Midterm Flashcards
An economic theory that believed that economic wealth and power are complements to each other, and emphasizes a monopoly in the exports of goods, usually by a mother country over colonies and over competitors.
Mercantilism
The settlement that ended the Thirty Years War in 1648, said to have created the modern system of states by establishing sovereignty and asking states to not interfere in each other affairs.
Peace of Westphalia
The expectation that within a states boundaries they have legal and political supremacy.
Sovereignty
The supremacy of one-nation state over others.
Hegemony
British peace from 1815-1915, where British economic and political dominance led to a period of widespread peace.
Pax Britannica
Monetary system that prevailed from 1870 to 1914, as countries tied their currency to gold at a fixed price.
Gold Standard
A global conflict that took place from 1914 to 1918, involving many of the world’s major powers and resulting in widespread devastation and significant political and territorial changes. Allies vs. Central Powers.
World War I
Peace treaty between Allies and Germany that formally ended World War I.
Treaty of Versailles
An international organization established after World War I in 1920 with the aim of promoting peace, cooperation, and diplomacy among nations, but it ultimately failed to prevent the outbreak of World War II and was replaced by the United Nations in 1945. U.S. was not a member.
League of Nations
A global conflict that lasted from 1939 to 1945, involving many of the world’s nations and characterized by widespread violence and significant geopolitical changes. It began with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and ended with the dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ultimately leading to the defeat of Axis powers, including Germany and Japan.
World War II
A period of geopolitical tension and rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, which lasted from the mid-20th century until the early 1990s. It was characterized by political, economic, and ideological conflicts, as well as a nuclear arms race, but it never escalated into direct military confrontation between the two superpowers.
Cold War
A military alliance established in 1949, composed of North American and European countries, designed to promote mutual defense and security cooperation among its member states.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
An international monetary arrangement established in 1944 that fixed exchange rates to the U.S. dollar, as well as low barriers to international trade and investment promoting economic stability and post-World War II reconstruction
Bretton Woods System
A political and military alliance of Eastern Bloc countries, led by the Soviet Union, formed in 1955 in response to NATO’s Western alliance during the Cold War.
Warsaw Pact
The process by which many former colonies gained independence from colonial powers, leading to the establishment of sovereign nations in the mid-20th century.
Decolonization
The process of increased interconnectedness and interdependence among countries, leading to the exchange of goods, services, information, and cultures on a global scale.
Globalization
What actors want to achieve through political actions. Their preference among possible outcomes from a situation.
Interests
The basic unit for analysis of international politics, can be either individuals or groups of people with common interests.
Actors
A political entity with defined borders, government, and sovereignty, typically recognized as a nation, with control over its particular region.
State
A state of disorder or absence of a central authority or government control, often used in the context of international relations.
Anarchy
The goals, priorities, and objectives of a specific nation within the context of international relations.
National Interests
The way in which the choices of two or more political actors combine to make an outcome.
Interactions
An interaction in which two or more actors work together to adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo.
Cooperation
The process of negotiating and reaching agreements, often involving compromise and trade-offs.
Bargaining
The process of aligning actions and efforts among different actors to achieve common goals or objectives. Ex: Cars on the right side.
Coordination
Working together towards a shared goal, often involving cooperation, joint effort, and mutual contribution. Actors can gain from this, but also may have incentives not to join. Ex: Prisoner Dilemma.
Collaboration
Products that are non-excludable and non-rival in consumption, such as national defense.
Public Goods
Refer to situations in which individuals or groups face a challenge in coordinating their actions to achieve a common goal, often because of conflicting interests or the temptation to free ride on the efforts of others. Resolving collective action problems typically involves finding mechanisms or incentives that encourage cooperation and overcoming barriers.
Collective Action Problem
Benefiting from a collective resource or effort without contributing to it, often to the detriment of the group’s overall success.
Free Rider
The repetition of a process or action, often in negotiations or interactions, to refine and improve outcomes.
Iteration
The linking of coordination on one issue to interactions on another issue. Ex: US and England
Linkage
A key factor that affects the likelihood of cooperation.
Information
The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself.
Power
Strategy of Power. A strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior.
Coercion
The alternatives to bargaining with a specific
actor.
Outside Options
Actions taken before or during bargaining that make the reversion outcome more favorable for one party.
Agenda Setting
Sets of rules (known and shared by the community) that structure interactions in specific ways.
Institutions
A set of rules and principles governing relations between sovereign states and other international actors, designed to promote cooperation, resolve disputes, and maintain global order.
International Law
Must be woven together by one or more unifying principles (not just ad hoc rules)
Body of Rules
must include both primary rules (content) and secondary rules
(process for making rules)
Status of Law
