and sharing of various aspects of culture

green parties

political parties organized around environmental concerns

Islamic State

a fundamentalist and militant Islamic group that grew in power and waged a war in Iraq and Syria following the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003

multinational corporation

a corporate business entity that controls the production of goods and services in multiple countries

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)

a 1992 trade agreement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico to reduce trade barriers and allow goods to flow freely

offshoring

the process of moving some of a company’s operations overseas to access cheaper labor markets

outsourcing

the process of hiring outside contractors, sometimes abroad, to perform tasks a company once performed internally

Paris Agreement

a 2015 treaty among members of the United Nations to limit global warming to less than 2°C (3.6°F) above levels from the time of industrialization

resource curse

the problem that makes resource-rich developing countries prone to authoritarianism, high rates of conflict, and low rates of economic growth

ultranationalist movements

organizations that support an extreme form of nationalism and often seek ethnically homogeneous homelands