Third Midterm Exam, GOV 312L: U.S. Foreign Policy

Module 16:

The United States and International Organizations and Institutions

1. What are institutions? What is the difference between institutions and organizations? What are some examples of institutions in domestic and international politics?

International Institutions:

-Rules of the game of society: humanly devised constraints that structure incentives and interaction

Constructions, not actors. Cannot act.

-Tell us what is and isn't permitted

-They include treaties and norms

-Domestic: don't speed, don't steal, win a majority of electoral votes to become president

-International: sovereignty (states recognize states as an independent [reciprocal]), laws discouraging chemical/nuclear weapons use

Provide standards for behavior

-Allows international community to evaluate the actions of others

-Influences how international community responds to states that violate or uphold these institutions

International Organizations:

Political actors in the international system - often their members are nation states.

Organizations defend institutions

Possess agency and pursue political objectives

INTERNATIONAL EXAMPLES: United Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), World Trade Organization (WTO)

2. Understand, explain, and give examples of how international institutions shape international politics through the following mechanisms: a) guiding behavior and shaping expectations; b) providing information about state interests and incentives to comply; c) allocating and generating power for states.

How institutions/organizations influence international relations:

-Institutions as rules that structure behavior

--Recognition of sovereign rights are designed to be reciprocal, so the two states that recognize each other's sovereign rights agree and expect for each other to not violate borders and to not interfere with domestic political decisions of the other.

--Specification of rules also helps identify states and actors that violate rules in the international system

Ex: syrian government violates international norm prohibiting use of chemical weapons by launching attacks on its own people. It tells other states that it is a government unwilling to abide by rules that most others would honor and support.

-Provide info about how states might act; and how to define appropriate and inappropriate behavior

-Organizations facilitate interstate cooperation

--Mitigate collective action problem

--Reduce transaction costs associated with reaching settlements

--Sometimes help enforce agreements

---Enforcement mechanism

----Violate, can initiate judicial proceedings

-----Authorize tariff penalties on the side that violate an agreement

-International Organizations and Tension with Sovereignty

--Delegation of authority to IOs can limit domestic sovereignty

EXAMPLE: WTO and steel

Bush raised a tariff on steel in 2002

Rescind tariffs in 2003

-Tension/tradeoff: sovereignty v. gains from cooperation

Costs with being left out

3. How does U.S. membership in international organizations like the UN, NATO, and WTO demonstrate the ability of international institutions to solve a fundamental problem of international politics - to create and preserve coercive power and, at the same time, constrain that same power?

-US entry into international organizations helps to solve fundamental problems of politics at international level... need coercive power and authority

-preserve US hegemony

-they help defend policy ideas consistent with American interests (democracy, free trade, human rights)

-constraints help legitimize American power

It creates expectations to how states will conduct relations with each other

Provides info about national interest which is used to make predictions about the future

can help to lock in old distributions

Allows the United States to have the most influence, but they are not able to force other countries to do things

Constrained by their role as a leader

4. Describe the tradeoffs associated with participation in international organizations and national sovereignty.

-delegation of authority to international organizations can limit domestic authority.

Ex: Bush raised import duties on steel. Countries challenged tariffs with trade disputes at WTO. Judicial panel ruled against the US and Bush had to take away tariffs.

-international organization helped change domestic politics and laws in the US

-institutions and organizations can help US interests (getting rid of trade barriers) and help alliance relationships and economies. However, pursuit of these goals can alter domestic policies that emerge through democratic processes (like how the WTO made the US change trade policies).

-another benefit to associating with a international organization is the security benefits; ie. states that are a part of NATO have agreed to see any attack on one state as an attack on all.

-part of appeal for Trump's "America first"; want to protect American sovereignty.

-European Shirking in NATO- not spending enough on their own military, US has to uphold the unfair ends

5. What are the two main political bodies of the UN? How can they confer legitimacy? Which states have the most power within these political bodies?

-Important global political functions: peacekeeping, monitoring of nuclear weapons facilities and weapons programs, children's health, delivery of humanitarian relief in war and natural disasters

-Two main political bodies:

--General Assembly Includes all member states, meaning rarely agreement but provides powerful political vehicle to secure international legitimacy for some foreign policy actions

--Security Council

Most important actions occur here

Five permanent members with veto power (US, UK, China, Russia, France) - victors of WW2

Difficult to agree on things

Confer legitimacy on states

Ten rotating members

US and International Organizations

Real tension: might need to gain legitimacy for policy, secure additional support to implement policies, but...

