Exam #1 Flashcards
What is politics?
the subset of human behavior that involves the use of power
What is a hypothesis?
an educated guess deduced from observations that can be falsified
What is a theory?
a set of logically consistent statements that tell us why the things that we observe occur.
What is a collective action problem (CAP)?
a dilemma in which the opposing parties would be better off by collaborating, but fail to do so due to a conflicting interest between individuals that discourages collective action.
Tragedy of the Commons
people have their own rational incentive for exploitation of resources, leading to overexploitation.
What are the two proposed solutions to collective action problems (CAPs)?
1) Regulation enforcement
2) Privatization sovereignty
What is game theory?
it is a way to conceptualize cause and effect relationships, particularly those between countries, showing that the actions of one country will influence the actions of the other
Prisoner’s Dilemma Game
the idea that collective irrationality leads prisoners to confess
What is the solution to the Prisoner’s Dilemma Game?
silence
What is the contractarian view of the state?
the creation of the state results from a social contract between individuals in the state of nature in which the state provides security in exchange for obedience from the citizen.
What is the State Fragility Index?
a measure of the stability of states around the world, ranking from alert to sustainable
What is the state of nature?
situations in which there is no state or form of government, an idea developed by Thomas Hobbes on the basis that humankind without a sense of order are savages
What is the dilemma faced by individuals in the state of nature?
the lack of a common power to provide stability
What is preference ordering?
the way in which a player ranks the different outcomes of a game
What is nash equilibrium?
a combination of strategies, one for each player, such that each player in the game would not want to unilaterally change her strategy given the strategy adopted by the other player.
How is the nash equilibrium calculated?
by putting the two equilibrium strategies together to form a strategy combination
What are cardinal payoffs?
how much a player values one outcome over another
What is a social contract?
an implicit agreement among individuals in the state of nature to create and empower the state
What is a natural right?
a universal right that is inherent in the nature of living beings
What is a civil right?
a right given to people by law
What is sovereignty?
the ability for a state to govern itself; supreme authority of the state
What differentiates the civil society game from the state of nature game?
the introduction of a sovereign figure that punishes individuals for choosing to steal
What is the predatory view of the state?
states build from each other by making war
What did Charles Tilly say on the predatory theory of the state?
“war makes states”
