PS5 Midterm 1

Mercantilism

a system by which imperial governments used military power to enrich themselves and their supporters, establishing monopolies that controlled and manipulated trade and other economic activities to direct money into the coffers of the government and its business supporters 

• Goal: turn the terms of trade against the colonies and in favor of the mother country 

• Ex: tobacco in Virginia that could only be exported to Britain, where the American producers received a lower price for their crops than they otherwise would on world markets

Peace of Westphilia

The treaty(ies) that ended the Thirty Years’ War in 1648 —> often said to have created the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and nonintervention

Sovereignty

The expectation that states have legal and political supremacy within their territorial boundaries

ex: the United States, which exercises control over its territory and is free from the control of other governments, as recognized by international law.

Hegemony

The predominace of one nation-state over others, influencing others through military power, economic strength, and cultural influence (ex: Great Britian in 18th and 19th century) 

Decolonization 

colonial possessions winning independence, especially during the end of the European empires in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean between 1940s and the 1960s

Anarchy

The absence of central authority in a state, with no ability to make and enforce laws on actors

ex: French Revolution

National Interests

Interests attributed to the state itself, usually security and power

ex: the National interest of North Korea to have a large/strong army

Interactions

The ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes

Cooperation

An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off

ex: Paris Climate Agreement

Bargaining

An interactions in which two or more actors must decide how to distribute something of value, increasing one actors’s share of the good decreases the share available to others

ex: The US and China cooperating and bargaining to maintain their open trade system, or China and Vietnam both wanting the Xisha Islands, leading them to have to bargain for the land.

Collaboration

a type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives not to comply with an agreement.

Public Goods

Products that are nonexcluable and nonrival in consumption, such as national defense or clean air or water

Collective Action Problems

Obstacles to cooperate that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts with the expectation that others will pay the cost of cooperation —> linked to freeriding

Free Ride

To fail to contribute to a public good while benefitting from the contributions of others

—>  In IR this can make cooperation hard because states have incentives to shirk responsibilities while enjoying the benefits created by other

Iteration (in game theory)

Repeated interactions with the same partners building trust, fostering a greater likelihood of collaboration and adherence to treaties

ex: Paris Agreement on climate change. Instead of a single negotiation that resulted in a final deal, the process involved decades of repeated interactions, reviews, and updates, and the building of mutual trust.

Linkage

a tactic in negotiations of linking the cooperation on one issue to interactions on a second issue

—> if actors know the failure of cooperation on one issue it puts cooperation on other issues at risk, then they have more incentive to cooperate at all

ex: Cuban Missile Crisis, where the U.S. agreed not to invade Cuba in exchange for the Soviet Union withdrawing its missiles from the island.

(its a threat but its more of a negotiable threat, and that is achieved through linkage)

Power

The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself 

Coercion

A strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior 

ex: The United States and its allies used economic coercion by imposing harsh sanctions on Iran’s banking and oil sectors —> cutting it off from international financial systems

Agenda setting 

when actors take actions before or during bargaining that make the reversion outcome more favorable for one party 

—> apply this to IR, this reshapes the fall back outcome so that parties can enter negotiations with an advantage

Institutions

Sets of rules (known and shared by the relevant community) that structure interactions in specific ways, (such as the UN, WTO, and ASEAN). they may also influence the outcomes of interactions by providing rules that facilitate cooperation.

Interstate War 

a war in which the main participants are states

ex: Russia and Ukraine

Civil War

a war in which the main participants are within the same state, such as the government and a rebel group. 

Crisis Bargaining

an interaction where at least one actor threatens to use military force to influence the outcome of bargaining, in the event that their demands are not met 

Coercive diplomacy

The use of threats to advance demands in a bargaining interaction 

“satisfy my demands, or else”

this is also connected to crisis bargaining, usually in crisis bargaining [insert term] will be used by a state to get what it wants

Bargaining range 

The set of deals that both State A and State B prefer to war that overlap. In this overlap, states are able to negotiate a deal over a good/dispute over going to war, since war is costly and this is easier.

ex: this can be applied to disputes over land, or disputes over 'goods’, such as North Korea and the US’s conflict over nuclear arsenal

Compellence 

when one state makes a threat to another state, such as “if you don’t give me X, then I’ll YZ.” this is an effort to change the status quo between states, changing their relationship and coercing the target into giving the state what they wanted

ex: Russia threatening Ukraine, saying that if Ukraine don’t give up their territory, than they will invade.