Can require some surrender of sovereignty or authority of elected officials in US set policy of the US

6. Why does the United States participate in the United Nations and often abide by its decisions when it could just ignore it instead (because it possesses much greater military capacity than the UN)?

-US key player because of the seat on Security Council

--Can ignore, but... why participate regularly (e.g. seek approval for the 2003 Iraq war)?

-Source of legitimacy abroad and at home

UN reflect global public opinion, easier to gain allies if support

--The domestic public more likely to support policies that have secured UN approval (Chapman - UT)

--the US participates in the UN because it is a powerful source of legitimacy abroad and at home for controversial policies (e.g. US seeks approval for Iraq was in 2003), UN reflects global public opinion which makes it easier to gain allies with this support, the domestic public are more likely to support policies that have UN approval

7. What is interstate cooperation? What are some of the primary impediments the state face when trying to reach cooperative settlements with each other?

Interstate cooperation: occurs when a collection of states subordinate their sovereignty in order to establish a supranational set of rules that governs conduct between them to achieve a desirable outcome for all states involved

-Impediments states face trying to reach cooperative settlements:

-Collective action problem: when everyone agrees about the benefits of a common goal, but no one will pay to realize that goal

-Free rider problem

-Many actors would much rather avoid costs that come with reaching a cooperative settlement

-Sometimes there is a lack of rules or a lack of enforcement of the rules placed to avoid the free rider problem

-The problem of distributing the burden of collective goods provision can activate intense struggles among interested parties,

-There are some winners and some losers; in a perfect world, nobody would lose but that isn't the case so those on the losing side would want to push back. Every state desires to achieve the maximum benefits while minimizing concessions, leading to conflict.

8. According to the reading (Chapter 20: Global Governance), what are the incentives for global governance through international institutions? How are efforts at global governance confronted by the collective action problem? Once international agreements are established, what types of problems of compliance and enforcement do international organizations face?

externalities -- costs/benefits applying to those who are not directly involved in interactions; outside parties has distributional stake in outcomes; instead of renegotiating cooperation, states can establish forms of multilateral governance (general set of rules) to reduce tra nsaction costs

way to streamline their interactions in order to manage increasing complexity or to make their interactions more efficient

provision of public goods (everyone agrees about a goal but no one willing to pay the costs for it); free rider problem; incentives

difficult to enforce -- countries don't like to pay for the costs of enforcement; many states will still cheat and find ways to avoid punishment; states often settle for self-punishment so no parties have a reason to cheat;

diffused enforcement -- enforcement by decentralized members rather than a centralized governing agency; sanctions sometimes fail to produce the desired outcome

9. What are the Cold War origins of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)? What did Lord Ismay mean when he said the goal of NATO was "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down"?

US and NATO: Cold War Origins

-General Lord Ismay, NATO first secretary-general, on the goal of NATO: to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down

Spread democracy

-Origin: NATO and protection of Europe from the Soviet threat (nuclear and conventional act)

-NATO as a binding mechanism for American military power (establish American Lead)

--Work multilaterally (think about others in NATO)

-NATO and peace between democratic powers in Europe led by an outsider, the US (Keep germans down)

10. What are the two main dilemmas facing NATO and how has the Trump administration addressed these dilemmas?

Dilemmas of NATO (cost outweighs the benefits)

1.) European shirking their responsibilities to provide their own security

President Eisenhower on European shirking in NATO: they won't make the sacrifices to provide the soldiers for their own defense

2.) The US as a reluctant hegemon

Trump Administration and NATO

Challenging the basic foundations of NATO and European security

Demanding Europeans step up and spend more - spend 2% of GDP at least.

