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 

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

Interests 

What actors what to achieve through political action and their preferences on the possible outcomes that might result from their political choices

Actors

The basic unit for the analysis of international politics. Can refer to individuals in states or groups of people with common interests (organizations) 

Anarchy

The absence of central authority in a state, with no ability to make and enforce laws that bind all 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

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 Problem

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

Free Ride

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

Iteration (in game theory)

Repeated interactions with the same partners —> repeated interactions 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

The linking of 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.

Power

The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get theother 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.

Outside options

The alternative to bargaining with a specific actor

Agenda setting 

actions taken before or during bargaining that make the reversion outcome more favorable for one party 

ex: outlining what will be voted on first to purposefully bring forward or push back specific legislation in US congress

Institutions

Sets of rules (known and shared by the relevant community) that structure interactions in specific ways 

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 in which at least one actor threatens to use force in the event that its demands are not met 

ex: Cuban Missile Crisis, The U.S. discovered Soviet nuclear missiles being installed in Cuba, just 90 miles off its coast. Both sides engaged in intense bargaining under the threat of war—the U.S. threatened military strikes if the missiles weren’t removed, while the Soviet Union warned of retaliation.

Coercive diplomacy

The use of threats to advance demands in a bargaining interaction 

Bargaining range 

The set of deals that both parties in a bargaining interaction prefer over the reversion outcome (aka war)

—> When the reversion outcome is war, the bargaining range is the set of deals that both sides prefer over war  

Compellence 

an effort to change the status quo

Deterrence

an effort to preserve the status quo through the threat of force

Incomplete Information

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

ex: Cuban Missile Crisis

Resolve

The willingness of an actor to endure costs in order to accquire a particular good 

Risk-Return Trade-Off

In crisis bargaining, the trade-off between trying to get a better deal and trying to avoid a war 

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

Audience Costs

negative repercussions for failing to follow through on a threat or to honor a commitment

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

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 with common interests that organize to influence public policy in a manner that benefits their member 

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

Diversionary Incentive

The temptation that state leaders have to start international crises in order to rally public support at home 

ex: The Iraq War (with the “rally around the flag” effect caused by 9/11)

Military-Industrial complex

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

(ex if needed): US and aerospace manufacturing companies in socal

Democratic Peace

The observation that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature democratic states 

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

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 to punish or reward leaders for the decisions they make, as when frequent, fair elections enable voters hold electred officials responsible for their actions by granting or withholding access to political office 

Alliances 

Institutions that can help their members cooperate military in the event of war 

Balance of Power

when military capabilties of two conflicting states are roughly equal

Bandwagoning

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

Entrapment

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

Collective Security Organizations

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

Ex: League of Nations, United Nations 

Genocide

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

Humanitarian Intervention 

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

ex: the Freedom Flotilla ships transporting aid to Gaza

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 

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 in which troops and observers are deployed to monitor a cease-fire or peace agreement

Pareto Frontier

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)