Global Politics IB Core content and concepts

actor

An entity capable of taking meaningful action or effecting change. Actors can be us as individuals or all the way up to the most powerful states and intergovernmental organisations

Appeasement

A political policy of conceding to aggression by another nation to prevent future wars

Authoritarian State

An authoritarian state is one where the political power is concentrated in an institution and not the people of that state. (e.g. North Korea, Saudi Arabia)

Balance of power

A condition where no state predominates over others quelling the hegemonic ambitions of most states

Bilateral

Refers to the relations between states.

Bipolar world order

A global system where power resonates around two nations. (e.g. In the cold war, the US and Soviet Union formed a bipolar world order)

The Bush Doctrine

The Bush Doctrine is a foreign policy strategy implemented by President George W. Bush that emphasized preemptive strikes against potential threats to the United States, including the use of military force to protect national security interests.

Capitalism

An economic system where profit is the main motivation for economic activity, property is privately owned, a free market determines the supply and price of goods.

Collective security

Idea of common defence where a number of states agrees to defend each other, ‘all for one and one for all.’ NATO

Colonialism

A state seeking to establish or maintain control over other territories or people. (e.g. Britain and France were both former colonial powers)

Communism

A political system based on the work of Karl Marx where property is publicly owned, each person works and is paid according to their needs and abilities. (e.g. Cuba and China)

compellence

A tactic to force an adversary to make concessions against it will through war or the threat of.

Constitution

A set of fundamental principles that set out how a state should be governed. (e.g. US constitution or British constitution)

constitutive theory of statehood

A theory that says that states are only states because they are recognised by other states.

Constructivism

This is a theory that emphasises the socially constructed nature of international relations.

Credibility

The willingness of countries to carry through with its use of power such as weapons or resources.

Declarative theory of statehood

A theory that states are only states because they meet four criteria, 1. a defined territory, 2. a permanent population, 3. a government, 4. a capacity to enter into relations with other states

deterrence

principle that a state can be discouraged from acting against another state. This is usually due to the relative military strength. - CASE STUDY NORTH KOREA

Democratic state

where the power sits with the people and exercised through their elected agents. - That is indirect democracy

Diplomacy

Refers to the how the states manage their international relations. This is almost always carried out by a professional diplomat

Environmentalism

This is a political and ethical movement to protect and improve the quality of the environment through changing harmful human activity. NGOs such as Greenpeace or the various green political parties demonstrate commitment to environmentalism

External sovereignty

external sovereignty means that other states acknowledge the state’s internal sovereignty.

European Commission

is one of the institutions of the European Union and is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding EU treaties and carrying out the day to day business of the union. - The EC consists of 28 commissioners drawn from all EU member states.

European Parliament

is one of the institutions of the EU. It is the primary legislative body in the EU whose members are directly elected by national electorates.

European Union

An economic and political union of 28 countries in Europe, many of which also share a common currency.

executive

The branch of government responsible for putting policies and laws into practical effect.

failed state

a failed state is one in which the government is no longer capable of meeting the basic responsibilities of a sovereign government. Thus, we might consider Syria and Somalia as failed states.

feminism

feminism can be regarded the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of sexual equality.

fragile state

the term can be seen to mean a low-income country characterized by weak state legitimacy and/or weak state capacity. The World Bank defines fragile states as: 1. eligible for assistance from the International Development Association, 2. has had a UN peacekeeping mission in the last three years, and 3. has received a ‘governance’ score of less than 3.2

global governance

The movement towards political cooperation amongst transnational actors in order to develop solutions to problems affecting more than one state or region.

globalization

the increasing interaction of people and states through the increasing interaction of money, ideas and culture.

hegemon

A state that has dominance at either a regional or global level of analysis.

high politics

aspects of politics and international relations related to the very survival of the state, namely security concerns.

humanitarian intervention

military intervention in another sovereign state to prevent a humanitarian crisis like starvation or genocide

imperialism

The acquisitions of territories by a kingdom, empire or state.

interdependence

to the way in which states, organisations and even individuals are becoming increasingly important in terms of the effect they have on the lives of others.

Intergovernmental organization

An IGO is an organization that is made up of different national governments. The United Nations and NATO

Internal Sovereignty

refers to the supreme authority of a state within its territory

Internationalism

political principle that advocates greater cooperation between peoples and nations

Interstate War

War between two or more states

Intrastate war

war within a state; civil war

Judiciary

The branch of government responsible for interpreting policies and laws and ruling on their legality or otherwise

League of Nations

Set up after WW1 it is regarded as the predecessor to the UN. It wasn’t as effective as its founders wanted but it was significant because it was one of the first IGO’s to truly promote multilateralism as a means of conflict avoidance

legitimacy

Legitimacy is related to the concept of authority where legitimacy refers to the legitimisation of power by the government.

legislative

The branch of government responsible for creating laws

liberalism

theory of international relations that emphasises the interdependence between states and other actors in the global political system. Liberalism is one of the two most common theories (along with structural realism) that attempts to explain why states and other actors act in the way they do. It is based on the rights of the individual. liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, right to private property and equality before law

mandate

The authority to carry out a particular course of action as given to a political party during an election by the electorate.

Marxism

economic theories originally developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels that consider capitalism as exploitative and based on unequal class relations between the bourgeoisie and working class.

multilateral

multilateral is a term that refers to relations between more than two states. Equally, states that act multilaterally act along with at least two other states.

Multinational corporation (MNC)

A multinational corporation is a business organisation that operates in more than one state. MNCs have been criticised for the undue amount of influence they are able to wield, particularly in poorer states.

Multipolar world order

A global system in which power is concentrated around more than two nations

nation