Test 1 Flashcards
Realism
An IR theory that explains international relations mainly in terms of power
International Relations
The relationships among the world’s state governments and the connection of those relationships with other actors (such as the United Nations, multinational corporations, and individuals), with other social relationships (including economics, culture, and domestic politics), and with geographic and historical influences.
Collective Goods Problem
A tangible or intangible good, created by the members of a group, that is available to all group members regardless of their individual contributions; participants can gain by lowering their own contribution to the collective good, yet if too many participants do so, the good cannot be provided.
- available to all, non excludable
- non-rival
- free rider problem
- good is overused
Reciprocity solution
A response in kind to another’s actions; a strategy of reciprocity uses positive forms of leverage to promise rewards and negative forms of leverage to threaten punishme
- solution to collective goods problem (reward those who help and hurt those who don’t)
- base of most IR systems
Identity solution
A principle for solving collective goods problems by changing participants’ preferences based on their shared sense of belonging to a community
- changes participants presences is that they want to contribute for the good of the community
Dominance solution
Solution to collective goods problem
- establishes power hierarchy to create order of good
International Politics Economy (IPE)
The study of the politics of trade, monetary, and other economic relations among nations, and their connection to other transnational forces
State
An inhabited territorial entity controlled by a government that exercises sovereignty over its territory
International System
The set of relationships among the world’s states, structured by certain rules and patterns of interaction
Nation-state
States whose populations share a sense of national identity, usually including a language and culture
Gross Domestic Product
The size of a state’s total annual economic activity
Non-state actors
Actors other than state governments that operate either below the level of the state (that is, within states) or across state borders
- NGOs, IGOs, etc.
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
An organization (such as the United Nations and its agencies) whose members are state governments.
-non state actor
Nongovernmental organization (NGOs)
A transnational group or entity (such as the Catholic Church, Greenpeace, or the International Olympic Committee) that interacts with states, multinational corporations (MNCs), other NGOs, and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
- non state actor
Individual Level of Analysis
Analysis of choices and perceptions of individuals
Domestic level of analysis
Events that happen domestically that affect the international system
System Level of Analysis
Concerns the influence of international system on outcomes
Globalization
The increasing integration of the world in terms of communications, culture, and economics; may also refer to changing subjective experiences of space and time accompanying this process
3 concepts:
- one view globalization is the fruition of liberal economic principles
- one views is skeptic of globalization, (world no more integrated today before WW1)
- one view sees globalization as in between both the other ideas
North-South Gap
The disparity in resources (income, wealth, and power) between the industrialized, relatively rich countries of the West (and the former East) and the poorer countries of Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia and Latin America.
Idealism
An approach that emphasizes international law, morality, and international organizations, rather than power alone, as key influences on international relations.
Power
The ability or potential to influence others’ behavior, as measured by the possession of certain tangible and intangible characteristics.
- long and short term
Geopolitics
The use of geography as an element of power, and the ideas about it held by political leaders and scholars
Sovereignty
A state’s right, at least in principle, to do whatever it wants within its own territory; traditionally, sovereignty is the most important international norm.
Norms
The shared expectations about what behavior is considered proper.
Security dilemma
A situation in which actions that states take to ensure their own security (such as deploying more military forces) are perceived as threats to the security of other states.
- creates arms race
- states don’t know others interests, so everything is taken as a threat
Balance of power
The general concept of the power of one or more states being used to balance that of another state or group of states. The term can refer to (1) any ratio of power capabilities between states or alliances, (2) a relatively equal ratio, or (3) the process by which counterbalancing coalitions have repeatedly formed to prevent one state from conquering an entire region.
Great powers
Generally, the half dozen or so most powerful states; the great power club was exclusively European until the twentieth century. See also middle powers.
Middle powers
States that rank somewhat below the great powers in terms of their influence on world affairs (for example, Brazil and India)
Neorealism
A version of realist theory that emphasizes the influence on state behavior of the system’s structure, especially the international distribution of power.
- international distribution of power
Multipolar system
An international system with typically five or six centers of power that are not grouped into alliances.
- many wars
- more reciprocity
Bipolar
System with two main powers dominated the others
-reciprocity between powers
-dominance within powers
-very stable
Unipolar (hegemony)
One power in charge of system
- steep hierarchy, dominance
Tripolar system
Three powers
- fear is that two tend to gang up on one, so less common
Power transition theory
A theory that the largest wars result from challenges to the top position in the status hierarchy, when a rising power is surpassing (or threatening to surpass) the most powerful state
Hegemony
The holding by one state of a preponderance of power in the international system so that it can single-handedly dominate the rules and arrangements by which international political and economic relations are conducted
Hegemonic stability theory
The argument that regimes are most effective when power in the international system is most concentrated
- when one power is in charge
Alliance
Coalition of states that coordinate their actions for some end
- fluidity of alliances
- alliances are productive, not because they like each other
- 40-60% of alliances are broken
Coalition
Short term alliance
Alliance cohesion
The ease with which the members hold together an alliance; it tends to be high when national interests converge and when cooperation among allies becomes institutionalized
Burden sharing
The distribution of the costs of an alliance among members; the term also refers to the conflicts that may arise over such distribution.
Nonaligned movement
A movement of third world states, led by India and Yugoslavia, that attempted to stand apart from the U.S.-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War.
Statecraft
The art of managing state affairs and effectively maneuvering in a world of power politics among sovereign states
Compellence
The threat of force to make another actor take some action (rather than, as in deterrence, refrain from taking an action)
Rational actors
Actors conceived of as single entities that can “think” about their actions coherently, make choices, identify their interests, and rank the interests in terms of priority.
National interest
The interests of a state overall (as opposed to particular parties or factions within the state)
Neoliberal
Shorthand for “neoliberal institutionalism,” an approach that stresses the importance of international institutions in reducing the inherent conflict that realists assume in an international system; the reasoning is based on the core liberal idea that seeking long-term mutual gains is often more rational than maximizing individual short-term gains.
International regime
A set of rules, norms, and procedures around which the expectations of actors converge in a certain international issue area (such as oceans or monetary policy)
Collective security
The formation of a broad alliance of most major actors in an international system for the purpose of jointly opposing aggression by any actor; sometimes seen as presupposing the existence of a universal organization (such as the United Nations) to which both the aggressor and its opponents belong
Postmodernism
An approach that denies the existence of a single fixed reality and pays special attention to texts and to discourses—that is, to how people talk and write about a subject
Militarism
The glorification of war, military force, and violence
Positive peace
A peace that resolves the underlying reasons for war; not just a cease-fire but a transformation of relationships, including elimination or reduction of economic exploitation and political oppression.
Liberal feminism
A strand of feminism that emphasizes gender equality and views the “essential” differences in men’s and women’s abilities or perspectives as trivial or nonexistent
Postmodern feminism
An effort to combine feminist and postmodernist perspectives with the aim of uncovering the hidden influences of gender in IR and showing how arbitrary the construction of gender roles is.
Difference feminism
A strand of feminism that believes gender differences are not just socially constructed and that views women as inherently less warlike than men (on average)
Postmodern feminism
Seeks to deconstruct realism with the specific aim of uncovering the persuasive hidden influences of genders in IR