Deterrence

an effort to preserve the status quo by threatening the other side with unacceptable costs if it engages in some undesirable behavior.

a deterrence threat takes the form of “Don’t do X, or else”

for example, in NATO, an attack on one country is an attack on all. Saying this to a country thinking about invading a NATO ally is a deterrence, as the country and their allys would fight back

Incomplete Information

when actors in a strategic interaction lack information about other actors’ interests and/or capabilities 

ex: Cuban Missile Crisis

Resolve

refers to a states willingness to bear the costs of fighting and how much the state vales the object of dispute relative to those costs

Risk-Return Trade-Off

when there is a trade off between trying to get a good deal and trying to minimize the possibility that war will break out

Credibility 

a threat that the target believes will be carried out. A credible commitment is a commitment or promise that the recipient believes will be honored 

Brinkmanship

a strategy in which adversaries take actions that increase the risk of accidental war, with the hope that the others will “blink” (lose their nerve) first, leading to the other party winning

ex: The Cuban Missile crisis, both sides allowed conflict to continue to escalate towards the brink of nuclear war before negotiating a deal

In IR this can be especially risky with modern day military technology, such as nukes

Audience Costs

negative repercussions that arise if a leader does not follow through on a threat

international audiences will impose costs. Other states might doubt future threats the leader will make, so once that leader fails to follow through on a threat, the international audience costs might impede that country’s ability to convince future adversaries of its resolve

Preventive War

A war fought with the intention of preventing an adversary from becoming stronger in the future. Preventive wars arise because a state whose power is increasing cannot commit not to exploit that power in future bargaining interactions 

First Strike Advantage

when military technology, strategies, and/or geography give a significant advantage to whichever state attacks first

ex: cuban missile crisis —> both submarines wanted the advantage of the first strike

Preemptive War

a war fought with the anticipation that an attack by the other side is imminent

ex: in WW1 (1914) when Germany launched a preemptive strike against France

Security Dilemma

A dilemma that arises when efforts that states make to defend themselves cause other states to feel less secure. This can lead to arms races and war because of the fear of being attacked

ex: an arms race between the US and North Korea

Indivisible Good

a good that cannot be divided without destroying it’s value (like public goods?) 

Nationalism

A political ideology that prioritizes attachment to one’s nation, this implies a nations superiority, sovereignty, and ascribes importance to one’s cultural or ethnic ties

ex: Someone from Israel being a nationalist because of ethnic ties to state

Bureaucracy

The collection of organizations—including the military, diplomatic corps, and intelligence agencies—that carry out most tasks of governance within a state 

Interest groups

Groups of individuals that organize to influence public policy that benefits their interest

ex: in relation to IR, this shapes/influences public policy, advocates for global rights (humanitarian, economic, etc.)

Rally Effect

People’s tendency to become more supportive of their country’s government in times of dramatic international events, such as crises or wars

ex: 9/11

on the surface you might think this would cause incentive for states to be in conflict, but usually the effect/patriotism doesn’t last long —> aka long term conflict doesn’t outweigh the short boost from this effect

Diversionary Incentive

State leaders incentive to spark an international crisis in order to rally support at home

ex: iraq war

—> “rally around the flag” effect, how this isn’t really a reliable option for leaders because usually the rallying support is short term and the effects of the international conflict are more long term. for example if a leader started a war abroad and one of the main incentives was to rally support at home, this would probably work initially but after a while citizens would become tired of the war, and want the conflict to end. Diversionary Incentives can work, but they are not long term solutions.

Military-Industrial complex

an alliance between military leaders and military manufacturing companies that benefit from international conflict

—> shapes how states build power, make war–peace decisions, and interact with international institutions and rival states

and effect how much they way spend on military

Democratic Peace

The phenomenon that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature democratic states —> could be because democracies are less likely to engage in war because of their policies, or because democracies are less likely—less justified in, and less likely to win—wars with other democratic states. Democratic states definitely engage in war, just not with democracies

Democracy

a political system in which candidates compete for political office through frequent fair elections in which a sizable portion of the general population votes

In IR, states that consider themselves [insert term] are normally more wealthy, engage in less direct war with one another, and overall have higher rates of thriving populations. Their economies are more likely to succeed, and on the global stage they often do—and are expected to—lend a helping hand to other smaller states, or help fund UN missions to help states in humanitarian conflict

