International Politics

balance of power

the general concept of the power of one or more states being used to balance that of another state or group of states. The term can refer to (1) any ratio of power capabilities between states or alliances (2) a relatively equal ratio, or (3) the process by which counterbalancing coalitions have repeatedly formed to prevent one state from conquering an entire region

Polarity

an international power distribution (world or regional) refers to the number of independent power centers in the system / multipolar system, bipolar system, unipolar or hegemonic

Liberalism

 there are ways to reduce or avoid conflicts between countries. Focuses on things like cooperation, international laws, and organizations to help countries get along.

classical idealism 

a theoretical perspective that argues a nation's foreign policy should be guided by its internal political values, such as democracy and human rights, with the goal of creating a more peaceful and cooperative world order

league of nations

an international organization founded after World War I to resolve disputes peacefully and prevent future wars, it aimed to promote international cooperation but ultimately failed due to a lack of support from major powers, weaknesses in its structure, and its inability to enforce decisions.

collective security system

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

(neo) liberal institutionalism

a theory emphasizing that international institutions and regimes are crucial for fostering cooperation among states in an anarchic world. Despite the lack of a central world authority, states can still achieve mutually beneficial outcomes through collaboration.

Interdependence

a political and economic situation in which two states are simultaneously dependent on each other for their well-being. The degree of interdependence is sometimes designated in terms of “sensitivity” or “vulnerability”

Regime

a set of principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures that govern a specific area of international activity, shaping the expectations and behavior of states and other actors.

Collective goods problem (& free riders)

a tangible or intangible good, created by the members of a group, that is available to all group members regardless of their individual contributions; participants can gain by lowering their own contribution to the collective good, yet if too many participants do so, the good cannot be provided 

Democratic Peace Hypothesis

operates on state level analysis. One theory they considered was that democracies are generally more peaceful than authoritarian governments (fighting fewer, or smaller, wars) could fight against authoritarian states

Marxist Theory

a theory that holds that the more powerful classes oppress and exploit the less powerful by denying them their fair share of the surplus they create

Postmodernism

an approach that denies the existence of single fixed reality and pays special attention to texts and to discourses-that is, to how people talk and write about a subject 

Constructivists 

Determines how states form their identities and perceive each other. They see institutions, regimes, norms, and changes in identity as better explanations.

Norms

the shared expectations about what behavior is considered proper

Liberal Feminism

a strand of feminism that emphasizes gender equality and views the “essential” differences in men’s and women’s abilities or perspectives as trivial or nonexistent (think that women can be just as realist as men)

Difference Feminism

a strand of feminism that believes gender differences are not just socially constructed and that views women as inherently less warlike than men (on average) 

Essentialist Feminism 

gender is rooted in a fixed, inherent “essence” often tied to biological sex. for some difference feminists, this essence suggests that women are naturally more nurturing, empathetic or connected to nature than men

Postmodern Feminism

an effort to combine feminist and postmodernist perspectives with the aim of uncovering the hidden influences of gender in IR and showing how arbitrary the construction of gender role is

Leninist theory 

theory of imperialism argued that European capitalists were investing in colonies where they could earn big profits and then using part of these profits to buy off the working class at home

international system 

the set of relationships among the world’s states, structured by certain rules and patterns of interaction

states 

a territorial entity controlled by a government and inhabited by a population or entities that exercise authority over geographically specified territory and permanent population and are formally recognized by other states

nations

grouping of people who share a common understanding of their identity, history, language, culture

Treaty of Westphalia: 1648

ended the Thirty Years’ War. It set out the basic rules that have defined the international system ever since—the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states as equal and independent members of an international system

supra-national actors

intergovernmental organization (IGOs) International non-governmental orgs (INGOs) multinational corporations (MNCs)

non-state actors

actors other than state governments that operate within below the level of the state (that is, within states) 

state actors

someone or a group that represents a government or country. example: Presidents,  Powerful political figures are “state leaders”  Military forces, Government officials, Spy agencies

sub-national actors

politicians, bureaucracies, domestic interest groups, ethnic and sectarian groups

sovereignty

the ability to exclude external authority or a state’s right, at least in principle, to do whatever it wants within its own territory; traditionally, sovereignty is the most important international norm

containment

a strategy used by one country to stop another country from spreading it’s power or influence, usually without directly attacking it

positivism

universe is objective and knowable, facts are distinct from values, possible to ascertain facts without reference to values, scientific method

ontology

what exists, what are the main actors or forces in world politics

epistemology

how we know? how can we study or understand these actors and forces?

classical realsim

because humans are selfish and power-hungry states act the same way in world politics always competing for power and security in a world with non higher authority. Towards individual analysis

neorealism

its not because people are selfish that state’s fight its because the international system has no ruler fight-its because the international system has no ruler so states must compete for power to survive. Focuses on system structure

anarchy

in IR theory, a term that implies not complete chaos but the lack of central government that can enforce rules

morality in realism

realists believe that moral values like justice, peace, or human rights are important but in international politics they cannot come before survival & national interest

Machiavelli

ultimately there is within human nature a lust for power, politics has a moral logic of its own, ethics are a function of politics has a moral logic of its own, ethics are a function of politics, not visa vera “he who neglects what is done for what ought to be done sooner effects his ruin”

