International Relations - Chapter 3

interdependence

a political and economic situation in which two states are simultaneously dependent on each other for their well-being. the degree of interdependence is sometimes designated in terms of sensitivity or vulnerability

neoliberal

shorthand for “neoliberal institutionalism“ an approach that stresses the importance of international institutions in reducing the inherent conflict that realists assume in an international system; the reasoning is based on the core liberal idea that seeking long-term mutual gains is often more rational than maximizing individual short-term gains

international regime

a set of rules, norms and procedures around which the expectations of actors converge in a certain international issue area (such as oceans or monetary policy)

collective security

the formation of a broad alliance of most major actors in an international system for the purpose of jointly opposing aggression by any actor; sometimes seen as presupposing the existence of a universal organization (such as the United Nations) to which both the aggressor and its opponents belong

democratic peace

the proposition, strongly supported by empirical evidence, that democracies almost never fight wars against each other (although they do fight against authoritarian states)

constructivism

a movement in international relations theory that examines how changing international norms and actors’ identities help shape the content of state interests

postmodernism

an approach that denies the existence of a single fixed reality and pays special attention to texts and to discourses - that is to how people talk and write about a subject

subtext

meanings that are implicit or hidden in a text rather than explicitly addressed

economic classes

a categorization of individuals based on economic status

marxism

a branch of socialism that emphasizes exploitation and class struggle and includes both communism and other approaches

conflict resolution

the development and implementation of peaceful strategies for settling conflicts

mediation

the use of a third party (or parties) in conflict resolution

militarism

the glorification of war, military force, and violence

positive peace

a peace that resolves the underlying reasons for war; not just a cease-fire but a transformation of relationships, including elimination or reduction of economic exploitation and political oppression

world government

a centralized world governing body with strong enforcement powers

peace movements

movements against specific wars or against war and militarism in general, usually involving large numbers of people and forms of direct action such as street protests

difference feminism

a strand of feminism that believes gender differences are not just socially constructed and that views women as inherently less warlike than men on average

liberal feminism

a strand of feminism that emphasizes gender equality and views the “essential“ differences in men’s and women’s abilities or perspectives as trivial or nonexistent

postmodern feminism

an effort to combine feminist and postmodernist perspectives with the aim of uncovering the hidden influences of gender in international relations and showing how arbitrary the construction of gender roles is

gender gap

refers to polls showing women lower than men on average in their support for military actions, as well as for various other issues and candidates