The costs of international institutions outweigh the benefits

Remedies (radical)

NATO is obsolete

If European countries don't raise expense levels, may not fully honor article 5 of NATO's founding treaty

Attack on any member of NATO is an attack on all members

Collective security arrangement (the US as the hegemon)

Module 17

Democracy Promotion in US Foreign Policy

1. What is democracy? Describe Robert Dahl's three "procedural minimal" conditions of democracy.

Robert Dahl: "Procedural Minimal" Conditions of Democracy( pre-conditions that need to be met in order to ensure that multi-party elections are truly free & fair)

if it does not have competitive elections, then it's not a democracy and vice versa

I. Public Contestation

Electoral competition (multiple parties competing)

Individual freedoms (rights of citizens to freely express themselves, form associations, and receive info from the media-freedom of the press)

II. Inclusion

Universal Suffrage (the system must allow universal and equal participation by all segments of society)

III. Democratic Sovereignty (democratic elections must result in the establishment of truly powerful decision-making bodies such as legislative and chief executives) - not people like the military or religious authorities

Liberal democracy is a representative system of government marked by free and fair elections and limited government powers that protect the rights of individuals under the rule of law. Some scholars have warned against the electoralist fallacy—that is, (wrongly) equating the holding of competitive elections with democracy if such elections are not accompanied by crucial political freedoms, such as freedom of speech and freedom of the press.

2. Discuss how restrictions on voting rights affected American democracy. What are the major historical expansions of voting rights during American history and how have expanded voting rights affected descriptive representation of women and ethnic minorities? How has universal suffrage affected election outcomes?

1. Democracy broadens its social scope by enabling public participation in politics through elections.

- In a democratic country, people choose the parties and people they want by revealing their pledges and promoting them to the people.

- In the dictatorship, political affairs are entrusted to important institutions.

2. Democracy creates a punishment mechanism that pressures all to implement policies.

-If a person from the selected party fails to fulfill his or her pledge properly, supporters can vote for another party figure in the next election.

3. Democracy brings out various institutional views within the country and balances society.

- Even when there is a disagreement on diplomacy, they can express their opinions by supporting a party with the same opinion.

•Five stages of expansion of voting rights in the U.S.

-Expansion of white male suffrage in 19th century

-15th amendment (1870) prohibits voting restrictions based on race or color

•Voter suppression prevented African Americans from voting, especially in the South, for decades

-19th amendment (1920) prohibits voting restrictions based on sex

-Voting Right Act of 1965 enforces racial equality at the polls & 24th amendment

-26th amendment (1971) sets minimum voting age at 18

3. What is the democratic peace theory? How do the factors that contribute to democracy's influence over foreign policy in general - electoral constraints, institutional constraints on power such as checks and balances, and a shared democratic identity - help to explain, in particular, peaceful relations between democracies?

-Claim that military conflict (low levels, including threat to use force; and war) is less likely between two democratic states

-Democracies will be peaceful towards other democracies, but not peaceful towards autocracies.

-Causes of democratic peace:

--Electoral Constraints raise the political costs associated with war. Encourages making peace.

--Institutional checks and balances make peace settlements more durable because democracy help solve commitment problem

--Shared democratic identity: Democracies externalize norms of conciliation and compromise with each other and there is less public support for using military force against fellow democracy.

4. What are some critiques of the democratic peace theory?

- The small outbreak of war between democratic countries is simply based on chance, and may not prove that democracy is a peaceful political structure

- Because there were few democratic countries before the 20th century, and after that there could not be conflicts between democratic countries to deal with the common enemy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

- Now that the international market is active, many companies are opposed to having hostile relations with other countries. Rather, companies whose domestic market is the main customer generally support the nation's aggressive diplomacy (not wanting to compete with foreign products). But most countries agree to free trade.

Critiques of Democratic Peace:

Puzzle for the democratic peace states undergoing democratic transitions experience more conflictAlternative explanations: A common enemy in the Soviet Union explains peace in Western Europe after World War II Great power settlements, not a democracy, explains peace after World War II

5. How and why has Democracy Promotion been a more or less important element within U.S. foreign policy over the years?

-The small outbreak of war between democratic countries is simply based on chance, and may not prove that democracy is a peaceful political structure.

-Because there were few democratic countries before the 20th century, and after that there could not be conflicts between democratic countries to deal with the common enemy of the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

- Now that the international market is active, many companies are opposed to having hostile relations with other countries. Rather, companies whose domestic market is the main customer generally support the nation's aggressive diplomacy (not wanting to compete with foreign products). But most countries agree to free trade.

