PS Exam 3

Bretton Woods Institution

collective name given to international financial institutions made after WWII. World Bank and International Monetary Fund set up by 43 countries at big conference in Bretton Woods

Cold War

conflict between 2 largest powers in the world after WWII: US and USSR. Both sides invested tons in building up their militaries, but not combat actually happened

empirical

having to do with observation, theory, or logic

epistemology

branch of philosophy, asks how and why we know what we know, and how we distinguish fact from opinion and subjectivity from objectivty

global north

countries in Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan that were the first part of the world to industrialize in 19th cen. economic and political power relied on raw materials of countries from Global South

global south

countries that were either legally or economically colonized by countries of the global north, resulting in economic and political positions in the global political economy where they are marginalized especially in trade, finance, climate, and security issues

international relations

interdisciplinary field of study blending political science, law, history, anthropology, economics, linguistics, geography, philosophy, women’s studies, environmental science, etc that takes up questions of international, transnational, regional, and global politics and how these are influenced by and affect national and local politics

positivism

in IR, epistemology that holds that knowledge is the result of empirical data interpreted through reason and logic, as it might be in the natural sciences and math

racialize

process of constructing a political and social hierarchy by ascribing racial identities and political meaning to difference, often reified in social and political policies and institutions

sovereignty

a state’s control of their own affairs both domestically (internal) and externally (foreign policy)

structural violence

ways in which social structures or institutions systematically harm or disadvantage certain groups of people

anarchy

absence of centralized government, rules, enforced authority

balance of power

how power is distributed in the international system between states

bipolarity

two states competing for power/control in the international system

collective security

states working together to guarantee mutual defense

constructivism

social theory assertig that international relations and political reality are shaped by ideational factors: collectively held ideas, norms, beliefs rather than material power

domination

a social relationship where one person or group exercises arbitrary, unchecked pwoer over others, creating dependency and structural subordination

globalization

process by which countries have come to be more interdependent economically over time

hard power

measured by military capabilities, the size of the economy and population, and access to natural resources

hegemony

a system where power is concentrated in a super-power or hegemon that can structure the international system to its benefit

liberalism

theory emphasizing that cooperation, international institutions, economic interdependence, and democracy can foster peace, stability, and prosperity, countering the realist view of inherent conflict

multilateralism

negotiations and agreements between many states, not just two

multipolarity

system in which power is split between many states that can still differ in power but where no state or group dominates the system

national interest

sovereign state’s fundamental goals and ambitions (security, economic prosperity, power), that guides international relations

realism

theory emphasizing that global politics are competitive, anarchic struggle for power and security, where states act as self-interest, rational actors

soft power

diplomacy, cultural influence, and shared economic interests

sphere of influence

a spatial region or, conceptually, a domain over which a state, organization, or individual wields significant cultural, economic, military, or political authority

commodification

turning something or someone into nothing more than a commodity or object for sale

commodity fetishism

an understanding of the economy as based on market relations between commodities rather than social relationships between people

exchange rates

the rate at which currency in one denomination is exchanged for currency in another denomination

foreign currency

money in a domination different from your own

gross domestic product

the total measurable output of the national economy, valued in money terms

hierarchies of difference

the stratification of status and wealth along the lines of race, gender, class, nation, and other socially constructed categories, and the normalization of these inequalities

inflation

the increase in price levels without change of the underlying value, often over short time period

international political economy

the study of power and wealth across countries

market

the physical or virtual site where goods and services are exchanged, but also a way of organizing economic relations

microfinance

loans and savings instruments targeted at individuals and groups with no or little access to banking services

remittance economies

funds that migrant workers send back to households located in their home country

social construction

collective understandings that are the basis for shared assumptions about the world and how it works

social reproduction

the socially necessary work that is central to the production of life itself, including biological reproduction, careing for and maintaining households and intimate relationships, and the reproduction of labor and collective communtiy

developed countries

countries with established economies, less poverty? mostly global north

emerging economies

economies still growing/stabilizing, usually global south

international monetary fund

a bretton woods institutions, created for financial stability

millennium development goals

set by the UN for 2000-2015, about sustainability

political economy

intersection of political science and the economy, politics shaping economy and vice versa

poverty

state of severe deprivation of basic human needs, has gone down as emerging economies ‘catch up’

world bank

bretton woods institutions for loans to low/middle income countries

environment security

safety from natural disasters, climate events, contaminants, or other environmental factors that may cause humans danger

food security

availability of basic food needs, including but not limited to an appropriate number of calories or balanced diet, or certainty about where meals will come from and when they’ll be available

health security

health stability or access to adequate preventive or treatment mental or physical healthcare, or the ability to protect one’s body from damage due to work or living conditions

