Test 2 Flashcards
Who were the main groups involved in the Rwandan Genocide?
Tutsi & Hutu
Summarize the Rwandan Genocide.
Animosity between the Tutsis and Hutus has built up since before the first Europeans visited Rwanda in 1894. It could be argued that the Europeans initiated the animosity by describing the lighter-skinned Tutsis as superior to the darker-skinned Hutus. A government viewed as primarily Tutsi was the last straw.
Once the 1990s conflict was initiated after the Hutu President’s assassination, Hutu leaders easily recruited others.
The Rwandan Genocide was a genocidal mass slaughter of Tutsi and moderate Hutu in Rwanda by members of the Hutu majority. During the approximate 100 day period from April 7, 1994 to mid-July, an estimated 500,000-1,000,000 Rwandans were killed.
The genocide was planned by members of the core political elite. Perpetrators came from the ranks of the Rwandan army, the National Police, government-backed militias, and the Hutu civilian population.
UN peacekeepers in Rwanda requested permission to intervene, but the US used its veto during the security council vote, barring an intervention.
Who is responsible for Failed States Theory?
Stephen Krasner
What are the three types of sovereignty according to Krasner?
Westphalian,
International Legal,
Domestic
Westphalian Sovereignty
a state has the right not to be interfered with (because of the presence of a government)
International Legal Sovereignty
states have the right to sign a treaty in the international community; other states perceive them as a functional state
Domestic Sovereignty
state has control over its own people within its borders; the government has sovereignty; the government can provide or maintain security in its own state
In order for a state to NOT be failed, which types of sovereignty must it have according to Krasner?
all 3:
Westphalian,
International Legal,
Domestic
What conditions can cause a state to lack domestic sovereignty (4)?
- Revolutionary War
- Ethnic War
- Adverse Regime Change/ Military Coup (military constantly overthrowing the government)
- Genocide
What does Krasner think should be done to stop conflict worldwide?
Intervene in failed states
Why are institutions like the UN so bad at intervention?
They often can’t decide whether or not to intervene because of sovereignty.
failed state
internal conflict; unstable government (constantly in transition); high levels of poverty; high levels of migration (fleeing country); economic turmoil
Who is responsible for the Definition of IPE?
Robert Gilpin
IPE stands for…
International Political Economy
What is the Definition of IPE?
The assumption is that IPEs tell is a reciprocal relationship between power and wealth. States are the main actors. Individuals/ People/ MNC are main actors. States affect Individuals/ People/ MNC. Individuals/ People/ MNC affect states. You use wealth to gain more power and you use power to gain more wealth.
(states) power wealth (MNC etc)
IPE theories are influenced by what 3 schools of thought?
Liberalism (economic)
Realism (mercantilism)
Marxism
Who is the “father of capitalism”?
Adam Smith
Economic Liberalism
As little government as possible
A true liberal society would have no import/export taxes.
States are liberal if they try to keep import/export taxes as low as possible.
If the government didn’t intervene, the economy would work perfectly as if guided by an Invisible Hand.
True liberals do not support government regulations.
All Economic Liberalism theories emphasize…
capitalism, free trade, low government intervention, absolute gains (not everyone has to be equally wealthy; better off today than we were yesterday)
Mercantilism
all about gold; there’s a fixed amount of gold in the world; the goal is to get as much as you can; competition over gold
horde gold then use it to build power (military, etc)
Government taking very large role in economy (telling businesses what/ how much to sell and buy)
Relative Gains
export more than you import; sell more than you buy
ex.: China, South Korea, etc.
Marxism
Karl Marx
Dialectic of Economic History (late 1800s)
Primitive Communism [technology] Slave Society [technology] Feudal Society [technology] Capitalism [Socialism] Communism
Karl Marx was the father of _____. He was from ____, but lived most of his life in ____ during the ____ ____.
Karl Marx was the father of socialism/communism. He was from Germany, but lived most of his life in the UK during the Industrial Revolution.
