International Relations Chap 8-12 Vocab

Recession

A sharp slowdown in the rate of economic growth and economic activity.

Depression

A severe downturn in the business cycle, typically associated with major declines in economic activity, production, and investment; a severe contraction of credit; and sustained high unemployment.

Default

To fail to make payments on a debt.

Austerity

The application of policies to reduce consumption, typically by cutting government spending, raising taxes, and restricting wages.

Bank for International Settlements

One of the oldest international financial organizations, created in 1930. Its members include the world's principal central banks, and under its auspices they attempt to cooperate in the financial realm.

International Monetary Fund

A major international economic institution established in 1944 to manage international monetary relations. It has gradually reoriented itself to focus on the international financial system, especially debt and currency crises.

Multinational Corporation

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

Global Supply Chains

A network of customers and suppliers involved in the production and distribution of a product. Parts of it may be inside a multinational corporation; parts may also involve links between corporations.

Bilateral Investment Treaty

An agreement between two countries about the conditions for private investment across borders. Most of these treaties include provisions to protect an investment from government discrimination or expropriation without compensation as well as mechanisms to resolve disputes.

Exchange Rate

The price at which one currency is exchanged for another.

Appreciate

In terms of a currency, to increase in value relative to other currencies.

Depreciate

In terms of a currency, to decrease in value relative to other currencies.

Devalue

To reduce the value of one currency relative to other currencies.

Monetary Policy

An important tool of national governments to influence broad macroeconomic conditions such as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Typically, governments alter their monetary policies by changing national interest rates or exchange rates.

Central bank

The institution that regulates monetary conditions in a country's economy, typically by raising or lowering interest rates and the quantity of money in circulation.

Fixed Exchange Rate

An exchange-rate policy under which a government commits itself to keeping its currency at or around a specific value relative to another currency or a commodity, such as gold.

Gold Standard

The monetary system that prevailed between about 1870 and 1914, in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price.

Floating Exchange Rate

An exchange-rate policy under which a government permits its currency to be traded on the open market without direct government control or intervention.

Bretton Woods Monetary System

The monetary order negotiated among the World War II Allies in 1944, which lasted until the 1970s and which was based on a U.S. dollar tied to gold. Other currencies were fixed to the dollar but were permitted to adjust their exchange rates.

Adjustable Peg

A monetary system of fixed but adjustable rates. Governments are expected to keep their currencies fixed for extended periods but are permitted to adjust the exchange rate from time to time as economic conditions change.

International Monetary Regime

A formal or informal arrangement shared by most countries in the world economy to govern relations among their currencies.

Less Developed Countries (LDCs)

Countries at a relatively low level of economic development.

Infrastructure

Basic structures necessary for social activity, such as transportation and telecommunications networks, and power and water supply.

Primary Products

Raw materials and agricultural products, typically unprocessed or only slightly processed. The primary sectors are distinguished from secondary sectors (industry) and tertiary sectors (services)

Oligopoly

A situation in which a market or industry is dominated by a few firms.

Terms of Trade

The relationship between a country's export prices and its import prices.

Import-Substituting Industrialization (ISI)

A set of policies, pursued by most developing countries from the 1930s through the 1980s, to reduce imports and encourage domestic manufacturing, and state ownership of basic industries.

Export-Oriented Industrialization (EOI)

A set of policies, originally pursued in the mid-1960s by several East Asian countries, to spur manufacturing for export, often through subsidies and incentives for export production.

Group of 77

A coalition of developing countries in the UN, formed in 1964 with 77 members, that seeks changes to the economic order to favor the developing world. It has grown to over 130 members but retains the original name.

Commodity Cartels

Associations of producers of commodities (raw materials and agricultural products) that restrict world supply of their products and thereby cause the price of their goods to rise.

International Law

A body of rules that binds states and other agents in world politics and is considered to have the status of law.

International Humanitarian Law (Laws of War)

A body of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict, protect noncombatants, and restrict means and methods of warfare for humanitarian reasons.

Customary International Law

International law that usually develops slowly, over time, as states come to recognize practices as appropriate and correct.

Obligation

The degree to which states are legally bound by an international rule. High-obligation rules must be performed in good faith and, if breached, require reparations to the injured party.

Precision

The degree to which international legal obligations are fully specified. More precise rules narrow the scope for reasonable interpretation.

Delegation

The degree to which third parties, such as courts, arbitrators, or mediators, are given authority to implement, interpret, and apply international legal rules; to resolve disputes over the rules; and to make additional rules.

Norms

Standards of behavior for actors with a given identity; norms define what actions are "right" or appropriate under particular circumstances.

Norms Entrepreneurs

Individuals or groups that seek to advance principled standards of behavior for states and other actors.

Transnational Advocacy Network (TAN)

A set of individuals and nongovernmental organizations acting in pursuit of a normative objective.

Norms Life Cycle

A three-stage model of how norms diffuse within a population and achieve a taken-for-granted status.

Private Authority

An expression of legitimate rulemaking by nonstate actors in international affairs, including the establishment of norms governing the behavior of private global actors such as multinational corporations and international NGOs.

Boomerang Model

A process through which NGOs in one state are able to activate transnational linkages to bring pressure from other states on their own governments.

Human Rights

The rights possessed by all individuals by virtue of being human, regardless of their status as citizens of particular states or members of a group or organization.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, that is defined as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples" and forms the foundation of modern human rights law.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

The agreement, completed in 1966 and in force from 1976, that details the basic civil and political rights of individuals and nations.

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

The agreement, completed in 1966 and in force from 1976, that specifies the basic economic, social, and cultural rights of individuals and nations.

International Bill of Rights

The UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR collectively. Together, these three agreements form the core of the international human rights regime.

Nonderogable Rights

Rights that cannot be suspended for any reason, including in cases of social or public emergency.

Prisoners of Conscience

Individuals imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. The term was coined by the human rights organization Amnesty International.

Individual Petition

A right that permits individuals to petition appropriate international legal bodies directly if they believe a state has violated their rights.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

A court of last resort for human rights cases that possesses jurisdiction only if the accused is a national of a state party, the crime took place on the territory of a state party, or the UN Security Council has referred the case to the prosecutor.

Portfolio Investment

Investment in a foreign country via the purchase of stocks (equities), bonds, or other financial instruments. Portfolio investors do not exercise managerial control of the foreign operation.

Sovereign Lending

Loans from private financial institutions in one country to sovereign governments of other countries

Foreign Direct Investment

Investment in a foreign country via the acquisition of a local facility or the establishment of a new facility. Direct investors maintain managerial control over of the foreign operation.

World Bank

An important international institution that provides loans at below-market rates to developing countries, typically to enable them to carry out development projects.