Countries that are transitioning to a democracy have a higher chance of being involved in war. So, to get to the point of widespread democratic peace, there could be many wars at once globally.

Critiques of Democratic Peace

-Puzzle for the democratic peace states undergoing democratic transitions experience more conflict

-Alternative explanations: A common enemy in the Soviet Union explains peace in Western Europe after World War II

-Great power settlements, not a democracy, explains peace after World War II

5. How and why has Democracy Promotion been a more or less important element within U.S. foreign policy over the years?

-Democratic peace theory has long justified American efforts to expand democracy...means more partners for cooperation, more trade, and more peace

-Post-cold war brought new idea that the spread of democracy aligned with greater security for the US

More recently democracy is promoted more by example.

6. Describe some of the efforts by the United States to promote democracy around the world. What are the political challenges associated with American efforts to promote democracy? What are the benefits and drawbacks associated with promoting democracy around the world?

-Wilson sought to leverage American participation in WWI to expand democracies in the world

-promoting democracy took a backseat after WWII

>primarily to contain communism

-United States used democracy promotion in Germany and Japan after WWII

-The end of the cold war was a boom for democracy promotion and democracy promotes greater security for the US

-After the Cold War, Clinton intervened in Yugoslavia under humanitarian grounds (to stop genocide) and the goal of democracy promotion

-Iraq: Bush (neo-conservatives) with regime change and democracy promotion in the Middle East was his strategy of countering terrorism after 9/11 resulted in invasion through military forces (skeptism of military use grew)

>other democracies means that there is less chance for war and this means a more stable world order. This means that it is in the interest of big democracies to promote more democracies.

Drawbacks:

>Can cause people to distrust democracies because it is often achieved through military intervention

>The US promoting democracy in places like latin america during the cold war gave the US a bad reputation because of the CIA constantly intervening in elections (made latin America almost frightened of the US)

>Cost is a huge drawback when it comes to democracy promotion, as the bill racks up when you start promoting democracy in every country that you deem it necessary

>you take away some of the autonomy and sovereignty of a nation when you determine that their way of running things is not the correct way, and try to promote your own system.

>it probably pisses a lot of other countries off when the US comes in and tells them (or in a lot of cases, forces them) how to run their country. So the drawback would be the

resentment other countries feel toward the United States

7. Using the module's reading, describe historical waves of democracy and the possible causes of these waves such as demonstration effects, neighborhood effects, conditionality of international organizations, and the influence of hegemons.

3 primary waves each followed by a partial reverse wave in which democratic governments broke down and were replaced by autocracies

-1st wave: lasted most of the 19th century until the beginning of the 20th century leading up to the WWI

partial democratic regimes emerged primarily in EU and the US

democracy remained rare & outnumbered by non-democratic regimes

followed by a reverse wave in the interwar period b/w WWI & WWII

-2nd wave of democracy followed WWII:

W. EU saw the emergence of democratic gov in W. Germany, Italy, and Austria supported mostly by American hegemony

Japan also established a democratic government

Brief democratic experiments launched in Latin America

Reverse wave took place in the 1960s and 1970s w/ breakdowns of democratic regimes across Latin America and the emergence of military dictatorships across the region

-3rd wave of democracy: took hold beginning in the 1970s with the democratization of Spain, Portugal, and Greece in Europe and then the widespread collapse of military rule in Latin America and its replacement with democracies in the late 1970s and early 1980s

now being followed by a 3rd reverse wave as countries such as Russia have returned to authoritarian rule;

Demonstration effects:

Significant mass events that successfully challenge the autocratic regimes create demonstration effects among opposition leaders and mass publics in other countries who then try to emulate the same actions and outcomes

-Neighborhood effects:

States tend to emulate the level of democracy of their neighboring states. This creates regional environments that are more or less conducive to the emergence of democracy.

-Influence of hegemons:

The actions of the US and the Soviet Union were instrumental in the spread of democracy or lack thereof during the cold war

8. According to the Krasner reading, what are the two main tendencies within US foreign policy regarding democracy promotion and dealing with authoritarian regimes? What third option does Krasner propose in how the U.S. should deal with long-standing dictatorships?

