POLS 2100 MIDTERM REVIEW

"‘small’ ir (lowercase)

the world out there that we study

‘big’ IR (uppercase)

the field or discipline that studies it

Sovereign State

Organization claiming sole legitimate authority (legal) within a geographic area (ie: its borders). A country that governs itself and has authority over its own territory without being legally subordinate to another country.

an ‘agent’ in international relations

Individuals, groups, leaders, states

when we say ‘X caused Y’ we mean

X precedes Y temporally

how should we approach causality in social science (including IR)

We should approach it cautiously and conservatively

Politics

Who gets what when and how

International Politics

Relations, distributions, and dynamics of power affected by and affecting groupings of populations across the world

Empire

One powerful state ruling over several different regions or peoples

Fuedal

Hierarchy of people who control land and owe obligations to the people above them. Land in exchange for loyalty and service.

City-states

An independent city and the surrounding territory that governs itself like its own country. Ex: Ancient Athens

City-leagues

An alliance of independent cities that cooperate for shared interests, often trade, defense, or political influence. Ex: Hanseatic Laegue

Nation-states

A sovereign country connected to a shared national identity. Ex: Japan

Transitional

Modern Anarchic System

An international system where sovereign states are independent and there is no single world government with authority over all of them. Ex: No central authority

Multi-layered/multi-perspectival

Politics happens at different levels, such as local, national, and international levels. Different actors see the same issue differently, depending on their interests, experiences, and goals. Ex: Climate changee

Anarchy

No central world government with authority over all countries. Does not equal chaos.

Structure

Power, Social, Economic, Environmental etc

AFTA

Its main goal was to make it easier and cheaper for Southeast Asian countries to trade with each other. It does this by reducing tariffs (taxes on imports) between member countries.

NAFTA

It reduced or eliminated many tariffs (taxes on goods crossing borders) between the three countries.

John Mearshimer

He warned don't assume the world has permanently become peaceful just because the Cold War ended.

Jelena Subotić

A political scientist who studies international relations, nationalism, memory, and the politics of the post-Cold War Balkans.

UNSC 678

Authorized the use of “all necessary means” to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, leading to the Persian Gulf War/Operation Desert Storm.

Operation Desert Shield

The U.S.-led military buildup in Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi Arabia and prepare to defend/possibly liberate Kuwait after Iraq invaded Kuwait.

Buckpassing

When a state avoids taking responsibility for dealing with a threat and instead tries to get another state to handle it.

Dolchstoss

The false belief that Germany's military had not really been defeated; instead, Germany was betrayed from within by politicians and civilians.

Appeasement

Giving a threatening or aggressive country some of what it wants in an attempt to avoid war or maintain peace.

Corporatism

An economic and political system where the state organizes society into groups based on occupations or industries and coordinates between workers and employers.

Interwar fascism

An authoritarian, nationalist movement that rejected democracy and promoted strong state control, violence, hierarchy, and national unity.

Demography

The study of the size, structure, and changes of a population.

Pincer movement

A military tactic where forces attack an enemy from two or more sides at once, surrounding them and cutting off their escape.

Imperial overstretch

A state expands/fights across so much territory that it cannot effectively supply and defend everything.

Appeasement (Effects of WW2)

Don't repeat Munich / confront aggression

Decolonization (Effects of WW2)

European empires weakened → independence

International organizaitons (Effects of WW2)

UN + international cooperation

Political/collective memories (Effects of WW2)

War shapes national identity & politics

Theory and Policy (Effects of WW2)

New thinking about power, security & war

Human Rights (Effects of WW2)

Atrocities → stronger international rights protections

Munich Agreement (1938)

An agreement in which Britain, France, Italy, and Germany allowed Hitler to take the Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia in an attempt to avoid war. Example of appeasement.

Bipolarity

An international system dominated by two major powers.

Communism

A system based on common ownership of the means of production. Organizes society primarily around class rather than race, ethnicity, nationalism, religion, or gender.

Leninism

Revolution + violence + anti-democratic

Stalinism

Industrialization + collectivization + totalitarian repression

Maoism

Peasants/rural population

Titoism

More independence + some dissent

Bandung Conference (1955)

A meeting of newly independent and developing countries in Asia and Africa that promoted cooperation, sovereignty, self-determination, and opposition to colonialism.

Capitalism

An economic system based on private ownership of property and businesses and market competition.

Nationalism

The belief that a nation's interests and identity should be prioritized, often emphasizing independence and self-determination.

Vasily Arkhipov

A Soviet naval officer who helped prevent a nuclear escalation during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Mikhael Gorbachev

Soviet leader who helped bring about the end of the Cold War through economic restructuring, political openness, and rejecting Soviet expansionism.

Stalinism according to Lecture 6

This form of Communism with gulags, purges, and even nationalist policies that fomented genocide, ended up being totalitarian in a way that made it similar to Hitler’s Nazi Germany

Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

The non-aggression pact between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany from 1939–1941

Battle of Guadalcanal

A horrible, vicious battle and showed that the U.S. could go “toe-to-toe” with Japan’s army

George Kennan, or ‘Mr X’

The U.S. diplomat who developed the idea of containment.

Black May

A major turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic when the Allies inflicted heavy losses on German U-boats.

Operation Torch

The Allied invasion of North Africa.

Internal sovereignty

A state has ultimate authority inside its territory.

External sovereignty

Other states recognize that state's authority and borders.

Toussaint Louverture

One of the major leaders of the Haitian Revolution. He changed alliances with different states at different points.

Jean-Jacques Dessalines

Permanently abolished slavery when he and other revolutionary leaders declared Haiti's independence (Toussaint successor)

Hegemony

When one state is more powerful than the others and has significant influence over the international system.

Battle of Tsushima

A non-Western power (Japan) defeated a major European power (Russia).

Chainganging

When states become so tightly connected through alliances that if one state goes to war, its allies are pulled into the conflict too.

Cult of the offensive

The belief that offensive military action is superior and that attacking first provides a major advantage.

Erich Ludendorff

Believed Germany needed to win quickly before American forces became overwhelming. The failure of the offensive demonstrates the limits of the cult of the offensive.

Caliphate

A political/religious state ruled by a caliph, who claims to be the successor to the Prophet Muhammad and leader of the Muslim community.