Marxism: Primitive Communism
tribal society; survival; no states; no central government; each village had its own leadership
division of tasks (hunting, gathering); food shared equally
subsistence living (work/live to subsist)
no rich or poor
Marxism: Slave Society
A technological change led us here. (ability to store food)
Greek/Roman
organized agriculture (crops); need land for crops
small group of people emerge that own land; slaves are the majority that work the land
economic classes
Marxism: Feudal Society
landlords (rich), peasants/serfs
landlords own land and serf owns a piece to work or sell; serf gave some food to landlord (rent) and provided military service in times of need
Marxism: Capitalism
industrialism, using machines to manufacture, mid-1800s (Marx’s time)
economic classes: bourgeoisie (rich), proletariat (workers in factories)
What was Marx’s prediction regarding the outcome of capitalism stage/ the Industrial Revolution?
eventually owners will replace workers with machines
there will be a massive rebellion of proletariats against the bourgeoisie to take away their wealth and make them like everyone else
Marxism: Socialism
temporary, not meant to last forever
the proletariat will use engines of the state (military, police, etc) to keep the bourgeoisie down
ex.: French Revolution, Soviet Union, Cuba
What was Marx’s prediction regarding the outcome of the socialism stage?
eventually the bourgeoisie will become convinced that the new way is the better way, they don’t need money or power
Marxism: Communism
no state; government not needed
instead, people live in small groups and govern themselves
people will contribute what they can and take what they need
people pay by contributing rather than with currency
people don’t work for the system, the system works for them
What is the core idea of Marxism?
inequality
People should be equal.
Who originated Hegemonic Stability Theory in 1973?
Charles Kindleberger
Who updated Hegemonic Stability Theory in 1982?
Robert Keohane (also known for Neoliberal Institutionalism)
What school of IPE thought does Hegemonic Stability Theory employ?
Economic Liberalism
Why did Kindleberger form the Hegemonic Stability Theory? What was his conclusion?
What caused the Great Depression?
Debt; everyone pulled their money out of the stock market because businesses weren’t sustainable
Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930
Increased import tariffs to encourage/help American manufacturers
Made foreign products so expensive, no one could afford them, so they would have to buy American
What was the result of the Smoot-Hawley Act of 1930?
other countries retaliated by increasing tariffs on US products in other countries, worsened Depression because companies lost more money
Kindleberger says the world lacked a ____ _____ to stop Smoot-Hawley on 1930.
economic hegemon
According to Kindleberger, why is an economic hegemon needed?
to regulate the world economy/ keep it stable
prevent mass depression
According to Keohane, what 3 characteristics should an economic hegemon have?
- The ability to influence international economic norms.
- Economic, technological, and military dominance (power to backup influence)
- The will to be the hegemon
What are the pros and cons of being the economic hegemon?
You can set the status quo of the economic system, but everyone will want your help, causing you to run out of money and bankrupt yourself.
What are the 3 Bretton Woods Institutions? When were they created?
World Trade Organization (WTO)
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
World Bank
1944
What does the WTO do?
creates trade rules for states to follow
Which Bretton Woods Institution has a trade court? What does this court do?
WTO
regulate/mediate trade dsputes
What kind of taxes does the WTO advocate?
import/export
The WTO advocates for trade by the economic concept for ____ ____.
comparative advantage
comparative advantage
states trade with each other because they have a comparative advantage over other states on certain products; some states make certain products more efficiently than others
everybody (consumers) wins: absolute gains
countries do not win equally
ex.: China (rice) (lots of flat land and more people) and Japan (electronics) (infrastructure, educated workforce)
electronics are worth more than rice
How many members does the WTO have? Why wouldn’t a country join the WTO?
150
failed state; don’t want lower tariffs
What controversy is associated with the WTO?
subsidies: payment by government to help offset the cost of producing a product
ex.: farmer needs land, machinery, laborers, irrigation equipment; Subsidies cover those costs so domestic farmers can compete with foreign farmers
Government Intervention has made domestic products (ex. American peanuts) cheaper than foreign products (ex. Peruvian products) despite other countries having better means by which to produce them
This protects the industry and preserves jobs
Original WTO members can have subsidies but new members cannot.
Agreements cannot be reached (past 15 yrs) because new members are upset by subsidies.
Who originated the WTO?
US and its allies
How many members does the IMF have?
188
What is the IMF? What does it do?
lender of last resort
gives loans to governments that are going bankrupt; publishes credit reports on every country in the world
What makes the IMF more controversial than the WTO?
conditions on loans
What is the Washington Consensus?
conditions the IMF puts on loans
List the conditions in the Washington Consensus (4).
