Chapter 4: Power, Security, and Superheroes as WMDs

Key Terms

Alliance – A formal agreement between two or more states to cooperate on military, economic, or political matters, often for mutual defense.

Arms Control– International agreements or policies that focus on managing and limiting the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, distribution, and deployment of weapons to prevent escalation, maintain stability, and reduce the risks associated with armed conflict.

Arms Race – A competitive buildup of military capabilities between states, often driven by fear of falling behind rivals in terms of power.

Coercive Diplomacy – The use of threats or limited force to influence another state’s behavior, often seen as an application of hard power.

Cultural Influence – A form of soft power where a state’s culture or values are used to influence others, for example, the global spread of American culture.

Deterrence – A strategy where states use the threat of retaliation, particularly with nuclear weapons, to prevent an adversary from initiating conflict.

Disarmament– The process of reducing, limiting, or completely eliminating a country’s armed forces, military weapons, or particular classes of weaponry, often with the goal of promoting peace, security, and stability.

Hard Power – The use of military force or economic sanctions by a state to coerce others, reflecting direct means of influence.

Hegemony – The dominance of one state or group of states in the international system, often maintained through alliances and military superiority.

Military Coalition – A temporary alliance of states formed to achieve specific military objectives, such as the coalition in the Gulf War.

Multilateralism – The film explores the tension between states acting alone (unilateralism) versus collaborating with others (multilateralism) to control powerful forces like superheroes.

Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) – A doctrine where both sides in a conflict possess enough nuclear weapons to destroy each other, thus deterring war due to the catastrophic consequences.

Preemptive Strike – A military attack launched with the belief that an enemy is planning an imminent attack, aiming to neutralize the threat before it materializes.

Security Community– A group of states or actors that share a strong sense of mutual trust and common identity, resolving conflicts peacefully and ruling out the use of war against one another as a means of dispute.

Sokovia Accords – A fictional multilateral agreement proposed in the film to regulate superhero activity, reflecting real-world debates over international regulation of powerful entities.

Soft Power – The ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction, often using cultural or ideological influence rather than coercion.

Smart Power – A combination of hard and soft power strategies, where states use both coercion and diplomacy to achieve international goals.

Security Dilemma – A situation where one state’s efforts to increase its security make other states feel less secure, leading to an escalation of arms and mistrust.

Unilateralism– A state’s approach to foreign policy that emphasizes acting independently to pursue its own interests, rather than seeking cooperation, consensus, or alliances with other nations.

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) – Highly destructive weapons—nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological—that can cause large-scale harm to people, infrastructure, and the environment, often indiscriminately and with long-lasting effects. Superheroes in Captain America: Civil War are likened to WMDs due to their capacity for immense destruction, creating challenges for state control and global security.