PSCI247

Anarchy

Absence of a central authority in international relations.

Cold War

Geopolitical tension between the US and USSR.

Comparative Advantage

Ability to produce goods at lower opportunity cost.

Constructivism

Theory emphasizing social constructs in international relations.

Democratic Peace Hypothesis

Democracies rarely go to war with each other.

Deterrence

Strategy to prevent aggression through threat of retaliation.

Hegemony

Dominance of one state over others in international system.

Liberalism

Theory advocating for cooperation and international institutions.

Manifest Destiny

19th-century doctrine justifying US territorial expansion.

Mercantilism

Economic theory prioritizing state power through trade.

Nash Equilibrium

Situation where no player benefits from changing strategy.

Prisoner's Dilemma

Game theory scenario illustrating cooperation vs. betrayal.

Security Dilemma

Situation where one state's security measures threaten others.

Zero-sum Game

Situation where one player's gain equals another's loss.

Public Good

Non-excludable and non-rivalrous resource or service.

Polarity

Distribution of power in international relations.

Tariff

Tax on imported goods to protect domestic industries.

9-Dash Line

China's claim over parts of the South China Sea.

South China Sea

Strategically important maritime region with territorial disputes.

Spratly Islands

Group of islands in South China Sea with contested claims.

Identity

Understanding of self in relation to others in politics.

Free Rider

Individual benefiting from resources without contributing.

Monroe Doctrine

US policy opposing European colonialism in Americas.

Dyadic Democratic Peace Mechanisms

Peace between pairs of democratic states.

Monadic Democratic Peace Mechanisms

Peace associated with individual democratic states.

Realism

Theory focusing on power and national interest.

Neorealism

Structural realism emphasizing international system's influence.

Defensive Structural Realism

Focus on state security and survival.

Offensive Structural Realism

Focus on state expansion and power maximization.

Neoclassical Realism

Combines international structure with domestic factors.

Power Transition Realism

Focus on rise and fall of great powers.

Sucker's Payoff

Outcome where a player cooperates but is betrayed.

Temptation Payoff

Outcome where a player betrays for maximum gain.

Vladimir Putin

Current President of Russia, known for assertive policies.

Xi Jinping

Current General Secretary of the Communist Party of China.

Joe Biden

President of the United States

Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine, notable for wartime leadership.

Donald Trump

45th President of the United States

Immanuel Kant

Greatest German philosopher of Enlightenment-separated science and morality into separate branches of knowledge-science could describe nature, it could not provide a guide for morality. Wrote Critique of Pure Reason

Martha Finnemore

constructivist scholar known for work on norms in international relations.

John Mearsheimer

Realist theorist known for offensive realism.

Stephen Walt

Defensive. Scholar known for balance of threat theory.

Kenneth Waltz

The original neorealism

John Forbes Nash Jr.

Mathematician known for contributions to game theory.

Richard Nixon

Former US President, known for foreign policy initiatives.

Alexander Wendt

Anarchy is what states make of it

Norms

rules and expectations by which a society guides the behavior of its members

Narendra Modi

Prime Minister of India

Neoclassical Realism

a theory in international relations that emphasizes the influence of domestic politics on a state's foreign policy, integrating both realist and liberal perspectives.

Mao Zedong

Chinese communist revolutionary and founding father of the People's Republic of China.