Henry Kissinger’s 1957 study examined limited nuclear options and deterrence strategy. It influenced Cold War policy circles and doctrinal debates. The book framed credibility and escalation control as central issues.

Electoral reforms in the late 19th century curbed proxy voting abuses to reduce corruption. The broader sequence professionalized administration of polls. These measures complemented franchise expansions.

Montesquieu advocated separating legislative; executive; and judicial functions to prevent tyranny. The idea shaped US constitutional design and later liberal democracies. Checks and balances operationalize the separation.

Al-Farabi’s “Opinions of the People of the Virtuous City” presents an ideal polity guided by a philosopher-king. It blends Greek philosophy with Islamic thought. The work became foundational in classical Islamic political philosophy.

Aristotle held that humans realize their telos within the polis. Speech and moral reasoning; in his view; make civic life natural. Politics thus emerges from our sociability.

Switzerland’s Federal Council is a collegial body of seven co-equal members. Decisions are taken collectively; and the rotating presidency is largely ceremonial. This plural executive diffuses power and encourages consensus.

Abraham Lincoln tied liberty to universal principles; insisting those who value freedom must grant it to others. His rhetoric linked emancipation with the survival of democratic government. The moral reciprocity in his speeches shaped American political ideals.

Jean (John) Bodin articulated sovereignty as absolute; perpetual; and indivisible authority within a territory. He emphasized the legal source of ultimate command. Later theorists refined the distinction between legal and political sovereignty.

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) sets global standards; allocates spectrum; and coordinates satellite orbits. It predates the UN but is now a specialized agency within the system. Its work underpins interoperability of modern networks.

Hobbes’ social contract transfers individuals’ rights to a sovereign to escape the anarchic “state of nature.” Security and order justify obedience to the Leviathan. The concept later shaped liberal and republican variants of contract theory.

Switzerland’s Federal Council is a collegial body of seven co-equal members. Decisions are taken collectively; and the rotating presidency is largely ceremonial. This plural executive diffuses power and encourages consensus.

Universal adult franchise removes distinctions of property; gender; race; or tax status. It grounds political legitimacy in equal citizenship. Modern democracies treat it as a core institutional norm.

Al-Farabi produced influential digests of Greek political philosophy; including Plato. His summaries bridge Hellenic thought and medieval Islamic political theory. They helped transmit ideas on constitutions; education; and the virtuous city.

“Proletariat” denotes the working class in Marxist analysis. The term contrasts with the bourgeoisie; who own capital. Political appeals to the proletariat target labor rights; redistribution; and class emancipation.

In a parliamentary system the executive is “responsible” to the legislature and can fall on a vote of no confidence. Cabinet members are politically accountable to the elected house. Collective and individual ministerial responsibility define the model.

Ibn Khaldun framed ‘asabiyya as group solidarity that drives state formation and decline. He used it to explain how desert tribes conquer; rule; and then decay as cohesion weakens. The concept sits at the core of his cyclical theory of history in the Muqaddimah.