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debacle
An event or enterprise that ends suddenly and disastrously, often with humiliating consequences.
A breaking up of a natural dam, usually made of ice, by a river and the ensuing rush of water.
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reproach
- °A mild rebuke, or an implied criticism.
- °Disgrace or shame.
- °To criticize or rebuke (criticizeharshly) someone.
- °To disgrace, or bring shame upon someone.
Although he meant hyperower reproachfully, Vedrine captured a historical development of fundamental importance
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preeminence
high importance, superiority
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beleaguered
Plagued; beset by trouble or difficulty
America remains the world's economic and military powerhouse, but it is beleaguered on many fronts, its confidence shaken its reputation bruised....
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rogue
large, destructive and unpredictable
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venerable
worthy of reverence (an act of showing respect, like a bow)
commanding respect because of age, dignity, character or position.
venerable pasttime
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hegemony
°Domination, influence, or authority over another, especially by one political group over a society or by one nation over others (e.g.: internationally among nation-states, and regionally over social classes, between languages or even culture)
°Dominance of one social group over another, such that the ruling group or hegemon acquires some degree of consent from the subordinate, as opposed to dominance purely by force.
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propituous
favorable, benevolent
Even in the most propitious circumstances, a society's ability to achieve and maintain global dominance will also depend, for example, on the state of the competition.
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zealotry
Excessive zeal; fanatitism
But throughout history, no society based on racial purity, religious zealotry, or ethnic cleansing has ever become a world-dominant power
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burgeon
To grow or expand. To sprout, swell to the point of bursting.
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antiquity
ancient times, former ages
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acquiescence
legal term used to describe an act where a person knowingly stands by without raising any objection to the infringement of their rights, while someone else unknowingly and without malice aforethought makes a claim on their rights
A silent or passive assent or submission, or a submission with apparent content; - distinguished from avowed consent on the one hand, and on the other, from opposition or open discontent; quiet satisfaction.
History shows that hyperpowers can survive only if they find ways to command the allegiance or at least the acquiescence of the foreign populations they dominate, and for this, military force alone has never been sufficient
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quiescence
The state of being quiescent; dormancy.
°Being at rest, quiet, still, inactive or motionless
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syncretic
°Combining elements that are archaic with those that are modern. Especially as in forms of religious observance, philosophical systems, or artistic creations. Sometimes used less specifically to describe a general juxtaposition of divergent elements.
Unlike Judaism or Christianity, the religions of the ancient Near EAst were syncretic.
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