IB History Resilience of Traditional Ideas Key Definitions

A system of government where power is concentrated in a single leader or small group, with limited political freedoms, restricted media, and little accountability to the population. In Egypt, authoritarian rule persisted from the 1952 Free Officers' coup through Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak, and was restored under el-Sisi after 2013.

To remove rights and privileges, such as the right to vote. In Rhodesia, the white government used property and wealth restrictions to disenfranchise the Black majority.

A political system where democratic rights and participation are limited to one dominant racial or ethnic group, while other groups are excluded or oppressed. The term was used by historian George Frederickson to describe systems like late-Victorian Britain, where parliamentary democracy coexisted with imperialism and the exclusion of women and colonised peoples.

A grassroots Indigenous protest movement that began in late 2012 in response to the Canadian government's omnibus Bill C-45, which weakened environmental protections for waterways and made it easier to lease reserve land. It grew into a broader movement for Indigenous sovereignty, environmental protection and treaty rights, using social media, teach-ins, round dances and blockades.

A Canadian federal law that governs matters relating to First Nations peoples and their reserves. It defined who qualified as "Indian," imposed the band council system, restricted cultural practices and controlled nearly every aspect of Indigenous life. It has been amended many times but remains in force.

Founded in 1885, the INC was the main political organisation leading India's independence movement. Initially moderate and dominated by educated elites, it became a mass movement under Gandhi's leadership in the 1920s. After independence in 1947, it became India's dominant political party.

An Islamist political organization founded in Egypt in 1928. Initially supportive of the Free Officers, it was banned by Nasser in 1954 after an assassination attempt, and its members were imprisoned or exiled.

An economic approach that emphasises free markets, privatisation of state-owned enterprises, deregulation and reduced government spending on social services. In Egypt, neoliberal reforms under Mubarak enriched a small business elite while cutting subsidies and public services that many ordinary Egyptians depended on.

Founded in 1897 by Millicent Fawcett, the NUWSS was the largest suffrage organisation in Britain. It used constitutional, non-violent methods such as petitions, lobbying and public meetings to campaign for women's voting rights. Often called "suffragists" to distinguish them from the more militant suffragettes of the WSPU.

A system of boarding schools in Canada, funded by the federal government and run mostly by churches, that operated from the 1880s to 1996. Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, forbidden from speaking their languages or practising their cultures, and subjected to widespread abuse. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called it "cultural genocide."

A philosophy and practice of non-violent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi. The term combines the Sanskrit words for "truth" (satya) and "holding firmly" (agraha). It involves enduring suffering without retaliation to expose injustice and win over opponents through moral persuasion rather than force.

Founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters in Manchester, the WSPU was the most militant wing of the British suffrage movement. Its members, known as "suffragettes", used tactics ranging from disruption and civil disobedience to arson and window-smashing. Its motto was "Deeds, not words."