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117 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back
international relations (IR)
concerns the relationships among the world's government.
dominance
solves the collective goods problem by establishing a power hierarchy in which those at the top control those below.
collective goods problem
the problem of how to provide something that benefits all members of a group regardless of what each member contributes to it.
reciprocity
solves the collective goods problem by rewarding behavior that contributes to the group and punishing behavior that pursues self-interest at the expense of the group. Easy to understand and can be 'enforced' without any central authority. Can lead to a downward spiral as each side punishes each other.
identity
does not rely on self-interest. Members of an identity community care about the interest of others in the community enough to sacrifice their own interests to benefit others. Family; ethnic group; gender group; nation; or the world's scientists are some examples.
issue areas
global trade, environment, specific conflicts such as the Arab-Israeli conflict
conflict and cooperation
Within each issue area and across the range of issues of concern in any international relationship, policy makers of one nation can behave in a cooperative manner or a conflictual manner - extending either friendly or hostile behavior toward the other nation. IR scholars often look at International Relations in terms of the mix of conflict and cooperation.
international security
subfield of IR; focuses on questions of War and Peace
international political economy (IPE)
second main subfield of IR; concerns trade and financial relations among nations and focuses on how nations have cooperated politically to create and maintain institutions that regulate the flow of international economic and financial transactions.
state
territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabited by a population
sovereignty
a state government answers to no higher authority, it makes and enforces laws, collects taxes and so forth.
international system
set of relationships among the world's states, structured according to certain rules
nation-states
In the past 200 years the idea has spread that nations - groups of people who share a sense of national identity, usually including a language and culture - should have their own states.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
total of good and services produced by a nations; it is very close to the Gross National Product (GNP).
nonstate actors
IGOs, NGOs, MNCs, Individuals, Cities, Constituencies, etc.
intergovernmental organizations (IGOs)
organizations whose members are national governments. IGOs fulfill a variety of functions and vary in size from just a few states to virtually the whole UN membership. World Trade Organization (WTO) military alliances such as NATO, political groupings such as the African Union (AU) are all IGOs.
nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
private organizations, some of considerable size and resources. Increasingly NGOs are being recognized in the UN and other forums, as legitimate actors along with states, though not equal to them. Some of these groups have a political purpose, some a humanitarian one, some an economic or technical one. Amnesty International, Red Cross,
multinational corporations
are companies that span multiple countries. Often control greater resources and operate internationally with greater efficiency than some smaller countries. ExxonMobil, Toyota, Wal-Mart
individual level of analysis
concerns the perceptions, choices, and actions of individual human beings. Great leaders influence the course of history, as do individual citizens, thinkers, soldiers and voters.
domestic (or state or societal) level of analysis
concerns the aggregations of individuals within states that influence state actions in the international arena. These include interest groups, political organizations, and governmental agencies.
interstate (or international or systemic) level of analysis
concerns the influence of international system upon outcomes. Focuses on the interactions of states themselves, without regard to their internal makeup or the particular individuals who lead them. Pays attention to states; relative power positions in the international system and the interactions (trade, for ex) among them. Traditionally, the most important level.
global level of analysis
seeks to explain international outcomes in terms of global trends and forces that transcend the interactions of states themselves.
globalization
encompasses many trends, including expanded international trade, telecommunications, monetary coordination, multinational corporations, technical and scientific cooperation, cultural exchanges of new types and scales, migration and refugee flows and relations between the world's rich and poor countries. "the widening, deepening and speeding up of worldwide interconnectedness in all aspects of contemporary social life..."
North-South gap
global gap between the relatively rich industrialized countries of the North and the relatively poor countries of the south is the most important geographical element at the global level of analysis.
"North"
includes both the West (the rich countries of North America, Western Europe and Japan) and the old East (the former Soviet Union and its bloc of allies).
"South"
includes Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia. Often called the "third world" (third after the West and the East). "Developing" countires or "Less-developed" countries (LDCs).
League of Nations
created by US president Woodrow Wilson; forerunner of today's United Nations
Munich Agreement (1938)
In an effort to appease German ambitions, Britain and France agreed to let Germany occupy part of Czechoslovakia (Sudetenland).
Cold War
relatively stable framework of relations emerged and conflicts never escalated to all-out war between the largest states.
Marshall Plan
U.S. Financial aid to rebuild European economies
containment
US sought to halt the expansion of the Soviet influence globally on several levels at once - military, political, ideological, economic.
Sino-Soviet split
when China opposed Soviet moves towards peaceful coexistence with the US.
Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
Soviet Union installed medium-range nuclear missiles in Cuba. The Soviet aims were to reduce the Soviet Union's strategic nuclear inferiority, to counter the deployment of US missiles on Soviet borders in Turkey and to deter another US invasion of Cuba.
proxy wars
two superpowers often jockeyed for position in the global South supporting proxy wars in which they typically supplied and advised opposing factions in civil wars.
realism (or political realism)
is a school of thought that explains international relations in terms of power.
realpolitik (power politics)
exercise of power by states toward each other
idealism
emphasizes international law, morality, and international organizations, rather than power alone, as key influences on international events.
idealists
think that human nature is basically good. For idealists, the principles of IR must flow from morality
power
central concept in international relations - the central one for realists - but surprisingly difficult to define or measure.
power
the ability to get another actor to do what it would not otherwise have done (or not to do what it would have done). Actors are powerful to the extent that they affect others more than others affect them.
capabilities
tangible and intangible specific characteristics or possessions of states - such as their sizes, levels of income, and armed forces - that help to measure power
best single indicator of a state's power
may be its total GDP
geopolitics
the use of geography as an element of power
anarchy
realists believe that the international system exists in a state of anarchy - a term that implies not complete chaos or absence of structure and rules, but rather the lack of a central government that can enforce rules.
norms
shared expectations about what behavior is
sovereignty
traditionally the most important norm - means that a government has the right, in principle, to do whatever it wants in its own territory.
security dilemma
a situation in which states' actions taken to ensure their own security (such as deploying more military forces) threaten the security of other states.
balance of power
refers to the general concept of one or more states' power being used to balance that of another state or group of states.
theory of balance of power
argues that such counterbalancing occurs regularly and maintains the stability of the international system.
bandwagoning
smaller states "jump on the bandwagon" of the most powerful state. This is in opposition to balancing.
great powers
generally considered the half-dozen or so most powerful states
middle powers
rank somewhat below the great powers in terms of their influence on world affairs. ex. Canada, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Poland, Ukraine, South Korea and Australia.
neorealism (structural realism)
a 1990s adaptation of realism. Explains patterns of international events in terms of the system structure - the international distribution of power - rather than the internal makeup of individual states.
polarity of an international power distribution
refers to the number of independent power centers in the system.
multipolar system
typically has five or six centers of power, which are not grouped into alliances. Each state participates independently and on relatively equal terms with the others.
hegemony
the holding by one state of a preponderance of power in the international system, so that it can single-handedly dominate the rules and arrangements by which international political and economic relations are conducted. (Britain in the 19th century and
hegemonic stability theory
holds that hegemony provides some order similar to a central government in the international system: reducing anarchy, deterring aggression, promoting free trade, and providing a hard currency that can be used as a world standard.
unilateralist approach
the United States dictates terms and expects the world to comply
multilateral approach
working through international institutions - augment U.S. power and reduce costs, but they limit US freedom of action.
alliance
coalition of states that coordinate their actions to accomplish some end. Most are formalized with written treaties, concern a common threat and related issues of international security, and endure across a range of issues and a period of time. Generally have the purpose of augmenting their members' power
coalition
short-term treaty
alliance
fluid according to realists (marriages of convenience, not love)
alliance cohesion
the ease with which the members hold together an alliance. Cohesion tends to be high when national interests converge and when cooperation within the alliance becomes institutionalized and habitual.
burden sharing
who carries the costs of the alliance
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
encompasses Western Europe and North America. Most powerful formal alliance. Using GDP as a measure of power, the 26 NATO members possess nearly half of the world total.
Members of NATO
US, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania
Warsaw Pact
opposition of NATO. Founded in 1955 and disbanded in 1991.
strategy of deterrence
uses a threat to punish another actor if it takes a certain negative action (especially attacking one's own state or one's allies). Generally it is harder to get another state to change course (compellence) than to get it to refrain from changing course (deterrence).
strategy of compellence
use of force to make another actor take some action (rather than refrain from taking an action). Generally it is harder to get another state to change course (compellence) than to get it to refrain from changing course (deterrence).
arms race
reciprocal process in which two (or more) states build up military capabilities in response to each other.
rational actors
Most realists (and many nonrealists) assume that those who wield power while engaging in statecraft behave as rational actors in their efforts to influence others.
national interest
the interests of the state itself
cost-benefit analysis
calculating the costs incurred by a possible action and the benefits it is likely to bring.
game theory
a branch of mathematics concerned with predicting bargaining outcomes
zero-sum games vs non-zero-sum games
in which one player's gain is by definition equal to the other's loss and the later in which it is possible for both players to gain (or lose)
Prisoner's Dilemma (PD)
game that captures the kind of collective goods problem common to IR
liberal theories
draw mostly on the reciprocity and identity principles. Try to explain how peace and cooperation are possible.