human security

an understanding that to be “secure” a person or group of people must have their basic needs met, including economic means, nutrition, health resources, environmental safety, personal physical integrity, and a secure community

intersectional security

broad-based approach to understanding security that takes account of a wide variety of axes on which people are rendered vulnerable or insecure

nation

a group that understands itself to be “inside” a political organization and understands those that are not included in the group to be “outside” of their political organization

nuclear deterrence

state (or non-state actor) can “deter” another state (or non-state actor) from engaging in the use of nuclear weapons by credible threat of what’s called second-strike capacity

security

ability to be or feel “secure” along a number of dimensions, including but not limited to military security, state security, environmental security, cultural security, gender security, health security, and food security

security narratives

stories that are told or repeated about the ways that people or groups are secure, often told in terms of “the good guys” and the “bad guys” in a way that engenders and escalates conflict while neglecting human security

womenandchildren

refers to situations where women and children are grouped into a category understood to be physically or mentally incapable of some activity understood as the purview of men

civil war

state v.s. internal non-state

correlation

relationship between two variables

non-state war

two non-state actors fighting a war

peace

presence of justice, equity, and cooperation across international stage

proxy war

a war between powers where at least one of them isn’t fighting directly

spurious correlation

correlation that occurs by chance; no real reason

state

the primary type of actor in the international system; has sovereignty over a defined territory; requires recognition by other states to be a state

war (according to Correlates of War project)

sustained combat, involving organized armed forces, resulting in a minimum of 1,000 battle-related fatalities within a 12 month period

war

conflict, often resulting in physical battles between two actors, state and/or non-state

crimes against humanity

acts that are purposely committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population

customary international law

rules that result from the long-term practice of states based on what they consider to be their legal obligations

general principles

international legal principles recognized by nations

genocide

the intentional action to destroy a people, usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group, in whole or in part

human rights

set of rights that all human beings are entitled to without discrimination in order to live in dignity and free from fear and want

indigenous peoples

ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area, in contrast to groups who occupied or colonized these areas later

international conventions and treaties

written agreements between two (bilateral) or more (multilateral) states

International Court of Justice

the main judicial body of the UN that settles disputes between states

International Criminal Court

an intergovernmental organization and international tribunal with the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, the crime of aggression

international law

legal rules that regulate the relationship among states

international organizations

organizations established by a formal intergovernmental treaty, charter, or statute between three or more states with activities in several states

public vs private spheres

areas of public interests, most commonly business and politics, versus areas of home and family

self-determination

the right of nations and states to determine their own internal and external affairs and organization

slavery

any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy, and sell other individuals

socioeconomic rights

rights that allow a dignified life free from material want, including access to housing, decent working conditions, social security, and education and absence of child labor

statism

the idea that states are central to the functioning and working of the international system

torture

the act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological suffering on a person for the purposes of obtaining information, punishment, intimidation, or coercion carried out or tolerated by state officials

universalism

the assumption that some ideas have general applicability or moral standing, it’s often criticized or rejected as disguised particularism

war crimes

actions carries out during the conduct of war that violate accepted international rules of war, including intentionally killing civilians or prisoners, committing rape, and recruiting child soldiers

women’s rights

entitlements of women and girls to live as autonomous and self-determined as men and boys; requires overcoming androcentrism, meaning attitudes and practices that universalize male perspectives and thereby marginalize or subordinate female perspectives

androcentrism

practice of placing a masculine point of view at the center of culture, history, and society, treating male experiences as the neutral standard while marginalizing or othering women

humanitarian intervention

sending aid or peacekeepers to address a humanitarian crisis

responsibility to protect

the idea that states have a responsibility to prevent genocide and crimes against humanity, including in other states

sanctions

targeted at countries or individuals to prevent them from engaging in international activity

austerity measures

policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits, including spending cuts and tax increases; often used by governments needing to pay off debt

balance of payments

difference in total value between payments into and out of a country over a period

distributional problems

problems resulting from the existence of one or more possible cooperative agreements in which some actors benefit more than others

global governance

cooperative problem-solving arrangements usually structured as a set of rules or institutions, often taking the form of formal international organizations

international governmental organizations

formal organizations with members from multiple states that place a variety of obligations on states in pursuit of a common goal

loan conditionality

conditions placed on loans by the International Monetary Fund, often requiring loan recipients to make adjustments to national economic policies

mandate

obligations specified by IGOs, often in an official agreement of treaty, and required of states

multinational corporation

an enterprise that operates in a number of countries with production or service facilities outside its country of origin

non-governmental organizations

private, voluntary organizations whose members are individuals, groups, or associations from more than one country who come together in pursuit of a common goal