Chapter 3 - International Relations

Alliances

Coalitions of states formed for mutual protection.

Deterrence

The use of power resources to discourage a state from acting aggressively.

Relative gains

As opposed to absolute gains, which are simply the total materials gains made by a state, these focus on the gains one state makes compared to a rival.

Power transitions

When the relative power of two (or more) states changes, often due to technological innovations and uneven economic growth.

Peaceful change

The problem of how the international system copes with the transition of order based on the domination of one state over other states.

Modernization

The idea that humankind is constantly inventing, innovating, improving, and creating.

Commercial liberalism

The idea that market society and economic interdependence tend to have a pacifying impact on relations among states.

Functionalism

The liberal idea that institutions are tools that allow states to develop more efficient and durable forms of cooperation.

Transnationalism

The tendency of groups within countries to build cooperative associations with groups in other countries.

Cosmopolitanism

The idea that all humans are, or should be, considered part of a single world community. It can be contrasted with nationalism.

Idealism

The notion that ideas matter in international relations.

Global civil society

The realm of private activity that lies outside the political system, where religious, ethnic, and civic groups flourish. It refers to these transnational groups and activities across borders.

Normative change

The idea that as global learning and international socialization occur, ideas about what is or is not acceptable or 'normal' change. As it occurs, it can impact international relations.

Strategic culture

Refers to assumptions about the nature of the global system - for example, which states are friends and enemies - and strategies of action that are shared by government elites.

Mode of production

The basic organization of the economy - the way in which people relate to one another and to the material world.

Relations of production

The system by which the people in a productive system are related, or the relations between those people.

Socioeconomic classes

Groupings of peoples based on their relationship to the economy.

Class conflict

Conflict between the capitalist owners of wealth and industrial production and the workers they employ.

Revolution

According to Marxism, class conflict will reach a breakpoint when the workers take control from the capitalist owners. This is the dominant mode of political change in the Marxist school.

Hegemony

The dominance of one state over other states. Many scholars believe that an international system of this is most prone to peace.

Transnational business

Businesses that operate across state lines.

Democratic peace theory

The theory that democracies are unusually peaceful toward each other.

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.