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Examples of buffer state in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Mongolia played the role of a buffer state between the Soviet Union and China for much of the 20th century, and counted on the rivalry between the two superpowers to gain and maintain its independent status.
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Charles Krusekopf, The Conversation, 2 Sep. 2024
China, meanwhile, has traditionally preferred to have a stable, if irksome, North Korean buffer state along its border rather than to push for denuclearization at the risk of regime collapse.
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Robert Jervis, Foreign Affairs, 5 Apr. 2018
Yet given the troubled history of warfare and occupation within buffer states such as Afghanistan and Poland, this idea becomes a nonstarter.
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Brandon Valeriano, Foreign Affairs, 30 Apr. 2015
Strategists like Hadrian and Augustus put most of their efforts into lining up buffer states.
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Christopher Tayler, Harper's Magazine, 18 Dec. 2023
Like Belarus, Ukraine does not only hold geopolitical significance as a buffer state between East and West but is regarded as a major cultural and historical ally of Russia – more so than other post-Soviet nations whose heritage and geography are further removed from the power center of Moscow.
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Katharina Buchholz, Forbes, 19 Jan. 2022
The country has long existed as a buffer state — spending 700 years as part of Sweden before being retched away by the Russian Empire in 1809.
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Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2022
Lukashenko has led the former Soviet republic that Moscow sees as a buffer state to the West since 1994 and strengthened ties with Moscow during mass protests that erupted in 2020 as the West imposed sanctions.
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NBC News, 18 Jan. 2022
By these means, Ukraine would become a neutral buffer state.
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Noah Millman, The Week, 9 Jan. 2022
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Word History
First Known Use
1883, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near buffer state
Cite this Entry
“Buffer state.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/buffer%20state. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Kids Definition
buffer state
noun
: a small neutral state lying between two larger rival powers
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