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POLI 244 > Lectures 1-10 > Flashcards

Lectures 1-10 Flashcards

1
Q

What is International Relations?

A

The study of interactions among the actors that participate in international politics. The study of the behaviours of actors as they participate individually and together in international political processes.

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2
Q

What is a paradigm?

A

World view through which political scientists make sense of the world.

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3
Q

What is a (good) theory?

A

A good theory is falsifiable and parsimonious.

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4
Q

What are the steps of social scientific study

A

1.identify a phenomenon that needs explaining
2.offer tentative hypotheses (derived from theories)
3.test the hypotheses with available evidence

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5
Q

What is a (modern Westphalian) state

A

Political organization that manages the affairs of a population in a given territory. States have sovereignty within their own borders. No higher authority than the state (anarchy)

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6
Q

What is the difference between a province and an EU country?

A

By joining, EU countries give up some of their sovereignty but also mitigate some of the anarchy. They remain independent states (not a sovereign supranational entity) and can withdraw whenever. Provinces can’t just withdraw because Canada is the sovereign state and they are sub-national entities.

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7
Q

What are non-state actors in International relations?

A

NGOs and IGOs

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8
Q

What is State Centrism in International Relations?

A

States are the only important actors in International Relations (not even NGOs)

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9
Q

What are the levels of analysis in International relations?

A
  1. Individual (how individual actors affect international phenomena)
  2. State (how the regime/ structure of states affect international phenomena)
  3. International system (how the dynamics and relations between states affect international phenomena)
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10
Q

What are the foundations of neorealism?

A
  1. Anarchy is a constant which makes war possible (uncertainty of intentions)
  2. Power is the measure of a State’s survivability
  3. The Security Dilemma
  4. International politics are power politics (realpolitik) among like units
  5. International politics can be explained by polarity (materialism)
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11
Q

What are mistakes under certainty and which is worse?

A

Defensive move as aggressive
Aggressive move as Defensive, this is the one you can’t make

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12
Q

What is power?

A

The ability to influence the behaviour of others to get the outcomes one wants

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13
Q

What is behavioural power?

A

As ability to get B to do something B otherwise wouldn’t do

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14
Q

What is power as capabilities?

A

Means at one’s disposal that can be used to influence outcomes

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15
Q

Why is actual use of power capabilities a failure of influence?

A

Other states didn’t admit to your superiority so you failed

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16
Q

What is the passive use of capabilities

A

Threats and promises (credible). Can be punishment or reward

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17
Q

What is the structural effect of capabilities/ power?

A

Ability to change context (or perception) in which the other makes their decision. Other will be compelled to change their decision on their own. (influence over outcomes)

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18
Q

What are natural capabilities?

A

Geography, natural resources, land, population. (ex. isolated island has more security)

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19
Q

What are political and social capabilities?

A

Ability to have access to weapons, ability to mobilize population

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20
Q

What are synthetic capabilities?

A

Economy size and dynamics, military capability, all that comes from policies of the state

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21
Q

What is compellence?

A

Threat that makes another actor change their behaviour

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22
Q

What is deterrence?

A

Threat that prevents change in behaviour

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23
Q

What is the main function of nuclear weapons?

A

Deterring

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24
Q

What is vertical v horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons?

A

Vertical is growing nuclear weapons within a state and horizontal is across all states

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25
Q

What is a non-proliferation treaty?

A

It is a promise states make to not develop nuclear weapons and for nuclear states to not help others develop them

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26
Q

What is hard power?

A

coercion, threats, promises (influence over outcome)

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27
Q

What is soft power? Why is it optimal?

A

Getting others to want the outcomes that you want (influence over preferences). Cheapest and most efficient power.

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28
Q

What do neorealists have to say about the Ukraine crisis.

A

Russia was threatened because of NATO, EU enlargement, and the West’s promotion of democracy. Russia couldn’t afford to assume the West was peaceful.

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29
Q

What is balance of power?

A

A situation in which power is distributed equally

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30
Q

What is the balance of power theory?

A

A systemic tendency toward equilibrium.

31
Q

Who does balance of power concern?

A

Not international system as a whole but between great powers

32
Q

What are great powers in the international system?

A

The states with the most hard power

33
Q

What is balance of power theory to realists?

