global politics 1 Flashcards
who are the key actors?
organizations
who are the dominate actors in global politics?
states
what are states characterized by?
their sovereignty(authority, political independence, legal equity with other states) territory, and population
what is a key difference between domestic and global politics?
the anarchic inter-nation system
what are international organizations? IOs
a broad category of increasingly influential groups that are organized around a particular set of issues/interests
what are intergovernmental organizations? IGOs
states are members to address collective interest Eg. the UN
what are non governmental organizations? NGOs
non-profits, they are more likely to have individuals as members
what are multinational companies? MNCs
for profit and operate in more than one country– large MNCs have economic power greater that some countries eg. Apple
what are individuals as actors?
they are decision makers, protesters, and members of NGOs
what are nations?
a nation is rather a people rather than an institution or territorial entity
what are states?
an institution or territorial entity
what are multinational states?
states the connect themselves as one nation; a nation-state
what is a theory
it is a way to deal with the complexity of the world. No theory is correct, all are interconnected sets of ideas and concepts– theory provides structure and clarity
what is do realist theorists believe?
the view that politics is driven by competitive self-interest and that the central dynamic of the global system is a struggle for power among states as each tries to improve its military
what do classical realist believe?
thought that believes that the root cause of conflicts is the aggressive nature of humans
what do liberalists believe?
the view that people and the countries representing them are capable of cooperating to achieve a common goal often through global organizations and according to international law
what do classical liberalists believe?
attributes cooperation to human nature and the understanding that people can achieve more collectively than individually
what do neoliberalists believe?
the inherent conflict in an anarchic global system but asserts it can be eased by building global and regional organizations a processes that allow actors to cooperate for their mutual benefit
what is the Global north and south?
the global south: are countries that are of lower industrial and economic power
global north: are countries that are of higher industrial and economic power
global south is dependent on the global north–because; colonization
what do world system theorists believe?
global politics is an economic society brought about the spread of capitalism and characterized by a hierarchy of countries and regions based on a gap in economic circumstance
what is Marxist theory about?
a philosophy of Karl Marx– economic order determines political and social relationships. the future is determined by economic struggle. social and political relations
what is dependency theory?
the view of global politics as an economic system in which the global south is dependent upon the global north
what is constructivist theory?
the view that changing ideas, norms, and identities of global actors shape global politics
what is feminist theory?
a collection of theoretical approaches that analyze the role of gender in global politics
what is a neorealist?
a branch of realist though that attributes the self-interested struggle for power among countries to the anarchic nature of the global system
what is power?
political power is defined as who gets what, when and how
what is hard power?
it is material and coercive
what is soft power?
it is persuasive and manipulative
absolute vs. relative power
absolute power is material attributes and relative power is attempting to accurately assess ones capabilities
thinking about power; capability
material assets represent ones capabilities
thinking about power; credibility
to the extent a country is willing to USE those assets
objective vs. subjective power
capability and willingness to use those assets is objective power
others understanding of that capability and willingness is subjective power
what are the 3 levels of analysis? and where does it draw from?
individual, state and system– draws from behaviorism
what is individual analysis?
how people shape global politics
what is the rationality of individual analysis?
assume that humans are rational and able to to identify their interests and preferences
what is the cognitive factor of individual analysis? describe each briefly
different ways of thinking through a problem;
- cognitive consistency: looking for evidence that confirms our understanding
-optimistic bias: estimating the likelihood of success once a course of action has taken place
-heuristic devices: is taking mental shortcuts such as analogies or historical precedent as a guide
what is state level analysis?
emphasizes the characteristics of states and how they make and implement foreign policy
what is the technological factor to state level?
information and communication resources, infrastructure, commitment to R&D investments
what is the geographical factor to state level?
geographical size and topography of a country, natural resources, and climate of a country
what is state sovereignty?
defined as seeking self-determination/ creation of and effective governing mechanism/ recognition by the global community
what is regime authority?
foreign policy process is different depending on the regime type– foreign policy focused on central government because it is a important issue, effects of foreign policy will be more diffused
what is the societal factor of state level; political culture?
long standing practices of a country- can shape foreign policy
what is the societal factor of state level; demographic
population size and age distribution are economically significant
what is the societal factor of state level; human development
education and health factors shape a societies capacity
what is systems level analysis?
the focus on identify and assessing the constraints and opportunities that the global system imposes on states and nonstate actors
what are the structural characteristics of systems level?
organization of authority– how rules are made and enforced–vertical authority (top-down) and horizontal authority (bottom-up)
what is interdependence?
scope, frequency and intensity of interactions among actors within the international system– increasing through globalization.
it is an opportunity and vulnerability as it reflects the mutual dependance that are often ungoverned
what is polarity?
number of actors in a particular system
what is unipolar?
where one actor is dominant and is likely to approach a vertical hierarchy
what is bipolar?
where 2 superpowers roughly equally split power and authority in the system
eg. cold war
what is multipolar?
where power is fragmented among several great powers that can shift from rivals to allies
eg. concert of Europe–to end Napoleonic wars
what is hegemony?
it is the characteristic of a unipolar system, with a dominant actor that sets the “rules of the game” for a particular system– states must be willing to accept the rules to benefit
what is nationalism?
is the process of transforming the collective national identity into a political ideology
what is a nation-state?
where nations and states overlap
what is decolonization?
the process of states withdrawing from a colony leaving it independent– nationalism is important, calls for self-determination
what are some negative aspects of nationalism?
parochialism, xenophobia, exceptionalism, nativism, cultural discrimination–ethnonationalism, imperialism
what is parochialism?
our national sense of difference and separateness can limit our sense of responsibility or concern for the “other”
what is self-determination? is it good or bad?
positives; norm upon which much of the global system is based
negatives; hard to achieve in practice since which ethnic group that develops, national consciousness should be accommodation of self-determination
what is globalization?
the spread of ideas and trade on an international scale
what is a driver of globalization?
technological advances; transportation is critically important in increasing the volume of goods and carried quickly around the world
what is neoliberal institutionalism?
it posits that formal intergovernmental organizations as well as the less formal normative framework of the international institutions– make cooperation easier to achieve
what is dependency theory in terms of globalization?
it refers to an unequal system
how has globalization effected economics?
informal sectors (legal and illegal) and formal sectors result in globalization
how has globalization effected culture?
culture homogenization and the rise of global brands and consumer products– growth of the English language
what is transnationalism?
identities and links that transcend state boundaries and authority and are driven by globalization and identification
what is an international non-governmental organization? INGOs
they’re grown in numbers and can be influential on policy and agenda-setting on their issues of interest
what is transnational advocacy network? TANs
they are groups of NGOs and INGOs focused on a particular issue– effective in bringing new ideas and norms into policy debates
what is a transnational movement?
vary enormously in the type, strength etc but have been facilitated by globalization
eg. transnational women’s movement or transnational crime; profit driven illicit activity
