Things to know Flashcards
What are the three crucial elements to IR
- Individual interests 2. Political institutions 3. Political interactions and outcomes
What is individual behaviour?
- The belief and actions of political actors
- can create and perpetuate institutions
- Knowledge can be limited or plain wrong
How do we know what we know?
- Question 2. Propose an answer 3. Evaluate your answer
What are the three levels of analysis?
- Global 2. State 3. Individual
What is a theory?
A set of explicit assumptions accepted as given for the purpose of explanation
What are propositions?
Logically derived assumptions linking cause (independent variable) to effect (dependent variable)
What is a hypotheses?
Propositions with observable implications that we attempt to refute
What are the 5 goals of political theorising?
- Descriptive - what happened 2. explanation - why did it happen 3. predictive - what will happen 4. normative - what should happen 5. interpretive - how do we create meaning and understanding of what happens
What are the three I’s?
Interests, interactions and institutions
List some common interests of IR
•Power/security •Economic or material welfare •Ideological goals
What is a state
A central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws, rules and decisions within a specified territory
What is Sovereignty
The expectation that states have legal and political supremacy - or ultimate authority - within their territorial boundaries
What is Anarchy?
THE ABSENCE OF A CENTRAL AUTHORITY WITH THE ABILITY TO MAKE AND ENFORCE LAWS THAT BIND ALL ACTORS
What are interactions?
The combination of choices of two or more actors that produce observed political outcomes
What is cooperation
working together
What is bargaining
zero sum loss, one sides game is one sides loss
What are some examples of the Chicken Game IRL
•Cuban Missile Crisis
What is stag hunt?
both can individually hunt rabbit, together can hunt stag
What’s the other name of the coordination game?
Battle of the Sexes
Coordination game is…?
When you can’t communicate with the other actor
What are institutions?
sets of rules known and shared by the relevant community that structure political interactions in particular ways • facilitate cooperation and affect policy
How do institutions have an impact on outcomes?
•set standards of behaviour •verify compliance •reduce costs of joint decision making •resolves disputes
Are rules ever neutral?
No, they often embody the bargaining strength of the actors at the time they were enacted
Why comply with biased institutions
•costly to create (money and time)
