IB History Thematic Study 4: Popular Movements Key Definitions

A supporter of the abolition (ending) of slavery and the extension of equal rights to formerly enslaved people.

A principle of non-violence rooted in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions. Gandhi made it central to the Indian independence movement, arguing that non-violence was not passive but required active courage. It meant refusing to cause harm to any living being, even in the face of provocation.

An Egyptian activist group founded in 2008, originally to support striking textile workers in Mahalla al-Kubra. It used social media, particularly Facebook, to organise protests and played a key role in planning the 25 January 2011 demonstrations that launched the revolution. Its members studied non-violent protest techniques from movements in Serbia and elsewhere.

A national advocacy organisation representing First Nations peoples in Canada. It was established in 1982 as the successor to the National Indian Brotherhood. The AFN represents over 630 First Nations communities and advocates for Indigenous rights, treaty obligations and self-governance.

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.

The period of direct British rule over the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947. It began after the British Crown took control from the East India Company following the 1857 revolt. "Raj" is a Hindi word meaning "rule" or "reign."

The deliberate, non-violent refusal to obey unjust laws or government demands, as a form of political protest. Gandhi's civil disobedience campaigns (1930-1934) involved mass law-breaking, including the Salt March, refusal to pay taxes, and boycotts of British goods and institutions.

In the Indian context, the political use of religious identity to mobilise support and create divisions between religious communities, particularly Hindus and Muslims. It contributed to the demand for Pakistan and the violence surrounding Partition in 1947.

A series of parliamentary bills (1910, 1911, 1912) that proposed giving the vote to women who met property qualifications. The first bill passed its second reading in 1910 but was blocked by Prime Minister Asquith. Its repeated failure frustrated suffragettes and contributed to the escalation of militant tactics.

A sudden, illegal overthrow of a government, often carried out by the military. The term comes from French, meaning 'blow of state.'

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.

In Egypt, the State of Emergency law was in effect almost continuously from 1967 to 2012. It gave the president and security forces sweeping powers: suspending constitutional rights, censoring media, restricting public gatherings, detaining people indefinitely without charge and trying civilians in military courts. Its repeal was a key demand of the 2011 revolutionaries.

The granting of the right to vote. In the context of the suffrage movement, it refers to extending voting rights to women. In the Canadian Indigenous context, it had a different meaning: the process by which an Indigenous person gave up their legal status and rights as an Indigenous person in exchange for Canadian citizenship.

A British law that gave all women over 21 the right to vote on the same terms as men. It removed the age and property restrictions of the 1918 act and established full equal suffrage in Britain.

A form of irregular warfare in which small groups use ambushes, sabotage, raids, and hit-and-run tactics against a larger, conventional military force. The term comes from the Spanish word for 'little war.'

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.

A committee or council that rules a country, usually after seizing power by force. The term is most commonly associated with military rulers of Latin American countries.

The approach of working within existing political and legal systems to achieve gender equality through legislation, litigation, and lobbying.

In the suffragette context, the use of increasingly aggressive and confrontational tactics to advance political goals. WSPU militancy escalated from heckling and disruption (1905-1908) to window-smashing and arson (1912-1914). The term was debated within the movement, with some seeing it as necessary and others as counterproductive.

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.