Cordon sanitaire is a
French phrase that, literally translated, means "sanitary cordon". It originally denoted a barrier implemented to stop the spread of
disease, such as the
Black Death. The term has also often been used in English in a
metaphorical sense to refer to attempts to prevent the spread of an
ideology deemed unwanted or dangerous, such as the
containment policy adopted by
George F. Kennan against the
Soviet Union.