Yale Plsc 111 Final

Front 1

absolute / relative gain

Back 1

arrangements that benefit a state, even though they may benefit other states at the same time. // arrangements that benefit one state to a greater degree than they do others.

Front 2

anarchy

Back 2

a system that operates without higher autority; central feature of the westphalian system.

Front 3

arms race

Back 3

a action/reaction pattern characterised by states acquiring weapons in response to a rival's acquisition of weapons.

Front 4

balance of power

Back 4

an arrangement, bipolar or multipolar, where capabilities are equally distributed among the main actors

Front 5

brinkmanship

Back 5

pushing a contest to point where either actor is threatened with great harm or death

Front 6

communitarianism

Back 6

the belief that conceptions of justice arise from the historical, cultural, and religious experiences shared by the members of a political community

Front 7

cosmopolitanism

Back 7

the belief that the conception of justice stems from being in the community of mankind, rather than a particularly political community.

Front 8

democratic peace

Back 8

the phenomenon whereby stable democracies are unlikely to militarily dispute each other, or let such disputes escalate to war.

Front 9

deterrence

Back 9

a policy aimed at influencing another state to not do something it would otherwise do.

Front 10

double effect

Back 10

the rule in just war tradition that noncombatant deaths be unintended and proportional to the legitimate end sought.

Front 11

discrimination

Back 11

in just war doctrine, the requirement that combatants respect the immunity of noncombatants from direct, deliberate attack

Front 12

failed state

Back 12

a state that cannot provide its citizens with the expected level of security and well being

Front 13

externality

Back 13

the benefits or costs of goods experienced by those who do not own/contributed to them.

Front 14

first-strike capability

Back 14

the ability to launch an initial nuclear attack on an opponent and greatly reduce its ability to retaliate

Front 15

globalization

Back 15

the process by which political, economic, and sociocultural transactions are decreasingly constrained by by national boundaries and the authority of national gov'ts

Front 16

hegemony

Back 16

an arrangement where one state, by virtue of military and economic predominance, is able to determine and maintain essential rules which govern int. relations

Front 17

humanitarian intervention

Back 17

the use of military force without consent from the target nation in wihch the main purpose is to relieve suffering

Front 18

just war tradition

Back 18

a set of rules detailing the circumstances going to war (jus ad bellum) and in war (jus in bellum)

Front 19

levels of analysis

Back 19

a framework for organising explanations in world politics in terms of the size and complexity of the actors, behavior, and outcomes in volved.

Front 20

liberalism

Back 20

a perspective that emphasizes the importance of institutions and linkages between states for facilitating cooperation, coordination, and nonviolent modes of conflict resolution

Front 21

lifeboat ethics

Back 21

earth is like a lifeboat-sharing resources threatens to submerge the boat.

Front 22

military-industrial complex

Back 22

sects of society that benefit from spending on national defese, including the defense industry and the professional military establishment.

Front 23

minimum deterrence

Back 23

nuclear strategy requiring only a secondary strike capability--achievable with only a small nuclear stockpile.

Front 24

modern state system

Back 24

established by the peace of westphalia in 1648; system of nation states all with sovereign authority over internal affairs.

Front 25

multilateralism

Back 25

an approach to foreign policy that treats international collaboration as a binding norm, not simply as appropriate when it promotes the state's self interest. "many sided action"--many states backing.

Front 26

unilateralism

Back 26

one-sided action, which may be in disregard of other actors.

Front 27

MNC

Back 27

company with subsidaries in more than one country

Front 28

nation

Back 28

a people who feel themselves part of some large identity group

Front 29

nation state

Back 29

a state that identifies itself as a nation

Front 30

nationalism

Back 30

the psychological, cultural, and social forces that drive the formation of a nation and sustain national identity

Front 31

NGO

Back 31

transnational organization run by private actors.

Front 32

natural law

Back 32

rights and responsibilities presumed to apply to all humans, irrespective of their status as citizens of states.

Front 33

normative theory

Back 33

theoretical statements about the rightness or wrongness of what international actors do

Front 34

north-south gap

Back 34

the disparity in development between industrialized countries (northern hemisphere) and the developing countries in the South

Front 35

nuclear triad

Back 35

bomb carrying aircraft, subs, and land based missiles.

