THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary- September 5, 2017- Topic 1

Sabre-rattling

On the crisis in the Korean peninsula

North Korea’s adventurism continues unabated. On Sunday, it tested what it claims was a “hydrogen bomb”, its sixth nuclear weapons test, cocking a snook at non-proliferation and international test ban laws, as well as at U.S. President Donald Trump. Even as the tests drew global condemnation, this was clearly a response to Mr. Trump’s sabre-rattling rhetoric claiming that the U.S. would rain “fire and fury” over the country and implying that its nuclear weapons were “locked and loaded” to respond to any threat from North Korea. 

Mr. Trump’s response to Sunday’s development was to ratchet up threats, besides calling out U.S. ally South Korea for “appeasement” and threatening to cut trade ties with countries that conduct any form of business with the North Koreans. Clearly the tough talk is not working — it is only pushing North Korea’s totalitarian regime to take even more provocative steps in a quest to attain the status of a de facto nuclear power. In response to the exacerbated tensions in the region, South Korea and Japan have significantly enhanced their defence capabilities, including spending on missile defence. South Korea’s new President Moon Jae-in, who is in favour of talks, has now accepted the U.S.’s missile defence system, THAAD, which is opposed locally by many South Koreans.

North Korea relies on increasing militarisation and show of missile and nuclear prowess for various reasons. Part of its ploy is to convince its impoverished and isolated citizenry of the need for the country to attain military parity in light of the presence of the U.S. military shield in South Korea and Japan. Another part of it is to justify the years of the Kim family rule, as these tests add to the myth of strong leadership by its 33-year-old, third-generation dictator, Kim Jong-un. The unpalatable prospect of the escalation of a possible military conflict into a nuclear war is also a way to stave off any external intervention against the dictatorship, the likes of which were seen in Iraq and Libya. Mr. Trump’s latest Twitter threat against nations doing business with North Korea is clearly targeted at China, the only regime with some degree of influence — though it is not clear exactly how much — over the North Korean regime. The Chinese, however, seem to be willing to live with a nuclear North Korea as opposed to applying drastic trade sanctions that could lead to a crippled economy and a refugee crisis besides other unpredictable responses by a beleaguered regime. In light of all this, it is important to de-escalate the conflict by having direct talks involving the U.S., China, South Korea and North Korea. Multilateral talks are, in fact, by far the best option, given the trigger- and Twitter-happy supreme leaders in Pyongyang and in Washington DC.

Vocabulary

Adventurism: the willingness to take risks in business or politics

Example: Only in this manner can we hope to reduce the risks of adventurism and miscalculation in a world that retains many thousands of nuclear weapons.

Unabate: without any reduction in intensity or strength.

Example: The storm was raging unabated

Snook: a large edible game fish of the Caribbean that is sometimes found in brackish water.

Example: The saltwater river harbors prized snook , trout, largemouth bass, redfish, and even tarpon

Proliferation: rapid increase in numbers.

Example: A continuing threat of nuclear proliferation

Condemnation: the expression of very strong disapproval; censure.

Example: There was strong international condemnation of the attack

Synonyms: censure, criticism, strictures, denunciation, vilification, reproof

Sabre: a heavy cavalry sword with a curved blade and a single cutting edge.

Example: Police sabers, cavalry sabers , European-type dress swords and other non-traditional blades are outside the scope of this discussion.

Rhetoric: the art of effective or persuasive speaking or writing, especially the use of figures of speech and other compositional techniques.

Example: Born into a rich provincial family, he studied philosophy as well as rhetoric and law.

Synonyms: oratory, eloquence, command of language, way with words

Ratchet: cause something to rise (or fall) as a step in what is perceived as a steady and irreversible process.

Example: The Bank of Japan ratcheted up interest rates again

Totalitarian: a person advocating a totalitarian system of government.

Example: Shakespeare thus places himself between utopian totalitarians and libertarian fundamentalists.

Synonyms: autocratic, undemocratic, one-party, dictatorial, tyrannical

Regime: a system or planned way of doing things, especially one imposed from above.

Example: Detention centers with a very tough physical regime

Synonyms: system, arrangement, order, pattern, method, procedure

Provocative: causing annoyance, anger, or another strong reaction, especially deliberately.

Example: A provocative article

Synonyms: annoying, irritating, exasperating, infuriating, maddening

Exacerbate: make a problem, bad situation, or negative feeling worse.

Example: The forest fire was exacerbated by the lack of rain

Synonyms: aggravate, worsen, inflame, compound, intensify, increase

Ploy: a cunning plan or action designed to turn a situation to one's own advantage.

Example: The president has dismissed the referendum as a ploy to buy time

Synonyms: ruse, tactic, move, device, stratagem, scheme, trick, gambit

Impoverish: make a person or area poor.

Example: They discourage investment and impoverish their people

Synonyms: poor, poverty-stricken, penniless, destitute, indigent, impecunious

Citizenry: the citizens of a place regarded collectively.

Example: The legal obligations of the citizenry

Dictatorship: government by a dictator.

Example: Forty years of dictatorship

Synonyms: absolute rule, undemocratic rule, despotism, tyranny, autocracy

Drastic: likely to have a strong or far-reaching effect; radical and extreme.

Example: A drastic reduction of staffing levels

Synonyms: extreme, serious, desperate, radical, far-reaching, impactful

Cripple: cause someone to become unable to move or walk properly.

Example: A crippling disease

Synonyms: disabled, paralyzed, incapacitated, physically handicapped, lame