Chapter 6 - International Relations

Interstate war

Two or more national governments direct military forces against each other.

General war

A war that involves many or all of the most powerful states in a particular historical era.

Hegemonic war

A war that determines which states will have predominant global influence.

Total war

A war in which belligerent states mobilize all available resources and target civilians.

Limited war

Smaller war in which major powers avoid fighting each other directly, contrasted with general or major war.

Militarized interstate dispute (MID)

An instance in which a state threatens or uses limited force against another state.

Extra-state war

A state clashes with a foreign entity that is not a recognized state, or is a foreign non-state actor.

Immediate cause of a military conflict

Disagreement or conflict of interest that causes a state to consider using force.

Underlying cause of a military conflict

Circumstances that make the chances of escalation to violence lower or higher.

Groupthink

Psychological need on the part of individuals to be accepted by colleagues that can cause national leaders and advisors to make serious errors during a foreign policy crisis.

Positive illusions

The idea that what we think we can accomplish is often greater than what we would expect to achieve if we had a truly accurate picture of our capabilities.

Institutional constraints

The constitutional or customary checks within a country that limit a leader's ability to act unilaterally.

Normative constraints

The beliefs, values, and attitudes that shape the behavior of a leader.

Military-industrial complex

Military bureaucracy and network of defense firms.

Garrison state

A state that controls society in order to maximize military power.

Patriotism

Absolute value an individual assigns to that person's state.

Nationalism

Relative value that an individual assigns to that person's state.

Private information problem

Conflict-exacerbating tendency of states to overstate their resolve and capabilities during a crisis.

Commitment problem

A state's fear that an agreement with an adversary today will be violated when that adversary is stronger.

Internal war

A war within a state, contrasted with war between two or more states.

Contagion

The spread of an internal war in one country to another.

Civil war

A sustained violent clash between a national government and a domestic opposition group.

Secessionist civil war

A civil war in which the rebel group seeks to break away to form a new, separate state.

Inter-communal war

A war in which members of different religious communities in a country become embroiled in large-scale organized violence.

Internationalization of civil war

During a civil war, one or more foreign states offers military support to one or another side.

Greed

A person's intense desire to possess goods or money.

Lootable wealth

Natural resources that can be readily seized and sold for cash.

Grievance

A person's belief that he or she is being victimized by or excluded from important institutions in a country.