Introduction to International Relations and Sovereignty

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the definitions of states and nations, the origins of the state, the concept of sovereignty and its challenges, and the conditions for overriding sovereign rights based on International Relations lecture notes.

Nation

A presumed sense of shared culture and identity based on language, religion, and common history.

State

A territorial entity that represents an organization or bureaucracy.

Nation-state

A political entity that is homogeneous in culture and very exclusive; it is considered nearly impossible to name a true example due to competing identities.

UN Membership Growth

The expansion of the international system from 50 states at the end of WWII to 193 un members today.

Charles Tilly

The scholar who argued that "War made the state, so the state could make war."

Sovereignty

The exclusive and final say over a territory as well as its population and resources.

Domination

A challenge to sovereignty where a powerful state, such as the Soviet Union during the Cold War, dictates the decisions of surrounding countries.

Imposition

A challenge to sovereignty where a state's choices are forced upon them, such as Japan signing a peace agreement at the end of WW2.

Intrusion

A challenge to sovereignty involving dependency, such as Canada making decisions while remaining mindful of how they are viewed by the US.

Organised Hypocrisy

A phrase used by Stephen Krasner to describe sovereignty, suggesting the concept as traditionally defined has never actually existed.

Self-Defense

A ground for overriding sovereignty through pre-emption or retaliation.

Humanitarian Intervention

A basis for overriding sovereignty to rescue a state's own nationals or to end human rights abuses.

Civil War (Intervention)

Responding to an intervention made by another state previously; sovereignty can be invaded if it has already been invaded.

Recognition

The requirement that another sovereign state must acknowledge an entity for it to be considered a sovereign state.

Purposes of the state

Rationales for state existence including the promotion of international order, survival/security, and protection of an ideology (e.g., capitalist society).

International Law (Red Herring)

A concept described as a disadvantage because there is no mechanism to enforce laws between states like there is within states.

Globalization

The concept that the world is small and nothing remains local, leading to serious repercussions from regional conflicts.

Hormuz Strait

A critical passage in the international political economy that the US could keep open, though doing so would have significant consequences.