SOC SCI 103N - The Contemporary World Final Exam Review

Vocabulary-style flashcards covering the core concepts of political globalization, statehood, UN organs, economic institutions, and cultural impacts like McDonaldization and digital imperialism.

INTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY

A state's supreme, unchallengeable authority to govern within its own borders without external interference or dictates.

EXTERNAL SOVEREIGNTY

A state's ability to act independently in the international arena, such as signing treaties, engaging in diplomacy, and being recognized as an equal by other sovereign states.

Montevideo Convention

An international agreement defining the four criteria for statehood: permanent population, defined territory, government, and capacity to enter relations with other states.

LACK OF DEFINED TERRITORY

A primary legal obstacle under the Montevideo Convention where losing physical landmass removes a core requirement for remaining a recognized state.

INTENTIONS ARE ALWAYS UNCERTAIN

An assumption of Mearsheimer's offensive realism stating that in an anarchic system, states can never be $100\%$ certain about the future goals of others, leading to a security dilemma.

STATES ARE RATIONAL ACTORS

A geopolitical assumption that states strategically weigh the costs and benefits of their actions, such as considering international economic sanctions, before engaging in conflict.

THE SCEPTIC PERSPECTIVE

A viewpoint arguing that the state remains the dominant actor and can reassert borders and economic controls, such as nationalizing banks or restricting immigration, whenever necessary.

HYPERGLOBALIST PERSPECTIVE

The argument that transnational corporations (TNCs) and global capital markets compromise state autonomy and effectively dictate domestic policies.

THE SECURITY COUNCIL

The UN organ where the Permanent Five (P5) have veto power over substantive resolutions, such as those regarding peacekeeping forces.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The UN organ where all recognized member states have equal representation regardless of their economic or military size.

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL (ECOSOC)

The central mechanism for coordinating UN activities and specialized agencies like the WHO and ILO in economic, social, and environmental fields.

LACK OF STATE CONSENT / ENFORCEMENT

A limitation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where authority relies heavily on the willingness of states to accept jurisdiction.

THE G20

A forum that gained legitimacy over the G8 because it includes major emerging economies necessary for coordinating global market stabilization during crises.

NEW DEVELOPMENT BANK (NDB)

A multilateral institution established by BRICS as an alternative to the US-dominated World Bank and IMF.

DE-DOLLARIZATION

The strategy of substituting the US dollar in trade with local currencies to mitigate geopolitical risks.

DEFICIT OF REPRESENTATION / ACCOUNTABILITY

A democratic deficiency where citizens' ability to represent interests is reduced because agreements change domestic laws without debate or input.

NIMBYISM

Short for 'Not In My Back Yard'; it refers to opposition to a proposal solely because it is close to residents, even if the facility is broadly needed.

SURVEILLANCE AND CONTROL

An NGO role in global governance acting as a watchdog that monitors states and uses 'naming-and-shaming' tactics to encourage treaty compliance.

IMPLEMENTATION AND MANAGEMENT

Participation where an NGO physically executes and manages the operational aspects of international policy, such as environmental projects.

PILLAR OF TRANSPARENCY

A facet of good governance where information is freely available and accessible to those affected by decisions.

PILLAR OF ACCOUNTABILITY

A facet of good governance where decision-makers are answerable to the public and institutional stakeholders for their actions.

EXPERTISE-BASED REPRESENTATIVITY

A justification for NGO legitimacy based on specialized knowledge, Reliable data, and scientific field research rather than a democratic constituency.

CALCULABILITY

A pillar of McDonaldization that emphasizes things that can be counted and quantified, such as GPA or specific semester timeframes.

EFFICIENCY

A pillar of McDonaldization representing the optimum method for getting from one point to another, such as fast-food layouts designed for quick movement.

PREDICTABILITY

A pillar of McDonaldization ensuring that services or products, such as hotel layouts and greeting scripts, are identical worldwide.

CONTROL (McDonaldization)

A pillar of McDonaldization that involves substituting human judgment with non-human technology, such as automated self-checkout machines.

DIGITAL DUOPOLY / PLATFORM IMPERIALISM

A concept where dominant technological platforms, like Android and iOS, establish control over global digital infrastructure.

BEHAVIORAL SURPLUS

In surveillance capitalism, data extracted beyond what is strictly needed for service improvement, which is then used to predict and monetize user behavior.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTING

A regulatory loophole in the gig economy where workers are called 'partners' to bypass labor regulations, shifting risks and costs onto the workers.

PLANETARY LABOR MARKET

A phenomenon where digital platforms create global labor competition on a piece-work basis, potentially driving a 'race to the bottom' for wages.

OFFENSIVE REALISM (MEARSHEIMER)

A theory suggesting that a dominant state's unilateral pursuit of power and security will clash with cooperative regionalism or the 'ASEAN Way'.

JIHAD VS. MCWORLD (BARBER)

A dialectic describing the tension between the homogenizing force of global capitalism and tribal or reactionary ethnic-religious resistance.

DECULTURATION

The process where religion becomes separated from specific cultural roots, making abstract fundamentalist global identities more appealing to marginalized youth.

PERMANENT COURT OF ARBITRATION (PCA)

The international body at The Hague that issued the 2016 ruling invalidating the Nine-Dash Line claim.

PILLAR OF LAW / RULE OF LAW

A pillar of good governance where legal frameworks are fair, predictably enforced, and applied equally to all actors.