International Relations

Front 1

Anarchy

Back 1

a political system without a single central authority; ex. international system.

Front 2

Authoritarianism

Back 2

a type of restrictive governmental system where people are under the rule of an individual, such as a dictator or king, or a group, such as a party or military junta.

Front 3

Bipolar

Back 3

a type of international system with two roughly equal actors or coalitions of actors that divide the international system into two poles.

Front 4

Bureaucracy

Back 4

division of labor, roles assigned according to expertise, hierarchy, standard operating procedures.

Front 5

Bush Doctrine

Back 5

(2002) President Bush’s policy that emphasized military pre-emption, military superiority, unilateral action, and a commitment to “extending democracy, liberty, and security to all regions”; departure from the policies of deterrence and containment.

Front 6

Capitalism

Back 6

an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, competition, and profit incentives.

Front 7

Chicken game

Back 7

two drivers both headed for a single lane bridge from opposite directions; first to swerve loses.

Front 8

Cold War

Back 8

the confrontation that emerged following WWII between bipolar superpowers, Soviet Union and US; no direct conflict took place; era of great tensions and global division.

Front 9

Colonialism

Back 9

a policy by which a state or empire extends or maintains control over foreign lands, either by (a) moving people from the dominant country to the new lands, and/or (b) ruling the locals from outside, playing some against the others.

Front 10

Communism

Back 10

originated in the works of Engels and Marx; idea that oppressed working class would eventually organize and revolt against those who owned the means of production; Soviet Union and China; state owns means of production.

Front 11

Containment

Back 11

a policy of global opposition to the Soviet Union and other communist countries.

Front 12

Crisis

Back 12

decisions taken by high-level, small groups.

Front 13

Cuban Missile Crisis

Back 13

(1962) a confrontation between the U.S. and Soviet Union over the presence of missile sites in Cuba.

Front 14

Detente

Back 14

cold war policy involving US, Soviet Union and China; sought to open relations among countries and ease tension.

Front 15

Democracy

Back 15

ideology of a body governed by and for the people; also the type of governmental system a country has in terms of free and fair elections and levels of participation.

Front 16

Division of labor

Back 16

a production process in which a worker or group of workers is assigned a specialized task in order to increase efficiency.

Front 17

Evolution

Back 17

generation and variation among units within a system, selection (failure) eliminates some units, remaining units and arrangements are the next step on the path.

Front 18

Fascism

Back 18

ideology that advocates extreme nationalism, heightened sense of national belonging or ethnic identity.

Front 19

Feudalism

Back 19

medieval political system of smaller units, such as principalities, dukedoms, and baronies, ruled by minor royalty.

Front 20

Game

Back 20

structure in which outcomes are affected by the interaction of choices by two or more players.

Front 21

Globalization

Back 21

the increasing interdependence, integration and interaction among people and corporations in disparate locations around the world.

Front 22

Government

Back 22

a type of governing political body; also the specific regime in power, such as the government of a particular leader.

Front 23

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

Back 23

the value of all goods and services produced within a country.

Front 24

Gross World Product (GWP)

Back 24

the value of all goods and services produced within the world.

Front 25

Groupthink

Back 25

pressure within organizations to achieve consensus by agreeing with the prevailing opinion, especially the view of the leader.

Front 26

Hegemonic war

Back 26

war to establish and/or maintain hegemony.

Front 27

Hegemony

Back 27

the domination of the world (or a significant region) by a single state.

Front 28

Heuristic device

Back 28

a range of psychological strategies that allow individuals to simplify complex decisions; ex. evaluating people and events in terms of how well they coincide with your own belief system, stereotypes, or analogies.

Front 29

Imperialism

Back 29

the process of extending a state or empire by territorial acquisition or by political and economic dominance.

Front 30

Intergovernmental organization (IGO)

Back 30

membership is made up of states; ≈ 300; ex. the United Nations (global), the European Union (regional).

Front 31

Iterated game

Back 31

a repeated game.

Front 32

League of Nations

Back 32

the first, true general international organization; existed between the end of WWI and the beginning of WWII; immediate predecessor of the United Nations.

Front 33

Level of analysis

Back 33

individual-level analysis, state-level analysis, system-level analysis.

Front 34

Liberalism

Back 34

internationalist, centralization, globalization, peace, economic issues.

Front 35

Multilateralism

Back 35

multiple countries working together on a given issue.

Front 36

Multinational corporation (MNC)

Back 36

private enterprises that have production subsidiaries or branches in more than one country.

Front 37

Multipolar

Back 37

a world political system in which power is primarily held by four or more international actors.

