PSCI 1404 - 10/11

What are international institutions?

Organisations or frameworks through which states coordinate behaviour, make rules, and solve shared problems, such as the UN or WTO.

What is the difference between formal and informal international institutions?

Formal institutions have established rules and structures (e.g. UN, WTO), while informal institutions are looser arrangements where states coordinate without permanent legal structures.

What is international law?

A body of rules, treaties, and norms that states accept as binding in their relations with one another.

What are examples of major international legal agreements?

The Geneva Conventions, Convention Against Torture (CAT), Refugee Convention, and arms control treaties.

How can international institutions benefit US foreign policy?

They help coordinate allies, reduce diplomatic friction, create predictable rules, and support long-term cooperation.

How do international institutions reduce transaction costs?

They provide regular forums, legal procedures, and established expectations that make negotiation easier and cheaper.

Why can international law create reputational benefits?

States that follow rules gain trust, credibility, and easier cooperation from others.

Why might international institutions be seen as threatening US sovereignty?

They can constrain unilateral action and require the US to follow rules it did not fully control.

Why is sovereignty a recurring concern in US debates over international law?

Many Americans fear external bodies limiting domestic self-government and freedom of action.

What is the enforcement problem in international law?

There is no global police force, so enforcement often depends on pressure, sanctions, or voluntary compliance.

How does Oona Hathaway argue international law is enforced?

Mostly through tacit pressure, reputational costs, diplomatic consequences, and coordinated responses rather than direct force.

Do human rights treaties necessarily guarantee compliance?

No, many states violate treaties they sign, but treaties can still create standards and pressure for improvement.

What did Hathaway argue about human rights treaties?

Countries that ratify them often perform better over time than those that do not, though results vary.

What is CAT?

The Convention Against Torture, a treaty prohibiting torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

Why might abusive governments join human rights treaties?

To gain legitimacy, reduce criticism, or signal reform without fully changing behaviour.

What is the historical US debate over international law?

A tension between sovereignty-focused realists and internationalists who support rules-based cooperation.

Who represents the sovereignty tradition in US foreign policy thought?

Figures like George Kennan and other realists who prioritised national interest and autonomy.

Who represents the internationalist tradition in US foreign policy thought?

Wilsonian thinkers who support collective security, democracy, and international institutions.

Why did the US strongly support creating the UN after World War II?

To prevent future aggression, stabilise world politics, and shape a favourable postwar order.

How did the UN reflect US interests after 1945?

It institutionalised cooperation while giving the US major influence, especially through the Security Council.

Why is the UN Security Council significant?

Its five permanent members have veto power over major enforcement decisions.

Why are international institutions useful for small states?

They give smaller countries a forum to voice concerns and constrain larger powers through rules.

How can institutions created by great powers later constrain them?

Other states can use the same rules and procedures to challenge dominant powers.

Why are economic institutions important to the US?

Stable trade rules help multinational business, investment, and global economic growth.

How could weakening international economic rules harm the US?

It may increase instability, uncertainty, and barriers to trade that hurt American firms.

Why was the Bush administration criticised over international law?

It was seen as willing to bypass treaties and institutions when they conflicted with US preferences.

What major treaty did Bush withdraw from in 2002?

The Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).

Why did the Bush administration reject the Kyoto Protocol?

It argued the treaty was economically unfair and did not adequately bind major developing emitters.

Why did the Bush administration oppose the ICC?

It feared politically motivated prosecutions of US personnel and constraints on military action.

How did Iraq illustrate the law versus order dilemma?

The US argued Saddam violated norms, but critics argued the invasion itself violated international law.

What is the "law versus order" debate in international relations?

Whether peace is better maintained through legal rules or through power politics and strategic order.

What do critics of legalism argue?

That international law can be unrealistic, selectively enforced, and dependent on power anyway.

What do supporters of international law argue?

That rules reduce arbitrary power, lower conflict risk, and protect weaker states.

What was the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities?

A treaty promoting equal rights and accessibility for disabled persons worldwide.

Why did the US sign but not ratify the Disabilities Convention?

Supporters agreed with its goals, but opponents feared sovereignty costs and external influence on domestic policy.

What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)?

A court created to prosecute genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when states fail to do so.

What treaty created the ICC?

The Rome Statute of 1998.

What is the principle of complementarity in the ICC system?

The ICC acts only when national courts are unwilling or unable to prosecute serious crimes.

Why did many US officials distrust the ICC?

They feared US soldiers or leaders could face politically motivated charges.

How might critics say the ICC affects interventions?

They argue leaders may avoid humanitarian missions if legal risks are too high.

What is Responsibility to Protect (R2P)?

The idea that when states fail to protect populations from mass atrocities, the international community has a responsibility to act.

How is Syria linked to debates over R2P?

The limited international response to atrocities raised questions about whether R2P had weakened.

What characterised Trump's first-term approach to international law?

Greater scepticism of multilateral agreements and willingness to withdraw from them.

Which major climate agreement did Trump withdraw from in his first term?

The Paris Climate Accord.

What was Trump's policy toward the JCPOA?

He withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear deal.

What was the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty?

A Cold War arms control treaty banning certain land-based missiles, which the US later left.

Why did Trump withdraw from some agreements?

He argued they disadvantaged the US or limited American freedom of action.

How is Trump II described in your notes regarding international law?

As more openly transactional and influenced by a "might makes right" view of power politics.

Why does the Western Hemisphere receive more attention under Trump's NSS?

It is treated as America's priority neighbourhood for migration, drugs, and strategic competition.

What is the Monroe Doctrine?

A 19th-century US policy opposing new European colonisation in the Western Hemisphere.

How did the original Monroe Doctrine differ from later interventionism?

It initially focused on opposing European expansion rather than claiming a broad US right to intervene.

What is meant by the "Donroe Doctrine" in your notes?

A modernised idea that the US should actively dominate the Western Hemisphere and prevent outside influence.

How does migration fit into Western Hemisphere strategy?

The administration treats migration as a national security and foreign policy issue requiring regional pressure.

How has the military been linked to immigration enforcement debates?

Some support troop deployments to borders and wider use of security forces.

How are drugs linked to foreign policy in these notes?

Drug trafficking is framed as tied to terrorism and hostile external actors.

What is "narco-terrorism" language used for politically?

It justifies stronger security tools and potentially military action against traffickers.

Why has Venezuela long mattered to US strategy?

It has large oil reserves and under Chávez/Maduro opposed US influence in the region.

Why was Venezuela economically important to Cuba?

Venezuelan oil support helped sustain the Cuban economy.

What happened in Venezuela's contested election according to the notes?

The opposition was constrained, appeared to win, but Maduro claimed victory.

Why would action against a foreign leader be controversial in international law?

It challenges norms of sovereignty and non-intervention and could set dangerous precedents.

Why did oil become central after the Maduro operation in your notes?

It aligned with broader US energy priorities and interest in regional resources.

How does the Venezuela case reflect wider Western Hemisphere strategy?

It combines anti-authoritarian rhetoric, resource interests, migration concerns, and limiting rivals' influence.

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