Global Politics Unit 1 Vocab

IB global politics into vocab

Political Actors

Political Actors

Those who have the power to bring about change

(Joe Biden-President of the United States)

Stakeholders

People who don’t actively participate in politics but are impacted by decisions made by actors

(Child of a worker who fought for better wage and was able to receive a better education because of it)

State

Has sovereignty, its own government, defined territory, a permanent population, and the right to defend itself.

(the United States)

Nation state

Specific type of state where the territorial boundaries align with the cultural boundaries of the nation, and is a group with a common, defined, culture.

(Japan because it’s a population with a shared culture and also meets other requirements to be a state)

Government

A structure that creates rules or laws over a state.

(The United States government because it creates laws for the United States which is a state)

Political parties

Groups of people who have common views about how the government of a state should function.

(Democratic Party)

Political leaders

Individuals who are in charge of a group of people, or in charge of some form of government

(President of the United States)

Civil Society

Organizations or groups of people that are not linked to the government

(Churches, cultural institutions, charitable groups)

Inter-governmental organizations (IGOs)

Consist of two or more states who promise they will work together on political issues of interest to all.

(The United Nations (UN), European Union (EU))

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

They aim to help people and try to remain independent from government influence.

(doctors without borders works around the world to help people and isn’t influenced by the government because it rely’s on donations)

Private actor

Not directly involved with the government, but has the ability to make change and influence people

(Mark Zuckerberg because he has power to directly influence communication and laws regarding data and privacy in the social media space but is not involved with the government)

Social movements

Groups of people who share a common concern about how society is functioning

(BLM is a group that shares a common concern about racism within the justice system)

Resistance movements

Groups of people that actively oppose an established authority

(BLM often protest to further their cause)

Interest groups

Formally recognized group of people that aim to influence public policy

(The NRA is formally recognized and advocated for gun rights and influences firearm legislation)

political forums

Meetings of actors to discuss and debate different perspectives on a political issue

(The United Nations is a place where actors can discuss policies)

Media

Tools used to communicate information and ideas to the public

(newspapers, news channels, Radio, social media)

Realism

States are unable to cooperate with each other and work together because they will ultimately only do what is in their best interest

(The UN is not good and will be unsuccessful because the states will not be able to work together and will only made decisions to help their personal addenda in the best interest of only themselves)

Neo realism

Liberalism

States can cooperate and work together on political issues because they will do what is in the best interest of the greater good

(Both major political parties in the United States will be able to work together to develop gun laws in the best interest of the whole country)

Neoliberalism

Constructivism

global politics is socially constructed through the beliefs, norms, and ideas that states have which create the current reality and the social world matters more than the physical world

(nuclear weapons have different significance to different countries based on who has them because it depends on how much fear they cause which is a social construct)

Critical theory

bring awareness to economic disparities between states and challenge imbalances in existing systems of power

(critiquing the International Monetary fund because they favor wealthy nations and lead to economic instability in poorer countries)

Feminist theory

the patriarchy is one of the drivers of the exclusion of women in global politics and many policies are written by and for men giving them an inherent advantage in many situations.

(gender-based violence occurs regularly around the world because many laws regarding peace do not take into account violence that women disproportionally face)

Marxist theory

the capitalist society gives benefits only the higher class who have more money, resources and influence which gives them many advantages in society and it allows them to take advantage of the lower class who have no choice but to work for them.

(in India people of higher class often receive more efficient medical care than those of lower class because they have more money)

Post colonial theory

colonialism is the decisive factor impacting global politics and the effects of colonialism are still present today and used to dominate marginalized communities

(the debate over foreign policy towards Puerto Rico because the candidates in the 2024 election’s positions on the situation are influenced by postcolonial dynamics like the right to the territory even though they have their own country)