Ir class 10/16/25

Gatto IR class thing

Realism

The view that global politics is driven by competitive self-interest and that the central dynamic of the global system is struggle for power among states as each tries to preserve or improve its military security and economic welfare

Zero-sum game

A contest in which gains by one player can only be achieved by equal loses for other players

Classical Realism

A branch of realist thought that believes the root cause of conflict is the aggressive nature of humans

neorealism

A branch of realist thought that attributes the self-interested struggle for power among countries of the anarchic nature of the global system

rational actors

The idea that people in general aim to maximize their utility and profit from action taken rather than acting against their self-interest

balance of power

A concept that describes the degree of equilibrium or disequilibrium of power in the global or regional system

liberalism

The view that people and the countries representing them are capable of cooperating to achieve common goals, often through global organizations and according to international law

positive-sum game

A contest in which gains by one or more players can be achieved without being offset by losses for other player

cosmopolitanism

An under-standing and appreciation of the shared human experience and the ties that bind people together across nations, borders, and cultures

Liberal internationalism

A theoretical perspective that seeks to transform international relations to emphasize peace, individual freedom, and prosperity by replicating models of liberal democracy globally through various foreign policy objectives

Classical liberalism

A branch of liberal thought that attributes cooperation to human nature and the  understanding that people can achieve more collectively than individually.

neoliberalism

The branch of liberalism that recognizes the inherent conflict in an anarchic global system but asserts it can be eased by building global and regional organizations and processes that allow actors to coopeate for their mutual benefit

complex interdependence

The broad and deep dependence of issues and actors in the contemporary global political system that many scholars believe is a by-product of globalization

world systems theory

The view that global politics is an economic society bought about by spread of capitalism and characterized by a hierarchy of countries and regions based on a gap in economic circumstance.

Marxist theory

The philosophy of Karl Marx that the economic order determines political and social relationships. Thus, history the current situation, and the future are determined by the economic struggle, which is termed dialectical materialism

Imperialism

A term nearly synonymous with colonialism, recalling the empire building of European powers in the 19th century. The empires were built by conquering and subjugating southern countries

Center/Core

The focal points of global politics according to world systems theory, which encompasses Global North countries around which global economic and political power revolve as a result of an overwhelming concentration of capital

periphery

According the Marxist theory, countries in the global south that are exploited by the countries in the global north (center/core) for their cheap labor, natural resources or as dumping grounds for pollution or surplus production

Dependency theory

The view of global politics as an economic system in which the Global South is dependent upon and disadvantaged by the Global North as a perpetuation of the imperialist relationship established in previous centuries 

semi-periphery

Those countries that do not occupy a commanding position in the global economy but that serve an important function or fill an important niche in the global system, supporting the primacy of the center/core countries

constructivism

The view that changing ideas, norms, and identities of global actors shape global politics

norms

Ideas that come to be shared by the majority of the population in a given society, such that they become the basis for assessing and regulating social conduct and behavior

feminist theory

A collection of theoretical approaches that analyze the role of gender in global politics

Quotas

Gender quotas are used to create balanced representation within legislative bodies of national governments and can be mandated by the consitution or electoral laws

intersectionality

Refers to the ways in which multiple in-situations of oppression are interconnected and cannot be understood separately from one another

Liberal (or orthodox feminism)

The belief that gender equality is best achieved through political and legal reform so that women have equal access and equal opportunity in the workplace, politics and other public spaces

Critical (or radical) feminism

The belief that gender equality is best achieved when we restructure the system in order to change the society values in the terms of work, leadership and politics and what society constructs as normal

patriarchy

The system of gender-based hierarchy in society that assigns most power to men , uses male(ness) as the norm and places higher value on masculine traits