- Liberalization of trade and capital flows
- Deregulation
- Privatization
- Fiscal Austerity
Washington Consensus: Liberalization of trade and capital flows
lower import/export taxes and allow money to cross borders more easily (foreign money and business owners)
Washington Consensus: Deregulation
take away some government regulation on businesses (including safety and environmental regulation)
Washington Consensus: Privatization
taking government-owned businesses and putting them in private hands
ex.: Philippines water system in Manila
Washington Consensus: Fiscal Austerity
cutting anything unnecessary out of the budget
What is the most controversial part of the Washington Consensus? Why?
Fiscal Austerity
governments often cut funding to social safety net programs (food stamps, etc) but continue funding the military
citizens get very mad, have toppled governments
What does the IMF do to ensure adherence to the Washington Consensus?
give loan in parts to see how states use it and if they follow conditions
What does the World Bank do?
give infrastructure loans to help alleviate poverty
loans for very specific projects, not just to government
What are World Bank loans used for?
building schools, hospitals, power plants, roads
Who runs the IMF and World Bank?
US and Europe
The fact that the IMF even exists is because of ____ ____ Theory.
Hegemonic Stability
Who has Problems with Bretton Woods?
Helen Milner
Problems with Bretton Woods: The institution can have little to no positive impact on…
The IMF and World Bank need…
the states they are meant to help (poorer states).
a budget increase.
Problems with Bretton Woods: When you give these states money, the money is…
Giving states lots of money sometimes makes it ____.
misused by corrupt governments.
worse.
Problems with Bretton Woods: The money doesn’t always go to…
States that …_____… get the most money.
____ states should get money, rather than states that…
Give an example.
states that need it the most.
vote in the UN with IMF leaders
Poorer; bigger states need something from.
ex.: Pakistan gets the most money because of the war on terror.
Problems with Bretton Woods: Sometimes the WTO is under too much influence by ____.
Give an example.
corporations.
ex.: ARV drugs for HIV/AIDS, India violated international property by selling generic brand, US pharmaceutical companies took to WTO court and won, they were controlling international politics
Problems with Bretton Woods: The Institutions themselves need to be ____. They ____ people for the ____ reasons.
They give out lots of loans to countries they know can’t…
reformed
promote; wrong
pay them back and will suffer.
Who is responsible for World Systems Theory? What year was it published?
Immanuel Wallerstein
1974
World Systems Theory is a ____ inspired theory.
Marxist
What is the purpose of World Systems Theory?
explain why some states are rich and others are poor
inequality between states and why it persists
World Systems Theory: What are the three categories of states?
- Core States
- Periphery States
- Semi-Periphery States
World Systems Theory: Core States
wealthy; economically diverse (have more than one profitable industry); highly industrialized; produce manufactured goods or finished products for sale; strong domestic sovereignty; wealthy enough that they have sufficient tax base to make/build industry
World Systems Theory: Periphery States
poor; very little industry; not economically diverse; tend to have only one industry (usually a natural resource sold to core states); people are uneducated/ weak education system; weak infrastructure; often doesn’t have domestic sovereignty; often no tax base
World Systems Theory: Semi-Periphery States
periphery moving toward the core; middle ground between rich and poor; some states allowed to move up ladder by core
ex.: China
World Systems Theory: Core/Periphery
Developed/Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs)
North/South Divide (except Australia & NZ)
Developed/Developing States
World Systems Theory: You will never make as much money selling a ____ as you will selling a _____.
natural resource; finished product
ex.: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Coltan/Tantum used in cell phone
World Systems Theory: Why can’t the periphery catch up with core states?
They will always be poorer if they rely on one natural resource, because the core states will take it (not pay much) until the peripheral state runs out.
ex.: Cacao beans grown in Ivory Coast sold to Hershey/Mars
World Systems Theory: Why hasn’t there been a revolution?
Semi-Periphery
If periphery states started a revolution, the semi-periphery would side with the core because they’re stronger and more powerful. The core takes power out of the periphery by allowing semi-periphery.
World Systems Theory: The core takes power out of the periphery by allowing ____.
semi-periphery
