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77 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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self-help
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the principle that because in international anarchy all global actors are independent, they must rely on themselves to provide for their security and well-being
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national security
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a country's capacity to resist external or itnernal threats to its physical survival or core values
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coercion
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the threat or use of military force or economic sanctions as tools of punishiment to change a target actor's policies against its will
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power
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the factors that enable one state to coerce another; to realists, arms and military capabilities are the most important facotors in determining which rival state will win a dispute
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politics
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the process by which important values are upheld or compromised when two or more actors become involved in a zero-sum conflict in which a gain for one party will create a partial or total loss for the other party
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conflict
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discord, often arising in international relations, over perceived incompatabilities of interest
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power potential
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the capabilities or resources held by a state that are considered necessary to its asserting influence over others
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realism
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a paradigm based on the premise that world politics is essentially and unchangeably a struggle among self-interested states for power and position under anrchy, with each competing state single-mindedly pursuing its own national self-advantage without altruistic concern for others or sentimental attachment to moral values
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globalization
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the processes by which the countries of the world are becoming linked to one another economically, politically and militarily in interdependent bonds
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information age
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today's era in which mass communications and the Internet transfer information instantaneously throughout the globe
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coercive diplomacy
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the use of threats or limited armed force to persuade an adversary to alter its foreign and/or domestic policies
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opportunity costs
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the concept in decision-making theories that when the opportunity arises to use resources, what is gained for one purpose is lost for other purposes, so that every choice entails the cost of some lost opportunity
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peace dividend
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the global savings from arms expenditure reductions made possible by the end of highly hostile international rivalries such as the Cold War
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national security
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a country's psychological freedom from fear that the state will be unable to resist threats to its survival and national values emanating from abraod or at home
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human security
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a concept that refers to the degrees to which the welfare of individuals is protected and advanced, in contrast to national security, whcih puts the itnerests of entire states first
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relative burden of military spending
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a measure fo the economic burden of military activities calculated by the share of each state's gross domestic product allocated to military expenditures
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soft power
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the ability to exercise international influence that is increased when a coutnry's values and way of life are respected throughout the world
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arms race
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the buildup of weapons and armed forces by two or more states that threaten each other, with the competition driven by the conviction that gaining a lead is necessary for security
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military-industrial complex
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the term coined by US President Eisenhower to describe the coalition among arms manufacturers, military bureaucracies, and top government officials that promotes unnecessary defense expenditures for its own profit and power
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blowback
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the propensity for actions undertaen for national security to have teh unintended consequence of provoking retaliatory attacks by the target when relations later sour
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Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)
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an international agreement that seeks to prevent horizontal proliferation by prohibiting further nuclear weapons sales, acquisitions, or production
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proliferation
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the spread of weapon capabilities from a few to many states in a chain reaction, so that an increasing number of states gain the ability to launch an attack on other states with devastating (e.g., nuclear) weapons
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Nth coutnry problem
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the expansion of additional new nuclear states
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horizontal nuclear proliferation
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an increase in the number of states that possess nuclear weapons
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vertical nuclear proliferation
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the expansion of the capabilities existing nuclear powers to inflict increasing destruction with their nuclear weapons
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nonproliferation regime
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rules to contain arms races so that weapons or tehcnology do not spread to states that do not have them
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security dilemma
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the propensity of armaments undertaken by one state for ostensibly defensive purpose to threaten other states, which arm in reaction, with the result that the arming states' national security declines as their arms increase
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multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRV)
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a technological innovation permitting many weapons to be delivered from a single missile
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nonlethal weapons (NLWs)
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the wide array of "soft kill", low-intesity methods of incapacitating an enemy's people, vehicles, communications systems, or entire cities without killing either combatants or noncombatants
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revolution in military technology (RMT)
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the sophisticated new weapons technologies that make fighting war without mass armies possible
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smart bonds
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precision-guided military technology that enables a bomb to search for its target and detonate at the precise time it cna do the most damage
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strategic weapons
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weapons of mass destruction that are carried on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), or long-range bombers and are capable of annihilating an enemy state
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virtual nuclear arsenals
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the next generation of "near nuclear" military capabilities produced by the revoltuion in military technolgoy that would put strategic nuclear weapons of mass destruction at the margins of national security strategies by removing dependence on them for deterrence
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deterrence
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a preventive strategy designed to dissuade an adversary from doing waht it would otherwise do
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information warfare (IW) or infowar tactics
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attacks on an adversary's telecommunications and computer networks to penetrate and degrade an eenmy whose defense capabilities depend heavily on these technological systems
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nuclear winter
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the expected freeze that would occur in the earth's climate from the fallout of smoke and dust int he event nuclear weapons were used, blocking out sunlight and destroying the plant and animal life that survived the original blast
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compellence
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a method of coercive diplomacy usually involving an act of war or threat to force an adversary to make concessions against its will
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brinkmanship
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the intentional, reckless taking of huge risks in bargaining with an enemy, such as threatening a nuclear attack, to compel its submission
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massive retaliation
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the Eisenhower administration's policy doctrine for containing Soviet communism by pledging to respond to any act of aggression with the most destructive capabilities available, including nuclear weapons
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countervalue targeting strategy
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the bargaining doctrine that declares the intention to use weapons of amss destruction against an enemy's most valued non-military resources, such as the cilvians and industries located in its cities
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counterforce targeting strategy
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targeting strategic nuclear weapons on particular military capabilities of an enemy's armed forces and arsenals
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nuclear deterrence
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dissuading an adversary from attacking by threatening retaliation with nuclear weapons
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second-strike capability
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a state's capacity to retaliate after absorbing a first-strike attack with weapons of mass destruction
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mutual assured destruction (MAD)
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a condition of mutual deterrence in which both sides possess the ability to survive a first strike with weapons of mass destruction retaliatory attack
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nuclear utilization theory (NUTs)
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a body of strategic thought that claimed deterrent threats would be more credible if nuclear weapons were made more usable
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Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI)
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the so-called Star Wars plan conceived yb the Reagan administration to seek to deploy an antiballistic missile system using space-based lasers taht would destroy enemy nuclear missiles before they could enter Earth's atmosphere
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counterfactual reasoning
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thought experiments to consider the consequences that probably would have resulted if something happened that actually did not, such as speculating "what if Adolf Hitler had invaded Britain?" or "what if JFK had not been assassinated?"