A

International systems have a system for balances to be formed and then be upset by an event (exogenous) and how it’s restored (endogenous).

34
Q

What does Balance of power try to explain?

A

Mechanisms that explain how balances of power are restored in international policy.

35
Q

What are the two ways through which balance of power takes place?

A

Power gap minimizer: state seek a balanced distribution to keep the security even between them (intended)
Power gap maximizer: many states want to be hegemons (unintended through conflict)

36
Q

Does more power yield more security? (offensive realism)

A

States want to become hegemonic. The more power you have relative to others, the more security you have.

37
Q

Does more power yield more security? (defensive realism)

A

More power is better for security is true up to optimal level of relative power. After that, it can backfire and decrease security. The point, the other great powers will see you as a threat, and likely turn against you for their security.

38
Q

What do defensive and offensive realists agree on?

A

Once a state has become a global hegemony, more power is good and needed against this huge power (no balance of power mechanisms will be activated)

39
Q

According to prof, is it the outcome or the intention which make balance of power?

A

It is the outcome that makes the balance of power

40
Q

What is the difference between internal and external balancing? What is the problem with external balancing?

A

Internal balancing is some form of militarization. Policies that apply to the state and how it manages domestic policy (economic, defense).
External balancing is making alliances in which you pool resources ti make a threat, protection, or promise (trust problem)

41
Q

What is the difference between hard and soft balancing? Which one is more prevalent?

A

Hard balancing is military buildups and alliances. Soft balancing is without confrontation. Hard balancing was more prevalent but has become rare since Cold War because of high opportunity costs.

42
Q

What are institutional and asymmetrical balancing?

A

Institutional balancing is a type of soft balancing using and pooling institutional resources (like a VETO). Asymmetric balancing is war of attrition by a weak non-state actor against states.

43
Q

Where do prof and Paul differ with regards to asymmetrical balancing?

A

Paul says that a lot of asymmetric balance happens from large states to non state actors and prof says there is asymmetry but no balancing behaviour

44
Q

What is Gilpin’s cyclical model? How is it different from balance of power theory?

A
  1. System is in equilibrium: hegemonic stability
  2. Redistribution of power and declining hegemony: rising challenger brings equilibrium into crisis
  3. Disequilibrium of the system: bipolarization
  4. Resolution of crisis: hegemonic war outcome with a new hegemon
    In this theory, why the balancing occurred is endogenous. In Balance of Power Theory, the upsetting of the balance is exogenous.
45
Q

What is the difference between status quo and revisionist states?

A

States which are satisfied with the hegemony’s rule (usually great powers) and states which are against the system (usually weaker states).

46
Q

Why would the dominant state’s power decline?

A

exogenous factors:
challenger was lucky with something and gained power quickly
endogenous factor: lazy hegemon (got comfortable or focused elsewhere)

47
Q

What is the difference between hierarchy of prestige and hierarchy of power? When are these relevant?

A

Perceived reality of power versus objective reality of power. When a challenger becomes the new hegemon but does not inherit the legitimacy of the past one

48
Q

What is a preventive war, when does it occur, and what is the outcome?

A

Occurs when rising challenger begins to acquire power faster than the hegemon. Hegemon thus wants to halt the rising power to maintain hegemonic status. The outcome is a new hegemon (even it’s the same it’s in a new light)

49
Q

How did the Cold War start?

A

Post WWII, US wanted reorganize international system (UN, NATO, Marshall Plan, Bretton Woods) and USSR had Warsaw Pact

50
Q

Was the Cold War a balance of power or an unsuccessfully challenged hegemony?

A

USD had a lot of power, economic dynamics were stronger

51
Q

What can be said about the Cuban missile Crisis?

A

It may have worked because US removed missiles from Turkey but in terms of prestige it was seen that the USSR had to back down and remove itself from Cuba

52
Q

What things can produce international stability?

A

Balance of power, hegemonic systems (without cooperation) and concert systems (with cooperation and self restraint)

53
Q

Why was the Concert of Europe created? What were the great powers

A

To avoid another Napoleon catastrophe, based in self interests. Russia, Prussia, Austria Hungary, UK and France.

