Chapter 1/2 Flashcards
Puzzle
Observations about the world that demand an explanation. In some cases, they arise because the world does not work the way that we might expect.
Theory
A logically consistent set of
statements that explain’s
a phenomenon of interest.
Probabilistic Claims
an argument about the factors that increase/decrease the likelihood of an outcome.
Interests
what actors want to achieve through political action.
Interaction
ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political
outcomes.
Institution
set of rules known and shared by the community, that
structure political interactions in
particular ways.
3 Levels of Analysis
International, Domestic and Transnational.
Mercantilism
Era from 1492-1815. An economic doctrine based on a belief that military power and economic influence was complements; applied especially to colonial empires in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Mercantilist policies favored the mother country over its colonies and over its competitors
Peace of Westphalia
The Settlement that ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648; often said to have created the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and nonintervention
Sovereignty
The expectation that
states have legal and political
supremacy- or ultimate authority within
their territorial boundaries
Hegemony
The predominance of one
nation-state over others
Pax Britannica
"British Peace” the century-long period beginning with napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 and ending with the outbreak of WWI in 1914 during which Britain’s economic and diplomatic influence contributed to economic openness and relative peace.
Anarchy
The absence of a central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws that bind all actors
State
A central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws, rules, and decisions within a specified territory.

Cooperation
An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off.
Coordination
A type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive to not comply.
Collaboration
A type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives to not comply
Realism
Self-Preservation, Military capabilities, uncertainty, Survival, Rational Actors.
Liberalism
Humans are capable of cooperation, Progress in social life, Interests come from within the state Interests come from within the state.
Constructivism
Focus on nonmaterial factors, Norms, and behavior. Role of Change, activists, and transnational actors.
Linkage
The linking of cooperation on one issue to interactions on a second issue.
Tragedy of the Commons
an economic theory of a situation within a shared-resource system where individual users acting independently according to their own self-interest behave contrary to the common good of all users by depleting or spoiling that resource through their collective action.
