International Relations Key Terms

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European Economic Community

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EEC - The regional trade and economic organization established in Western Europe by the Treaty of Rome in 1958; also known as the common market.

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Maastricht Treaty

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The most significant agreement in the recent history of the EU - signed by leaders of the EU's 12 member countries in 1991 and outlines steps toward further political-economic integration.

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European Union

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The Western European regional organization established in 1983 when the Maastricht Treaty went into effect. The EU encompasses the still legally existing European Community, the EEC and EURATOM.

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UNCPD

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UN Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, Egypt in 1994. Called for a program of action to foster family planning and improve the access of women in such areas of education.

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UNSC

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UN Security Coucil - main peacekeeping organ of the UN. Made up of 15 members, 5 of which are permanent: China, France, Russia, US and UK.

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GATT

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General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade - the world's primary organization promoting the expansion of free trade, established in 1947. Membership of over 119 countries

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WTO

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World Trade Organization - the organization that replaced GATT as an organization and now implements it as a treaty.

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IMF

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International Monetary Fund - the world's primary organization devoted to maintaining monetary stability by helping countries to fund balance-of-payment deficits. Established 1947, over 180 members.

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IGO

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International/transnational actors that are composed of member-countries (IMF, WTO)

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NGO

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international (transnational) organizations with private memberships (the ACLU, Green Cross Int'l)

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supranational organization

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Founded/operates on the idea that international organizations can or should have authority higher than individual states and that those states should be subordinate to the supranational organization (EU? UN? disputed)

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veto

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A negative vote cast in the UNSC by one of the five permanent members that defeats the issue being voted on.

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functionalism & functional relations

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International cooperation in specific areas such as communications, trade, travel, health, or environmental protection activity. Reflected in specialized agencies like the World Health Organization.
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Relations that include interaction in usually nonpolitical areas.

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naturalist school of law

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Humans, by nature, have certain rights and obligations. Lockian thought.

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positivist school of law

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Those who believe that law reflects society and the way that people want the society to operate.

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cultural imperialism

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The attempt to impose your own value system on others, including judging others by how closely they conform to your norms. Relativists accuse universalists of doing this.

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adjudication

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the legal process of deciding an issue through the courts

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Pacta sunta servanda

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Latin - "agreements must be kept." The oldest principle of international law. Without it, no int'l agreement would be binding or enforceable. Directly referred to in many int'l agreements governing treaties.

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current dollars

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The value of the dollar in the year for which it is being reported. Sometimes called inflated dollars. Any currency can be expressed in current value.

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Dependency theory

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The beleif that the industrialized North has created a neocolonial relationship with the South in which the less developed countries are dependent on and disadvantaged by their economic relations with the capital industrial countries.

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exchange rate

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The value of two currencies relative to each other- for example, how many yen equal a dollar or how many euro equal a pound.

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FDI

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Foreign direct investment - Buying stock, real estate, and other assets in another country with the aim of gaining a controlling interest in foreign economic enterprises. Different from portfolio investment.

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FPI

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Foreign portfolio investment - Investment in the stocks and the public/private debt instruments (such as bonds) of another country below the level where the stock or bondholder can exercise control over the policies of the stock-issuing company or the bond-issuing debtor. Solely to gain capital appreciation through market fluctuations.

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interdependence

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The close interrelationship and mutual dependence of two or more domestic economies on each other.`

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IPE

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International political economy - An approach to the study of IR that is concerned with the political determinants of int'l economic relations and also with the economic determinants of int'l political relations.

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LDCs

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Least developed countries - Countries, located mainly in Africa, Asia and Latin America, with economics that rely heavily on the production of agriculture and raw materials and whose per capita GDP and standard of living are substantially below Western standards.

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merchandise trade

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The import and export of tangible manufactured goods and raw materials.

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monetary relations

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The entire scope of int'l money issues, such as exchange rates, interest rates, loan policies, balance of payments and regulating institutions (for example, the IMF).

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MNCs

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Multinational corporations - Private enterprises that have production subsidiaries or branches in more than one country.

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neocolonialism

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The notion that EDCs continue to control and exploit LDCs through indirect means, such as economic dominance and co-opting the local elite.

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NICs

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Newly industrialized countries - Less developed countries whose economies and whose trade now include significant amounts of manufactured products. As a result, these countries have a per capita GDP significantly higher than the average per capita GDP for less developed countries.