Front 36

Peace of Westphalia

Back 36

settlement ending thirty year's war, reinforced sovereignty of monarchs, dawn of modern state system

Front 37

pooled soverignty

Back 37

nature of authority existing in a complex of intergovernmental and supranational organizations, such as those comprising the EU

Front 38

positivist view

Back 38

international law consists of nothing more than the customs, agreements, and treaties that states actually make

Front 39

proportionality

Back 39

just war doctrine--the requirement that the legitimate end sought by the aggressor must outweigh the harm resulting from the war.

Front 40

realism

Back 40

emphasizes importance of self-interest, power, and the compeitiveness of states under anarchy

Front 41

relative deprivation

Back 41

cause of civil conflict--when people feel deprived relative to others or their own expectations

Front 42

second strike capability

Back 42

capabiloty to absorb a nuclear attack, then inflict unacceptable damage in retaliation

Front 43

security dilemma

Back 43

one state's security is seen as another state's insecurity, which leads to a vicious cycle of power accumulation

Front 44

self defense

Back 44

the right to reverse an act of armed aggression

Front 45

social constructivism

Back 45

emphasizes the importance of shared meanings and ideas in the construction of interests, institutions, and identities in world politics.

Front 46

soft power

Back 46

ability to exercise influence through attraction, as opposed to coercion.

Front 47

sovereignty

Back 47

external: independence from outside authority--internal: absolute authority over internal affairs

Front 48

spaceship earth

Back 48

limited resources--we must learn to sustain ourselves

Front 49

supranational authority

Back 49

when an international instutition is able to override the national governments of member states on certain issues

Front 50

terrorism

Back 50

acts perpetrated in order to achieve a political end; usually target noncombatants in order to psychologically effect populations

Front 51

theory

Back 51

helps show how phenomena are interrelated; a lens for organizing the complexity of the world.

Front 52

tragedy fo the comons

Back 52

threat o shared resources that comes from individuals having few incentives to curve destructive behavior

Front 53

asian values

Back 53

intrinsically Asian ideals that motivated economic success in Asia; based off an emphasis on education, respecting authority and elders over the individual

Front 54

asymmetric threat

Back 54

threat of warfare using technology and psychology to target vulnerabilities of a foe in a non-conventional manner.

Front 55

balance of terror

Back 55

both countries need to create an escalation ladder, to prepare for a full range of possible conflicts as to prevent nuclear war

Front 56

bandwagoning

Back 56

aligning of states iwth a greater power to share the spoils of dominance.

Front 57

capital flight

Back 57

moving money outof the local currency and country because of inflation and economic or political instability

Front 58

clash of civilizations

Back 58

thesis advanced by Huntington that past and future global conflights can be traced along the fault lines of nine major world civilizations

Front 59

constructivism

Back 59

elevates discourse and ideas over the power of institutions or power.

Front 60

containment

Back 60

policy of US duriing cold war...

Front 61

counterforce weapons

Back 61

aimed at other missles

Front 62

countervalue weapons

Back 62

aimed at population and industrial centers

Front 63

critical theory perspectiveq

Back 63

can events be explained apart from historical perspective? focuses instead on social and political change that unfolds.

Front 64

end of history

Back 64

francis fukuyama, spread of democracy will end in equal recognition of everyone, and violent conflict (thus history) will end.

Front 65

exceptionalism

Back 65

kinda like asian values--a state is distinct due to its specific history and circumstances

Front 66

federalism

Back 66

method of decentralizing power to accomodate tribal and regional differences

Front 67

global war on terror

Back 67

military campaign to defeat nonstate terrorists group and rogue state actors that assist terrorists.

Front 68

imperial overstretch

Back 68

the squandering of resources by a power in proxy wars.

Front 69

legitimacy

Back 69

the right to use power in international affairs

Front 70

nation-building

Back 70

process by which ethnic groups evolve to nationhood

Front 71

reciprocity

Back 71

states behaving toward one another based largely on mutual exchanges that entail interdependent benefits or disadvantages

Front 72

relativism

Back 72

truth and morality are relative to each individual/culture---one should "live and let live"

Front 73

rogue states

Back 73

states that systematically seek nuclear weapons with intent of passing them to terrorists

Front 74

self-determination

Back 74

the right of autonomy for nations--may adopt whatever substantive identities they wish, democratic or non democratic.

Front 75

social constructivism

Back 75

states only know who they are from collective discourse in which they differentiate themselves from others.

Front 76

universalism

Back 76

truth and morals are universal and absolute--one cannot adjust moral behavior to circumstances w.o being relativist.