Chapter 1 - International Relations

European Union

A group of 27 European countries that abide by common laws and practices.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

A defense pact formed in 1949 between North American and West European states. Today it includes 30 member states.

Euro

The common currency of the eurozone.

Berlin Wall

The wall dividing Communist-controlled East Berlin from Western-controlled West Berlin during the Cold War until its fall in 1989.

International governmental organizations (IGOs)

Organizations that states join to advance their interests.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

Nonprofit groups that work across borders on political or social issues,

National leaders

Individual office-holders who make foreign policy and military decisions on behalf of their countries.

Sovereignty

The capacity to govern residents within a given territory to establish relationships with governments that control other states.

State

A political entity with territorial borders and political authorities who enjoy sovereignty.

Nation

Collections of people who share a common culture, history, or language.

Nation-state

A political unit inhabited by people sharing common culture, history, or language.

Non-state actors

Consequential actors other than states that operate within or across state borders.

Civil society

Communities of private citizens that operate outside the sphere of government or business control.

Interest

Some condition of the world sufficiently important that a state is willing to pay meaningful costs to attain or maintain it.

Strategy

The connection by state leaders of means, or policy instruments, to ends, or policy objectives.

Policy instrument

A tool used by a state's government to attain its interests. These come in many forms, divided into persuasive and coercive forms.

Statecraft

The use of policy instruments, including military, diplomatic, and economic, to achieve foreign policy objectives.

Theory

A group of ideas intended to explain some empirical phenomenon.

Anarchy

The fact that in international relations there is no government of the whole world to adjudicate disputes among states and protect weak from strong ones.

Imperialism

A state strategy in which one country conquers foreign lands to turn them into colonies.

Scramble for Africa

The carving up of Africa by colonial powers after 1870

Levels of analysis

Different places to look for answers to questions in international relations, generally grouped into the individual, state, and international levels.

Democratic peace theory

The theory that democracies are unusually peaceful toward each other.

Enduring questions

Questions which have engaged and challenged generations of international relations scholars and students.

Developed countries

Wealthy countries with advanced economies.

Developing countries

Poor countries with small economies whose residents have not, on average, attained the living standards typically enjoyed by residents of wealthy countries.

Globalization

The ongoing process of international economic and technological integration, made possible by advances in transportation and communication.

Brexit

The decision made by British citizens in a popular referendum to have the United Kingdom leave the European Union.

Dissatisfied states

States who feel that their influence, status, and material benefits should be higher than what they are actually achieving.

Security dilemma

A situation in international politics in which one state takes steps to become more secure, yet ends up less secure due to the reactions it prompts in other states.