Kant
3 answers for peace. 1, based on reciprocity was that states could develop the organizations and rules to facilitate cooperation, specifically by forming a world federation resembling today's UN. 2, operating at a lower level of analysis: peace depends on the internal character of governments. 3, trade promotes peace.
liberal theories
treat rational actors as capable of forgoing short-term individual interest in order to further the long-term well-being of a community to which they belong.
neoliberal
concedes to realism several important assumptions - among them, that states are unitary actors rationally pursuing their self-interest in a system of anarchy.
international regime
a set of rules, norms, and procedures around which the expectations of actors converge in a certain issue area (whether arms control, international trade or Antarctic exploration).
culmination of liberal institutionalism to date
European Union
collective security
the formation of a broad alliance of most major actors in an international system for the purpose of jointly opposing aggression by any actor
failed states
have very weak control of their territory, making them potential havens for drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorist bases. In these cases, the international community has a duty to intervene in such states in order to restore law and order and thus provide collective security for the international system.
democratic peace
although democracies are shown to be just as war-prone as other states, they almost never fight each other
constructivism
an approach rather than a theory. Interested in how actors define their national interests, threats to those interests, and their relationships to one another.
constructivist research
has many strands. Examines how states' interests and identities are intertwined, as well as how those identities are shaped by interactions with other states. For ex, why is the US concerned when N.Korea builds nuclear weapons but not when GB does?
constructivist research
relies heavily on international norms and their power to constrain state action. Although realists (and neoliberals) contend that states make decisions based on a logic of consequences ("What will happen to me if I behave a certain way?"), constructivist scholars not that there is a powerful logic of appropriateness ("How should I behave in this situation?").
logic of consequences
realist (neoliberal) approach, "What will happen to me if I behave a certain way?"
logic of appropriateness
constructivist approach, "How should I behave in this situation?"
postmodernism
a broad approach to scholarship that has left its mark on various academic disciplines, especially the study of literature. Pays special attention to texts and discourses - how people talk and write about their subject. Central idea: there is no single, objective reality but a multiplicity of experiences and perspectives that defy easy categorization.
subtext
hidden meanings not explicitly addressed in the text
Marxist approach
holds that both IR and domestic policies arise from unequal relationships between economic classes.
Marxism
a branch of socialism, a theory that holds that the more powerful classes oppress and exploit the less powerful by denying them their fare share of the surplus they create. The oppressed classes try to gain power in order to seize more of the wealth for themselves.
class struggle
The oppressed classes try to gain power in order to seize more of the wealth for themselves.
normative bias
when scholars impose their personal norms and values on the subject.
conflict resolution
development and implementation of peaceful strategies for settling conflicts using alternatives to violent forms of leverage
mediation
most conflict resolution uses a third party whose role is mediation between two conflicting parties.
arbitration
if both sides agree in advance to abide by a solution devised by a mediator
confidence-building
measures that gradually increase trust
linkage
lumps together diverse issues so that compromises on one can be traded off against another in a grand deal
militarism
glorification of war, military force and violence through TV, films, books, political speeches, toys, games, sports, and other such avenues. Refers to the structuring of society around war
positive peace
refers to a peace that resolves the underlying reasons for war - peace that is not just a cease-fire but a transformation of relationships.
structural violence
poverty, hunger and oppression as forms of violence. Called structural violence because it is caused by the structure of social relations rather than by direct actions such as shooting people.
difference feminism
valorizing the feminine. Valuing the unique contributions of women as women. Do not think women do all things as well as men or vice versa.
liberal feminism
men and women are equal. deplore the exclusion of women from positions of power in IR but do not believe that including women would change the nature of the international system.
postmodern feminism
rejects the assumptions about gender made by both difference and liberal feminists.
foreign policy process
how polices are arrived at and implemented
foreign polices
the strategies governments use to guide their actions in the international arena.
comparative foreign policy
the study of foreign policy in various states in order to discover whether similar types of societies or governments consistently have similar types of foreign policies
decision makers
active people in states (usually people in government)
rational model
in this model, decision makers set goals, evaluate their relative importance, calculate the costs and benefits of each possible course of action, then choose the one with the highest benefits and lowest costs.
organizational process model
alternative to the rational model of decision making. Foreign policy decision makers generally skip the labor-intensive process of identifying goals and alternative actions, relying instead for most decisions on standardized responses or standard operating procedures
government bargaining (or bureaucratic politics) model
foreign policy decisions result from the bargaining process among various government agencies with somewhat divergent interests in the outcome.
Beyond individual idiosyncrasies in goals or decision-making processes, individual decision making diverges from the rational model in at least three systematic ways.
First, decision makers suffer from misperceptions and selective perceptions (taking in only some kinds of information). Second, the rationality of individual cost-benefit calculations is undermined by emotions that decision makers feel while thinking about the consequences of their actions - an effect referred to as affective bias. Third, cognitive biases are systematic distortions of rational calculations based not on emotional feelings but simply on the limitations of the human brain in making choices.
prospect theory
provides an alternative explanation of decisions made under risk or uncertainty. Decision makers go through two phases. In the editing phase they frame the options available and the probabilities of various outcomes associated with each option. Then in the evaluation phase, they assess the options and choose one.
groupthink
refers to the tendency for groups to reach decisions without accurately assessing their consequences, because individual members tend to go along with ideas they think the others support.