Ch.2 | structure nation-states, power, and order in int'l context Flashcards
Agenda setters
Actors whose actions constrain the choices of others and direct them toward a limited menu of choices
Anarchy
A characterization of the relations between states in the global arena; the lack of an overarching central authority to resolve disagreements, which creates a social context that is open to competition and cooperation, dispute and disagreement, negotiation and compromise, and, sometimes, violent conflict
Cheap talk
An insincere, empty promise of threat, reward, or commitment
Dependence
A political economy’s reliance on a particular resource, which thus makes the state vulnerable to influence
Economies of knowledge
The efficiency gained from learning about how to produce a product
Economies of scale
The efficiency gained in producing a commodity from the concentration of activities and resources that are required to produce it
Elasticity of demand and supply
The relative changeability in consumer demand or producer supply due to a change in price; inelastic demand or supply is relatively inflexible regardless of price, while elastic demand or supply will change with a change in price
Empire
A political entity that incorporates far greater territory under a single political authority than does a modern nation-state
Functional equity
The principle that, regardless of their abilities, all states attempt to perform similar essential functions; they are equal not in how they perform such functions—only in that they all do attempt to perform them
Hierarchy
The structure of the international arena in which nation-states are ranked in terms of their effectiveness and capabilities
Intangible attributes
Resources that are created and transformed by people and contribute to a state’s capabilities
Interdependence
An assessment of the connections and relations across nations, of the degree to which activities in one nation spill over to influence activities in other nations
Nation
An abstract form of collective identity or community identification that builds upon a grouping of individuals who share one or more characteristics that help to define who is a member of the specific community and who is not
Nation-state
The primary unit of political aggregation in world affairs
National policy autonomy
The ability of a government to maintain independence in producing political commodities and in forming and enforcing its own policies
Power
Q
Power hierarchy
A structure that reflects differences in the capabilities of different policy-makers to employ the tools and strategies of influence as they think about trying to affect the behavior of others
Representation
The processes and mechanisms in society by which demands and preferences are conveyed from the bottom up
Self-help system
The idea, influenced by Hobbesian theory, that creatures in a state of nature, without a legitimate central authority to resolve disputes, must rely upon their own means to survive; the global arrangement whereby governments, lacking an over-arching central authority, must resort to their own capabilities and tools in order to obtain their preferred ends
Sensitivity
A component of a state’s power potential reflecting the fact that economies and societies need some resources more than others; a state that is sensitive to the availability of a particular resource is vulnerable to potential manipulation and influence because of it, but less so than a state that is dependent upon such a resource
Sovereignty
Q
Specialization
An economic practice whereby each producer does not attempt to produce the entire range of commodities, but rather produces a commodity or supplies a service in which she has a comparative advantage
Substitutability
The prospect that economic enterprises and societies will find new sources of a commodity or substitutes for that commodity at affordable prices
Tangible attributes
Naturally occurring resources or physical assets that can be employed and manipulated by people to advance their agendas
Westphalian state system
The modern state system, whereby the government of a state, and by definition a territory, is considered the sole legitimate authority within its territorial boundaries