US foreign policy has tended to take two different approaches toward authoritarian regimes:

-On the one hand, presidents like George W. Bush have tried to transform dictatorships into liberal democracies. Believed in idea that democracy can be achieved all around the world - idea held since Woodrow Wilson's presidency.

-On the other hand, presidents like Donald Trump and Barack Obama have taken a more hands off approach, choosing to demonstrate the virtues of democracy by example through a well-functioning American political system, but doing little to promote democratic regime change. Borrows from isolationism and offshore balancing.

•Both of these approaches are seriously flawed:

-In the first one, America devotes enormous resources into a project, implanting democracy that is almost always unsuccessful at best and often backfires, especially when using military intervention, as shown in Iraq and Afghanistan.

-In the second instance, America ignores problems at its own peril, allowing radical elements to fester and gain strength to threaten the U.S. homeland and vital American interests with attack. Ex: Al-Qaeda and 9/11.

-Krasner highlights a common dilemma of democracy promotion. The U.S. faces a no-win situation. Overly ambitious democracy promotion does not work but withdrawal from the world's problems has costs as well.

•Krasner offers a third option - promoting good enough governance, which emphasizes greater security, economic growth, and better provision of some services - Middle ground between overly aggressive approach for regime change and overly restrained approach.

•Main elements of promoting good enough governance:

-The world's states can be categorized into three groups: consolidated democracies, transitional countries, and despotic regimes. Each category needs a different approach.

-For consolidated democracies, the U.S. needs to maintain its alliance and trade commitments to help sustain successful democracy

-For transitional countries, the U.S. should work with other democracies to gently nudge these countries toward greater democracy by identifying good local leaders to support.

-For despotic regimes, democracy is probably not viable in the short-term. In these cases, the U.S. should also identify good local leaders, regardless if they are committed to democracy or not, and provide them assistance to improve security, economic growth, and provision of important services like health care.

•Critique: How should the U.S. respond to authoritarian regimes, like China, that arguably provide good enough governance but also severely oppress many of their citizens?

Tldr:

Using military force to force democracy is bad (Vietnam)

Walking away from communist countries also bad

Suggests constant pushing of countries to democracy: encourage democracy slowly, try to keep states from collapsing into a nightmare.

Module 18

Globalization and US Trade Policy

1. According to the reading, what are the chief indicators of the increase of globalization since World War II? What is comparative advantage and how does it contribute to aggregate economic gains for states from trade? How does trade contribute to the economic sources of order in the international system?

Chief indicators of the increase of globalization since WWII is the elimination of natural, technological, and political barriers to trade that limit the distance over which commerce can profitably occur.

Post WWII era of global economic integration has been fueled by a global trading regime - centered on the General Agreement on tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the WTO - that has encouraged and sustained dramatic reductions in political barriers to trade, such as reduction of import tariffs

Comparative advantage - economy's ability to produce a particular good or service at a lower opportunity cost than its trading partners

Suggests that governments can boost national income through a mix of policies that promote international trade (such as cutting tariffs and encourage greater specialization in sectors that possess greater efficiency advantages over the rest of the domestic economy)

2. What is the Ricardian model of trade? Describe the processes by which it suggests that trade and specialization can increase aggregate national income.

The Ricardian model of trade assumes that there are two countries, producing two goods, using one factor of production, usually labor. The model is a general equilibrium model in which all markets are perfectly competitive.

Globalization helps to raise national income through specialization and trade

Policy Implication - states should eliminate trade barriers to max economic growth

Ricardo used the principle of comparative advantage to illustrate how international trade could generate these economic benefits.

-Gains trade stem from differences in the relative efficiency of individuals, firms, or whole economies in the production of some mix of goods

Ricardo showed that countries could gain from trade by specializing in the production of those goods in which they held the greatest efficiency gains relative to all other goods - comparative advantage.

3. If trade makes states wealthier, why is there political resistance to globalization?

Tendency of globalization to shift distribution of income within an economy - some groups see income gains, while others see income losses

Political implications:

-Globalization tends to activate domestic political conflict because some groups win and some groups lose

-This powerful reason to explain prevalence of barriers to trade that constrict national income

-Some people may lose their jobs due to globalization. For example, the car industry in the US has been declining because it is cheaper to create cars in china or mexico. Therefore, people who worked in these factories will lobby for tariffs on these goods they are importing from other countries.