54
Q

Why did the concert of Europe turn to war

A
  1. Napoleonic fears faded
  2. Liberal ideas of sovereignty
  3. Ottoman Empire in decline (Russia overtaking)
  4. Bismarckian system of alliance
  5. Russia violated the Concert and Germany became powerful
55
Q

What is the difference between balancing and bandwagoning? What are threats of bandwagoning?

A

Balancing is allying against the hegemon and bandwagoning is allying with the hegemon. Uncertainty of intentions and rewarding aggressive behaviour.

56
Q

What is Walt v Waltz?

A

Waltz: balance of threat instead of balance of power (states don’t balance against others’ power, states balance against the most threatening state. Weaker states ally with most threatening. Power does not mean threat. IRL states can make their power more or less threatening)
Walt: being the most powerful means being the most threatening

57
Q

What are the sources of threat?

A
  1. Aggregate power: indicators of power that cannot be used directly in a confrontation
  2. Offensive capability: sources of power you can use directly in war
  3. Proximity: closeness is threatning
  4. Offensive intentions: balancing occurs depending on what states think others will do with their power. It describes the effects of the three previous points.
58
Q

What explains the emergence of sovereign states?

A

After wars, states knew they needed to prepare for future catastrophes and find a ways to organize their people and resources

59
Q

What were the 3 initial institutional outcomes of sovereign states? Which one remained and why?

A

Sovereign states, city states and city leagues. Sovereign states because better law enforcement, centralization, and organization.

60
Q

What are the functions of war in the international system?

A
  1. Redistribution of material power
  2. Adjustment on the hierarchy of prestige
  3. Establishment and enforcement of an international order
61
Q

How is war regulated in the international system?

A
  1. UN can only intervene for international peace and security (breach of state sovereignty and non intervention)
  2. Only states can engage in war and can only use war for self defence or to restore international peace and security (UNSC)
  3. How the war occurs is regulated (laws of war)
  4. Criminal accountability
62
Q

What is the rational choice approach?

A

Explaining international politics as the outcome of individual, goal seeking decisions. It is about whether the action, in light of the goal, not the goal itself (exogenous), is rational

63
Q

What is the problem with rational choice approach?

A

Bounded rationality (humans are not computers)

64
Q

How does rational choice work? What is the most important factor?

A
  1. Determine strategies
  2. Rank outcomes
  3. Select best strategy
    Information is crucial
65
Q

What are the limits of rationality?

A
  1. Cognitive shortcuts
  2. Misuse of past registered information
  3. Cognitive dissonance: only double check information if you disagree with it
  4. Attribution of aggressive intentions
  5. Prospect theory: utility is subjective to actors
  6. Endowment effect: Losing what you had counts for more
  7. Reactive devaluation: Devalue threats depending on who it’s from
66
Q

What is deterrence theory?

A

The more costly war is, the less likely it is to occur. If the cost outweighs the benefit

67
Q

What does the effectiveness of deterrent threat depend on?

A

Retaliatory capacity and Willingness to retaliate. If the two are credible

68
Q

What do classical deterrents believe?

A

The cost of nuclear weapons is so large that no benefits outweigh it. Not even lack of credibility is worth it.

69
Q

What is the difference between cooperation and bargaining?

A

Cooperation brings us onto the pareto frontier (enlarges the pie, positive sum-game) and bargaining is the movement along the Pareto frontier (divides the pie, zero-sum game). If you’re not on the Pareto frontier, you’re missing out on gains from cooperation.

70
Q

What is a dominant strategy?

A

The best response (largest utility) to whatever the other player does (no matter what)

71
Q

What is the Nash equilibrium?

A

A combination of strategies, each of which is the best response to each other. If other changes response, I wouldn’t change mine.

72
Q

What is an expected outcome? When can we know it?

A

The combination of strategies (one for each player) determined by each player’s maximization of their expected payoff. If we have dominant strategies or a single NASH equilibrium, we can know the expected payoff.

73
Q

What is a Pareto optimal outcome

A

A combination of strategies (one for each player) such that no other combination of strategies would make at least one player better off without making anyone worse off

74
Q

What are coordination versus collaboration problems?

A

In coordination games, actors are trying to avoid a set of outcomes which communication can solve. In collaboration problems, actors are trying to achieve a common interest but can’t trust each other (cheating)

POLI 244 (2 decks)

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