History glossary
Ideology
a system of ideas used to explain, justify, or organize power and society.
- Category
- Political concept
What it means
Ideology is a connected set of beliefs about how power, society, justice, or identity should work. Ancient rulers used ideology when they presented conquest, kingship, law, or empire as natural, divinely approved, or necessary for order.
Related terms
Stories using this term
The Holocaust
From legal discrimination to genocide, the Holocaust traces twelve years of escalating persecution that killed six million Jews and millions of others across Nazi-occupied Europe.
Nazi Germany
From Weimar collapse to WWII, Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian rule, expansion, and genocide.
Operation Barbarossa
From Hitler's ideological war in the east to Soviet survival before Moscow, Barbarossa turned expected blitzkrieg into prolonged attritional catastrophe.
The Anglo Boer Conflict
A war between Britain and Boer republics that exposed imperial costs and reshaped South Africa.
The Aztec Empire
From migrants to empire, the Aztecs built a powerful civilisation before collapsing after Spanish conquest.
The Celtic World Before Rome
Celtic tribes spanned Europe, shaping culture, conflict, and a lasting legacy.
The Cold War
Rivalry between East and West shapes global politics - through proxy wars, propaganda, and nuclear tension.
The English Civil War
Civil war between king and Parliament led to regicide, a republic, and lasting constitutional change.