Thucydides

the real cause… the growth of power of the Athens and the alarm which this inspired in Lacedaemon, made war inevitable “the strong do what they can the weak do what they must”

Hobbes

hypothetical state of nature “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short” domestic anarchy transcended by the all powerful Leviathan. no such possibility at international level

arms races

two or more countries compete to build up their military forces

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

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) A U.S.-led military alliance, formed in 1949 with mainly western european members, to oppose and deter soviet power in Europe. it is currently expanding into the former soviet bloc

deterrence 

the threat to punish another actor if it takes a certain negative action (especially attacking one’s own state or one’s allies 

Power resources: Tangible

GDP, population, territory, geography, and natural resources.

Power resources: Intangible

soft power, politcal culture, patriotism, education of the population, and strength of the scientific and technological base.

Power capabilities: tangible

size, composition, and preparedness of the military; military industrial capacity efficiency of state machinery

power capabilities: intangible

support and legitimacy from population loyalty of army, reputation with allies

Rationality 

the idea that states or other states make decisions logically too achieve their goals, usually survival security, or power

cost-benefit analysis

a calculation of the costs to be incurred by a possible action and the benefits it is likely to bring

security dilemma

a situation in which actions that states take to ensure their own security (such as deploying more military forces) are perceived as threats to the security of other states

zero-sum games

situations in which one actor’s gain is by definition equal to the other’s loss, as opposed to a non-zero-sum games, in which it is possible for both actors to gain (or lose)

absolute gains

are the total benefits a state receives from cooperation, regardless of how other states gain

relative gains 

focuses on a states advantage compared to others, viewing gains for one as a potential loss for another

balance of power

the general concept of the power of one or more states being used to balance that of another state or group of states. the term can refer to (1) any ratio of power capabilities between states or alliances, (2) a relatively equal ration, or (3) the process by which counterbalancing coalitions have repeatedly formed to prevent one state from conquering an entire region

World Trade Organization

(WHO) an organization based in Geneva that provides technical assistance to improve health conditions in the third world and conducts major immunization campaigns

U.S. China Relations

China’s harmful and unfair economic practices, including trade in illicit goods, use of forced labor, and theft of sensitive technologies pose risks to the U.S. economic and security interests.

Russia/Ukraine

Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia occupied and annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Still an ongoing war, Russia stilling fighting for more territory in Ukraine

United Nations

to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation in solving economic, social, cultural, and humanitarian problems, and to promote and encourage respect for human rights

Iran Nuclear Deal

Under its terms, Iran agreed to dismantle much of its nuclear program and open its facilities to more extensive international inspections in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of sanctions relief.

U.S. Foreign Policymakers

secretary of the state: Marco Rubio

Secretary of Defense: Pete Hegseth

Ambassador to the United Nations: Michael Waltz

Director of National Intelligence: Tulsi Gabbard

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency: John Ratcliffe

Individual analysis

concerns the perceptions, choices, and actions of individual human beings. (ex. great leaders, crazy leaders, decison making in crises, psychology of perception and decision, citizens participation, learning)

State anaylsis

concerns the aggregations of individuals within states that influence state actions in the international arena. (ex. nationalism, ethnic conflict, type of government, democracy, dictatorship, political parties and elections, public opinion, gender, military-industrial complex)

system anaylsis 

focuses on the interactions of states themselves, without regard to their internal makeup or the particular individuals who lead them (ex. north-south gap, european imperialism, norms, distribution of powers, balance of powers, world environment, technological change, wars, military alliances, IGOs, trade agreements, global telecommunications

IGOs - intergovernmental organizations

memebers are national governments; united nations, NATO, arab league

NGOs-nongovernmental organizations 

memebers are individuals and groups; amnesty international, lions clubs, red cross 

MNCs - multinational corporations 

companies that span borders; ExxonMobil, Toyota, Walmart 

conflict of interest (territory)

territorial disputes (about where borders are drawn) and conflicts over control of entire states within existing borders. (ex. airspace, territorial waters, interstate borders, secession)

secession-contflict of interest (territory)

efforts by a province or region to pull awy from an existing state are a special type of conflict over borders-efforts to draw international borders around a new state

conflict of interest (control of governments)

states do not interfere in each other's governance because of the norm of sovereignty; however, states often have strong interests in the governments of other states and use a variety of means of leverage to influence who holds power in those states

conflict of interest (economic)

Economic competition is the most pervasive form of conflict in international relations because economic transactions are widespread

conflict of ideas (ethnicity)

• Territorial control is closely tied to the aspirations of ethnic groups for statehood.

• ethnic conflict itself stems from a dislike or hatred that members of one ethnic group systematically feel toward another ethnic group

conflict of ideas (religion)

people whose religious practices differ are easily disdained and treated as unworthy or even inhuman. When overlaid on ethnic and territorial conflicts, religion often surfaces as the central and most visible division between groups

conflict of ideas (ideology)

• symbolizes and intensifies conflicts between groups and states more than it causes them

• is like religion

pose somewhat fewer problems for the international system (but they do get into conflict)