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rational choice
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the theory that decision maers choose on the basis of what they perceive to be in the best interests of themselves and their states, and select options according to their expectations about the relative usefulness of alternate means to realize their preferred goals. Sometimes called "expected-utility theory," this concept is emphasized in realist interpretations of decisions about war and peace
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preemptive war
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a quick first-strike attack that seeks to defeat an adversary before it can organize an initial attack or retailiatory response
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just war theory
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the theory that identifies the criteria under which it is morally permissible for a tstate to go to war and the methods by which it might be fought
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asymmetrical warfare
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armed conflict between different types of enemies, one of whic is much more militarily powerful than the other
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coercive diplomacy
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an approach to bargaining between states engaged in a crisis in which threats to use arms or inflict high financial costs are made to force an adversary to reach a compromise
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ultimatum
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a demand that puts a time limit for the target to comply and a threat of punishment for resistance
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gunboat diplomacy
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a show of military force, historically naval force, to intimidate an adversary
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military intervention
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overt or covert use of force by one or more countries that cross the border of another country to affect the target country's government and policies
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covert operations
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secret activities undertaken by a state outside its borders through clandestine means to achieve specific political or military goals with respect to another state
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failed states
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countries whose governments have so mismanaged policy that they have lost the loyalty of their citizens who, ini rebellion, threaten to divide the state into separate countries
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nonintervention norm
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a fundamental international legal principle, now being challenged, that traditionally has defined interference by one state in the domestic affairs of another as illegal
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human rights
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the political rights and civil liberties recognized by the international community as freedoms to which all people are entitled, even though many such inalienable privileges are not uniersally protected by the laws of states
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sanctions
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punitive actions by one state against another to retaliate for its previous objectionable behavior
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boycotts
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concerted efforts, often organized internationally, to prevent relations such as trade with a state, to express disapproval or to coerce acceptance of certain conditions
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economic sanctions
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the punitive use of trade or monetary measures, such as an embargo, to harm the economy of an enemy state in order to exercise influence over its policies
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unilateralism
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a go-it-alone, self-reliant strategy for dealing with threats from another actor or global problme
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multilateralism
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a cooperative strategy of working with allies or with collective problem-solving institutions to face threats from another actor or global problem
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bilateralism
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an intermediary strategy of working with a specific ally or in a specially created ad hoc partnership to face threats from another actor or global problem
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liberalism
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a paradigm predicated on the hope that the application of reason and universal ethics ideals to international relations can lead to a more orderly, just, and cooperative world, and that international anarchy and war can be policed by institutional reforms that empower organizations and internatnioanl law for global governance
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zero-sum
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competitive situations in which there is little room for compromise, because teh gains from one choice or one goal require a loss for another
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Bush doctrine
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the declaration that the US inteded to behave globally in terms of its perceived national self-interests, without the necessary approval of otehrs and, as a corollary, would consider taking unilateral preemptive military action against any perceived security threat (such as Iraq) to defeat it before it could attack the US
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realpolitik
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the theoretical outlook prescribing that countries should prepare for war in order to preserve peace
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democratic peace
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the liberal theory now embraced by some US realists that because democratic states do not fight each other, the diffusion of democratic governance throughout the world wil reduce the probability of war
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common security
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a concept advocating replacing the notion of states competing with one another for their own antional security with collective security to promote the security of all states
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power transition
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a situation resulting from the rapid increase or deterioration in one state's military capabilities relative to its rivals often provoking fears that lead to warfare
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no first use
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the doctrine that a nuclear state would not be the first to use its strategic weapons in the event of a military attack by another state
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bandwagoning
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the tendency for weak states to seek alliance with the strongest power, irrespective of that power's ideology or form of government, to increase security
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containment
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a term coined by US policymaker George F. Kennan for deterring. Soviet Russia's expansionist aims by counter-pressures, whic has since become a general term used by strategists to describe the methods used to prevent an expanding great power from using its military muscles for expansionist hegemonic purposes
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security dilemma
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the chronic distrust that actors living under anarchy feel because, without sanctions or regulatory rules, rivals will do anything, including arming and using aggression, to get ahead, wtih the result that all lose their security in a climate of mistrust
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spiral model
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a metaphor used to describe the tendency of efforts to enhance defense to result in escalating arms races
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