| A | B |
|---|
| race | group of people related by common descent or ancestry |
| radical | person who favors drastic political, economic or social change |
| rajah | king or prince in India |
| rebellion | open, organized and armed resistance to one's government or ruler |
| reformation | a 16th century movement in Western Europe that aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the establishment of Protestant churches |
| refugee | a person who flees for refuge or safety in a time of political upheaval or war |
| regionalism | loyalty to the interests of a particular region |
| reincarnation | a belief that the soul comes back to earth in another body or form |
| Renaissance | time of great revival of art, literature and learning in Europe beginning in the 14th to the 16th century |
| republic | a form of government where the power lies in a body of citizens who elect people to represent them |
| revolution | an overthrow and replacement of an established government |
| rightist | person who supports the political Right; a conservative |
| Russification | to make Russian in character or quality; Russianize |
| samurai | member of the warrior class in feudal Japan |
| Sanskrit | religious and classical literary language of India |
| satrapy | governor of a province under the ancient Persian monarchy |
| savanna | grassy plain with little rainfall |
| scarcity | in short supply |
| schism | permanent split of the church |
| secede | to withdraw from and alliance, federation or other association |
| sect | a subdivision of a larger religious group |
| secular | not pertaining to or connected with things that are religious; worldly |
| self-sufficiency | able to provide for oneself without the assistance of others |
| sepoy | an Indian soldier serving under the British in India |
| serf | member of the lowest feudal class, attached to the land and required to do service for a ruling lord |
| shiite | a member of one of the great divisions of Islam who regards Ali, the son-in-law of Muhammed, as the successor to Muhammed and disregards the three caliphs who succeeded him |
| shogun | chief military commander of the Japanese military in feudal Japan |
| silt | fine sand carried by moving water and deposited as a sediment |
| simony | the buying or selling of sacred things for profit |
| social mobility | the ability of individuals or groups to move within a social hierarchy with changes in income, education, occupation, etc. |
| socialism | a system of social organization where the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution of capital, land, etc., rests in the hands of the community as a whole |
| soviet | a governing official or person living in the Soviet Union |
| sphere of influence | any area in which one nation has dominant power over another or others |