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primary products

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Agricultural products and raw materials, such as minerals.

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real dollars

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The value of dollars expressed in terms of a base year. This is determined by taking current value and subtracting the amount of inflation between the base year and the year being reported. Sometimes called uninflated dollars. Any currency can be valued in real terms.

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services trade

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Trade based on the purchase (import) from or sale (export) to another country of intangibles such as architectural fees, insurance premiums, royalties on movies, books, patents and other intellectual properties, shipping services, advertising fees, and educational programs.

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cartel

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An international agreement among producers of a commodity that attempts to control the production and pricing of that commodity.

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conditionality

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A term that refers to the policy of the IMF, the World Bank, and some other international financial agencies to attach conditions to their loans and grants. These conditions may require recipient countries to devalue their currencies, to lift controls on prices, to cut their budgets, and to reduce barriers to trade and capital flows. Such conditions are often politically unpopular, may cause at least short-term economic pain, and are construed by critics as interference in recipient countries’ sovereignty.

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CITs

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Countries in transition - a nation that is in a state of transition, whether it be social, economic, political or otherwise. Transitions can be very different in nature. Ex) Bolshevik revolution, American revolution, Chinese Revolution.

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free trade

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A market model in which trade in goods and services between or within countries flows unhindered by government-imposed restrictions (like taxes, tariffs, and non-tariff barriers like subsidies).

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G77

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Group of 77 - the group of 77 countries of the South that cosponsored the Joint Declaration of Developing Countries in 1963 calling for greater equity in N-S trade. Now includes 133 members and represents the interests of the less developed countries of the South.

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Group of 7

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The seven economically largest free market countries: Canada, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Japan, the US, and now also Russia, making it the group of 8.

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Hard currency

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Currencies, such as dollars, euros, and yen, that are acceptable in private channels of int'l economics.

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NTB

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non-tariff barrier - a non-monetary restriction on trade, such as quotas, technical specifications, or unnecessarily lengthy quarantine and inspection procedures.

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NAFTA

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North American Free Trade Agreement - An economic agreement among Canada, Mexico and the US that wen into effect on Jan 1, 1994. It will eliminate most trade barriers by 2009 and will also eliminate or reduce restrictions on foreign investments and other financial transactions among the NAFTA countries.

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protectionism

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Using tariffs and non-tariff barriers such as quotas subsidies to protect a domestic economic sector from competition from imported goods or services.

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SDRs

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Special drawing rights - Reserves held by the IMF that central banks of member-countries can draw on to help manage the values of the currencies. SDR value is based on a "market-base" of currencies, and SDRs are acceptable in transactions between central banks.

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tariff

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A tax, usually based on the percentage of value, that importers must pay on items purchased abroad; also known as an important tax or import duty.

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fourth world

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Refers to a sub-population subjected to social exclusion in global society, but since the 1974 publication of The Fourth World: An Indian Reality of George Manuel, Cheif of the National Indian Brotherhood - Assembly of First Nations, fourth world has come to be known as a synonym for stateless nations

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social Darwinism

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A theory that competition between all individuals, groups, nations or ideas drives social evolution in human societies. The term is an extension of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution where competition between individual organisms drives biological evolutionary change (speciation) through the survival of the fittest.

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Jihad

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"strive" or "struggle" in Arabic. An Islamic term, considered to be a duty by most faithful Muslims to struggle in the way of God or to struggle to improve one's self and/or society. Often used in reference to military combat.

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Zionism

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The belief that Jews are a nation and that they should have an independent homeland.

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carrying capacity

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The number of people that an environment, such as the Earth, can feed, provide water for, and otherwise sustain

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sustainable development

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The ability to continue to improve the quality of life of those in the industrialized countries and, particularly, those in the less developed countries while simultaneously protecting the Earth's biosphere.

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codify

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to write down a law in formal language

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Balfour Declaration

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A formal statement of policy by the British government in 1917 stating, among other things, that the Jewish plans for a national home for their people within Palestine‎ was supported by the Britain. So -- Jews thought they had the right to live there, Palestinians were already there and thought they had the right to stay. Conflict starts here.

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Soviet New Economic Policy

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Restored private ownership to small parts of the economy, loosened trade restrictions, and tried to regain alliances with foreign countries. Succeeded in creating an economic recovery after the devastating effects of WWI.