International Studies & Neoliberal Globalization Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core concepts in International Studies, state sovereignty, European colonialism, global economics, discourse analysis, and neoliberalism.

International Studies

The study of global interactions, the relations and tensions these interactions produce, and the forces and actors that play a role in them.

Polycrisis

A concept describing how major contemporary global challenges cannot be treated in isolation from one another.

"The West" (Stuart Hall)

An idea and concept that categorizes societies, provides a system of representation, and acts as a standard or model of comparison rather than a purely geographical designation.

Discourse

A structured system of meaning and rational body of speech or writing that shapes what people perceive, think, foreground, or render invisible in reality.

Communitarianism

A political and ethical perspective centered on commitments and obligations to one's specific local or political community.

Cosmopolitanism

A political and ethical perspective centered on commitments and obligations to the whole of humanity.

Critical Geopolitics

A field of study examining how space and power are linked, investigating the dominant geographical assumptions and spatial scripts embedded in world politics and foreign policy.

Scripting (in Geopolitics)

An active process by which the geographical complexity and richness of the world are reduced to schematic spatial templates or abstractions.

State

A political organization that successfully lays claim to a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical violence within a defined territory.

Sovereignty

The legal and political authority of a state to command and rule over a defined territory, characterized as absolute, unlimited, and free from external hierarchy.

Internal Sovereignty

The exclusive jurisdiction and political authority that a state exercises within its own borders.

External Sovereignty

The legal equality and independence of states in the international system, asserting that no state is subordinate to or a puppet of another.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

Two treaties negotiated in Germany that ended the Thirty Years War and marked the beginning of modern politics by directly linking political sovereignty to bounded territory.

Territory

A portion of bounded geographic space that is claimed or occupied by a person, group of persons, or institution.

Territorial Trap

A concept formulated by John Agnew identifying three assumptions: that states naturally have bounded territories, that domestic and international affairs are separate, and that the state is the natural container of society.

Capitalism

An economic system in which the means of production of goods and services are privately owned and operated for profit.

Bourgeoisie

The dominant capitalist class that owns capital and the means of production.

Proletariat

The working class who do not own capital and must live by selling their labor power in exchange for a wage.

Industrial Revolution

A historical period during which predominantly agrarian, rural societies shifted into urban, industrial societies powered by machinery, factories, and mass production.

Colonialism

The direct political control and command over a people by a foreign state or group inhabiting a separate territory.

Imperialism

A form of domination over other states or people through economic, military, or cultural power, which can operate from a distance without physical settler establishment.

Dependency Theory

An economic theory asserting that a country's economic status is dictated by global imperialist structures and external constraints rather than solely internal conditions.

Mercantilism

An economic theory dominant in Europe from the 16th to 18th centuries promoting government regulation of the economy through protectionist policies to increase state power.

Bretton Woods Conference (1944)

A 1944 conference of 44 allied nations that established the post-WWII international financial order and created the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Neoliberalism

A political and economic ideology advocating free markets, minimal state intervention, privatization, deregulation, and the governing rationality that every entity and field of activity is economized as a market or firm.

Washington Consensus

A framework of neoliberal economic policies for developing countries emphasizing deregulation, privatization, stabilization, and opening national borders to foreign trade.

Liberalization

The removal of governmental interference and barriers in markets to achieve the free flow of money, goods, services, and capital.

Privatization

The transfer of ownership and management of public entities, services, or collective goods to the private business sector.

Deregulation

The relaxation or removal of existing governmental controls and state regulatory functions over economic activities.

Stabilization

Economic restructuring aimed at reducing government spending and budget deficits, often resulting in fewer public sector jobs and reduced social program funding.

Parastatal Complex

An interrelated network of private corporations and government agencies whose mandates, responsibilities, and boundaries become intermixed and blurred.

Homo Oeconomicus

In neoliberal thought, a conceptual model of human beings as financialized human capital focused on continually enhancing market value across all fields of life.