Front 38

Mutual Assured Destruction

Back 38

a doctrine of military strategy in which a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by one of two opposing sides would effectively result in the destruction of both the attacker and the defender.

Front 39

Nation

Back 39

a group with a common identity.

Front 40

Nationalism

Back 40

the sense of political self that makes people feel patriotic about their country.

Front 41

Neoliberal institutionalism

Back 41

politically centered; cooperation.

Front 42

Neorealism

Back 42

belief that the distribution across and shifting of power among states in the anarchical international system is a causal factor that determines the actions of states and, thus, the dynamics of world politics.

Front 43

Non-iterated game

Back 43

a game that is not repeated.

Front 44

Non-zero-sum game

Back 44

a situation in which one or more players, even all players, can gain without offsetting losses for any other player or players.

Front 45

Nongovernmental organization (NGO)

Back 45

individuals as members; ex. Human Rights Watch (laudable), al Qaeda (villainous), the Roman Catholic Church (ancient), Families of Victims of Involuntary Disappearance—FIND (nearly new).

Front 46

Norm

Back 46

a principle of right action that is binding on members of a group and that serves to regulate the behavior of the members of that group.

Front 47

Operational code

Back 47

a perceptual phenomenon that describes how an individual acts and responds when faced with specific types of situations.

Front 48

Politics

Back 48

the social activity of making and enforcing collective decisions; often the domain of power.

Front 49

Political power

Back 49

the ability to get another actor to act in a way you desire when it otherwise might not; sources: ideas and beliefs, force and threats, wealth and exchange.

Front 50

Reagan Doctrine

Back 50

U.S. provided aid to anti-communist resistance movements.

Front 51

Realism

Back 51

nationalist, decentralization, fragmentation, war, security issues.

Front 52

Republic

Back 52

a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them.

Front 53

Role

Back 53

how an individual’s position influences his/her thinking and actions.

Front 54

Security dilemma

Back 54

refers to a situation wherein two or more states are drawn into conflict, possibly even war, over security concerns, even though none of the states actually desire conflict.

Front 55

Self-determination

Back 55

the right and/or ability of a nation to rule itself.

Front 56

Self-fulfilling prophecy

Back 56

explains how a belief or expectation whether correct or not, affects the outcome of a situation or the way a person (or group) will behave.

Front 57

Social structure

Back 57

roles, rules, resources.

Front 58

Socialism

Back 58

a theory or system of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.

Front 59

Sovereignty

Back 59

recognizing no higher authority.

Front 60

Standard operating procedure (SOP)

Back 60

standardized procedures used in bureaucracy.

Front 61

State

Back 61

an organized political entity, occupies a definable territory, exercises relative independence, commands the primary loyalty of people, reserves the right to use force, recognized as a sovereign unit by other states.

Front 62

System

Back 62

consists of elements, interactions among elements and emergent properties (characteristics of the whole that do not belong to any particular part).

Front 63

Theocracy

Back 63

a political system that is organized, governed, and defined by spiritual leaders and their religious beliefs.

Front 64

Truman Doctrine

Back 64

(1947) President Truman’s policy of providing economic and military aid to any country threatened by communism or totalitarian ideology.

Front 65

Treaty of Versailles

Back 65

(1920) the treaty forced on Germany by the Allied powers after the end of WWI which demanded excessive reparations from the Germans.

Front 66

United Nations (UN)

Back 66

an international body created with the intention to maintain peace through the cooperation of its member-states; addresses human welfare issues such as the environment, human rights, population, and health; headquarters located in NYC; established following WWII to supersede the League of Nations.

Front 67

Unilateralism

Back 67

a tendency of nations to conduct their foreign affairs independently, characterized by minimal consultation and involvement with other nations, even their allies.

Front 68

Weapon of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Back 68

biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiological weapons.

Front 69

World War I

Back 69

(1914-1918) war fought mainly in Europe and the Middle East, between the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire) and the Allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, U.S., Japan); ended with the collapse of the Central Powers.

Front 70

World War II

Back 70

(1939-1945) war between the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allies (France, Britain, Soviet Union, U.S.); began with the German invasion of Poland and ended with the surrender of Germany and Japan.

Front 71

Zero-sum game

Back 71

a contest in which gains by one player can only be achieved by equal losses from other players.

Front 72

# recognized states?

Back 72

≈ 200.

Front 73

GWP?
GR?
GWP per capita?

Back 73

≈ $60 trillion.
≈ 5%.
≈ $9500.

Front 74

Human population?
GR?

Back 74

≈ 6,525,170,264.
≈ 1.14%.

Front 75

Fertility rate?
Life expectancy?

Back 75

≈ 2.6 children/woman.
≈ 65 years.