Key Terms 3-4

Front 1

Subtext

Back 1

Meanings that are implicit or hidden
in a text rather than explicitly addressed.
(p. 128) See also postmodemism.

Front 2

Satisficing

Back 2

The act of finding a satisfactory or
"good enough" solution to a problem. (p. 110)

Front 3

rally round the flag syndrome

Back 3

The
public's increased support for government
leaders during wartime, at least in the short
term. (p. 101)

Front 4

public opinion

Back 4

In IR, the range of views on
foreign policy issues held by the citizens of a
state. (p. 98)

Front 5

prospect theory

Back 5

A decision-making theory
that holds that options are assessed by
comparison to a reference point, which is often
the status quo but might be some past or
expected situation. The model also holds that
decision makers fear losses more than they
value gains. (p. 110)

Front 6

Postmodernism

Back 6

An approach that denies the
existence of a single fixed reality, and pays
special attention to texts and to discoursesthat
is, to how people talk and write about a
subject. (p. 126)

Front 7

positive peace

Back 7

A peace that resolves the
underlying reasons for war; not just a ceasefire
but a transformation of relationships,
including elimination or reduction of
economic exploitation and political
oppression. (p. 133)

Front 8

Optimizing

Back 8

Picking the very best option;
contrasts with satisficing, or finding a
satisfactory but less than best solution to a
problem. The model of "bounded rationality"
postulates that decision makers generally
"satisfice" rather than optimize. (p. 110)

Front 9

Neoliberal

Back 9

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. (p. 86) See also economic
liberalism.

Front 10

military-industrial complex

Back 10

States in which
military forces control the government; they
are most common in third world countries,
where the military may be the only large
modern institution. (p. 226)

Front 11

Militarism

Back 11

The glorification of war, military
force, and violence. (p. 133)

Front 12

Marxism

Back 12

A branch of socialism that
emphasizes exploitation and class struggle and
includes both communism and other
approaches. (p. 128)

Front 13

international regime

Back 13

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). (p. 89)

Front 14

interest groups

Back 14

Coalitions of people who share
a common interest in the outcome of some
political issue and who organize themselves to
try to influence the outcome. (p. 96)

Front 15

information screens

Back 15

The subconscious or
unconscious filters through which people put
the information coming in about the world
around them. (p. 108) See also misperceptions,
selective perceptions

Front 16

Groupthink

Back 16

The tendency of groups to
validate wrong decisions by becoming
overconfident and underestimating risks.
(p. 111)

Front 17

gender gap

Back 17

Refers to polls showing women
lower than men on average in their support for
military actions, as well as for various other
issues and candidates. (p. 141)

Front 18

foreign policy process

Back 18

The process by
which foreign policies are arrived at and
implemented. (p. 103)

Front 19

economic classes

Back 19

A categorization of
individuals based on economic status. (p. 128)

Front 20

diversionary foreign policy

Back 20

Foreign policies
adopted to distract the public from domestic
political problems. (p. 101)

Front 21

democratic peace

Back 21

The proposition, strongly
supported by empirical evidence, that
democracies almost never fight wars against
each other (although they do fight against
authoritarian states). (p. 92)

Front 22

Constructivism

Back 22

A movement in IR theory
that examines how changing international
norms and actors' identities help shape the
content of state interests. (p. 121)

Front 23

conflict resolution

Back 23

The development and
implementation of peaceful strategies for
settling conflicts. (p. 131)

Front 24

collective security

Back 24

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. (p. 90) See also League of Nations.