Exam #1 Review Flashcards
Anarchy
lacking organizational structure; the international system is anarchic because there is no overarching world government to maintain order; states are left to fend for themselves
there is no international 911 hotline that they can call for help
Theory
provides causal logic for why X causes Y; logical explanation for a phenomenon or development
helps make predictions, explain laws, guide thinking, think in abstract ways
Self-Help
states must help themselves (they must provide for their own security, doing so by building up their military and being cautious of other states’ intentions)
Power
ability to exert one’s will onto others and make them do something they would otherwise not do
Balance of Power
don’t let one state get too powerful; If one state gains too much power, it may try to exert that power over others and turn itself into a global hegemon, posing a looming threat to state sovereignty and self-determination
Security Dilemma
Measures a state takes to increase its own security usually decreases the security of other states; gain security at the expense of other states; for example, building up your military may make you feel safer and more secure, but that military power poses an external threat to other states
Human Nature
Instinctual assumptions about how humans act
Prisoner’s Dilemma
By doing what is individually rational, both players get a worse outcome than they could have gotten by cooperating
Freeriding (Collective Action problem)
Free riders enjoy the benefits of collective action without actually contributing to it
International Institutions
Set of rules, norms, and procedures around which the expectation of actors converge in a certain issue area; Meant to increase transparency by bringing states together in a cooperative fashion
Barriers to cooperation amidst anarchy
Fear of cheating (Fear that states will pretend to cooperate, only to back out at the last second or pick the individually rational option that benefits only them)
Free-rider problem
Concerns over relative gains
Relative Gains
The actions of states only in respect/regard to power balances, no regard for other factors, such as economics
Basically, the only thing states care about is power and maintaining a balance of power, ensuring that other states do not gain too much and overtake their power
Material Capabilities
military power, wealth, etc.
Reciprocity
Mutual cooperation between states; a state does something for another state, getting a benefit in return
Transaction Costs
What it costs a state to participate in cooperation or institutions (can include opportunity costs like missing out on other deals, or tangible costs like flights, hotels, food, and security for negotiations)
Shadow of the Future
A state is understood to comply out of fear that failure to do so will prevent it from using international law at some later time
Institutions make sure that states play the game over and over again, creating space for actors to learn that if they cooperate, they can get more in the long-term (optimal outcome in the long-term better than short-term benefits); produces norms of reciprocity, cooperation becomes self-enforcing → transition from a one-shot game to reiteration
Democratic Peace
Democracies don’t go to war with each other, or are less likely to fight each other
2 theories of Democratic Peace
Institutional and Normative
Institutional theory
checks and balances limit state autonomy, free public debate, constraints on the government provide opportunity for conflict resolution, democratic leaders want to get reelected, worried about policy failure or dragging the state into armed conflict, cautious to engage in conflict, reluctance for war and prone to negotiation
Normative theory
democracies believe other democracies are reasonable and trustworthy; intentions of democracies are always pacific (not prone to violence) toward other democracies, want to pursue peaceful negotiation, opt towards conflict resolution
Ideational factors (norms, identities, etc.)
Ideas, norms, and identities can govern social interactions between states
An idea can refer to how a process should be carried out or how something should be done
Norms dictate what is appropriate and what is inappropriate, creating unspoken societal rules that states follow so as not to be named and shamed by international community for disobeying or falling out of line
Identities are how a state views itself, self-image, how it identifies