Ex: the United States

Autocracy

a political system in which an individual or small group exercises power with few constraints and no meaningful competition or participation by the general public 

ex: Imperial Russia run by Romanov Family

Accountability

The ability for the public to punish or reward leaders for the decisions they make through frequent fair elections by granting or withholding access to political office 

In IR, this not only gives the public the power and helps fuel the democratic system, but on the international stage, [insert term] means that states can be held responsible for war crimes (to an extent)

ex: the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, which was held by the UN to hold them accountable for their war crimes

Alliances 

(are) Institutions that can help their members cooperate militarily in the event of war 

additionally, alliances can help states communicate and can help clarify information, or they may adopt procedures for joint decision making. alliances can be both offensive and defensive. Sometimes, alliances can lead to war between states, because of the positions/statements that smaller and larger states make when they align with others.

ex: Ukraine and the US. While this ally-ship has come under fire recently, due to the Budapest Memorandum the US in contractually obligated to provide Ukraine with military weaponry under invasion. On an international stage, this has brought conflict between Trump and Putin, and caused other large democratic states to try and help Ukraine with the war, when the US temporary disavowed their contract.

Balance of Power

when military capabilities of two conflicting states are roughly equal

ex: for IR, this prevents domination, and can lead to drastic measures to changer power shifts through alliances and the development advanced military weaponry (nukes)

Bandwagoning

a strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict

This can mean that a smaller state in protected, but this could be because of fear and strategy to protect state, not necessarily because all views align.

Entrapment

the condition of being dragged into an unwanted war because of the opportunistic actions of an ally

ex: this can lead parties to to weight the options of entrapment over abandonment, and harm their infrastructures and citizens with the consequences of war

Collective Security Organizations

broad-based institutions that promote peace and security among their members

they can add deter aggressors, deploying peacekeepers to aid in conflict, and help states negotiate ends to conflicts

Ex: League of Nations, United Nations 

Genocide

International and systematic killing aimed to eliminate an identifiable group of people, such as an ethnic or religious group 

normally involves intervention from alliances, larger states, or collective security operations through peacekeeping strategies

Humanitarian Intervention 

Interventions designed to relieve humanitarian crises stemming from civil conflicts or large-scale human rights abuses, including genocide 

ex: 1992 UN intervention in Somalia —> peacekeepers were ambushed, helicopters shot down, horrible backlash to Clinton administration due to their decisions to intervene 

UN Security Council and the P5

The main governing body of the UN, which has the authority to identify threats to international peace and security and to prescribe the organizations response, including military and/or economic sanctions

P5 are the permanent members of the UN national security council, they have been selected for the council because of the power their states hold

US, China, France, Russia, UK

Veto Power

preventing the passage of a measure through a unilateral act, with a single negative vote 

relates to IR primarily through the UN and the P5, in negotiates if one of the P5 vetos, the resolution fails

Peace-Enforcement Operation

A military operation in which force is used to make and/or enforce peace among warring parties that have not agreed to end their fighting

ex: the Korean War

Peacekeeping Operations

an operation where troops and observers are deployed to monitor a cease-fire or peace agreement, in the holds of providing overall humanitarian aid. These missions are orchestrated by Collective Security Organizations (such as the UN). There are two types of people who will deployed to states in peacekeeping operations: peace keepers and peace enforcers. Peacekeepers are purely peaceful individuals who are invited by a state to help them with a humanitarian crisis. they are not allowed to use force against civilians, and are just their to help and supply aid. Peace enforcers are military adjacent, they are allowed to use force and are not invited by states to intervene

ex: 1992 Somalia intervention, —> case of peace enforcement, horrible look for US and Clinton administration because Somalian rebels shot down a Black Hawk helicopter and killed American soldiers.

Pareto Frontier (do we need to know) ?? 

a playing field for countries to discuss different outcomes from cooperating and bargaining

ex: cooperation through trade would be an example of something negotiated on the pareto frontier (US and China)

The Three I’s: Interest, Interactions, Institutions, 

all three of these elements are the building blocks of IR 

Interests: what actors what to achieve through political action

Interactions: Interest lead actors to interacting —> conversations affecting the outcomes of whether actors can get what they want 

Institutions: larger international institutions—such as Collective Security Organizations—can also influence the outcomes of interactions by providing rules that facilitate cooperation