MYP Individuals & Societies Decline and Collapse of Empires Key Definitions

A person who has left their home country and is seeking legal protection (asylum) in another country.

A sustained, large-scale armed conflict between organized groups within the same state or political unit, competing for control of government, territory, or political order.

A sustained armed conflict within one political entity, in which organized groups compete for control of the state, territory, or the rules of government.

Economic decline happens when an empire’s wealth, trade, production, and financial stability weaken over time. When an economy becomes unstable, the empire struggles to pay for armies, infrastructure, and government services.

A person who leaves their own country to settle permanently in another.

A person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.

A political and/or military campaign in which a group seeks to end the authority of a larger state or empire over a territory, and to create self-rule (autonomy or a new sovereign state).

A political (and sometimes armed) movement aiming to separate from an existing state and form a new sovereign state.

The physical systems (like transport and communication) needed for an economy to function.

A condition in which a state experiences sustained domestic disorder, weakening governance, or conflict, often due to failures in political, economic, and social systems.

The belief that a ruler or government has the right to rule, often grounded in law, religion, tradition, or popular acceptance.

A person who moves from one place to another to find work or better living conditions.

Organized resistance against authority, often aiming to change policies, leadership, or the distribution of power within an existing state or empire.

An organized challenge to authority, usually directed at a ruler or government, which may seek reforms, replacement of leaders, or changes in policy (not necessarily separation).

A territory that remains formally within an empire but governs many of its own affairs, often with its own military and taxation, due to distance or weakness of central control.