4. What are the domestic distributional consequences of globalization? Which groups win and lose from globalization inside the United States?

Some groups see income gains (college degree) and some groups see income losses (unskilled)

-Benefits not distributed evenly across society

International trade helps to create jobs in sectors that rely disproportionately on resources (factor endowments) that U.S. possesses in abundance

-Abundance drives down the costs of these factors and makes goods that rely on them as inputs relatively cheaper

Jobs are lost in sectors that rely disproportionately on resources that are scarce in the US (ex:unskilled labor in manufacturing, unskilled workers cannot find jobs in higher economic sectors created by globalization so they are worse off)

Think about factor endowments (scarcity and abundance) in the US relative to ratio of factor endowments in other countries

Ricardo misses... tendency of globalization to shift distribution of income within an economy

-Lose factory job making $30/hour when GM moves plant from Flint, MI to Mexico; find alternative job at Walmart for $12/hour

What is the Heckscher-Ohlin model of trade? What does the H-O model of trade demonstrate about the relationship between access to the international market and redistribution of income within countries?

Hecksher-Ohlin model of trade shows how trade redistributes income

Adds to the Ricardian model of trade - factor endowments as source of competitive advantage that shapes countries exports.

International trade increases the returns, or income, to holders of abundant factors in an economy.International trade pushes down the income of holders of scarce factors in an economy.

Export abundant resources and products, import scarce resources and products

5. How do trade and globalization shape political relations and order in the international system?

When governments open their domestic economies to international trade, their consumers gain access to more competitive, lower-cost producers from other countries

Policies that promote trade and globalization can also become the target of voter angst and scorn if they effectively replace local workers with foreign ones

By building new economic connections across national boundaries, global economic integration increases the role played by the markets in generating order in the international system

Markets influence the distribution of political authority within and between states and help create political order in the international system

-The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith argued that commerce and foreign trade would gradually enhance individual liberty by altering the distribution of property rights within a society

Growing political influence of a commercial class has stimulated successful democratic transitions in some countries

If globalization increases income levels, this can imply that globalization supports democracy more broadly in the international system because literature shows that rising income levels within countries make the presence of democracy more likely

-Economic development can facilitate democratic transitions and prevent democracies from collapsing back into autocratic regimes

Commercial integration also alters the quality of political interactions among states

-Global economic integration strengthens commercial groups within states opposed to war, making it harder for governments to secure domestic political support for war

6. Why did the United States launch a trade war against China in 2018?

After joining the WTO - China became an economic superpower

America says that China achieved growth by not playing fair

US and China have different domestic systems

-China's state managed capitalism create unfair advantages

-Less government support for US firms - limited role

Grand strategy of America First

-Long argued that the rest of the world has been taking advantage of the U.S. for decades

-Arguing that globalization has fueled China's rise and weakened the U.S.

Deeper skepticism for free trade

-US imports more than exports - deficit

Wants to raise tariffs on Chinese products

-Hurts American manufacturing and jobs

-Consistent with domestic political strategy of Trump

Trump's demands specific to trade with China

-China should boost imports of US products, specifically agricultural products

-Protection of US intellectual property

-No currency manipulation

-Raise tariffs on Chinese goods so China will likely change its trade policies towards the US. - make goods more expensive

7. What are some of the important stages in this trade war between China and the United States?

-US creates tariff on Steel and Aluminum imports and doesn't exempt china

-China responds with $3B on US imports

-US responds with 25% tariff on 1,300 chinese products ($50B)

-China responds with 25% tariff on goods like transportation equipment and soybeans

-US responds with $1B tariffs on sorghum exports

- The trump administration in china signed a Phase 1 trade deal in January of 2020 that eased access for American exports into China, most importantly the President was going to rely on this trade deal success to spark higher levels of economic growth in the United States and sell this agreement as a significant political and economic victory during the presidential campaign of 2020.

- Then the coronavirus disease of 2020 panic hits, changes the world and raises deeper challenges for the US-China relationship and trump administration. As of May 2020, China had a lot of ground to cover fulfilling its pledges to increase its purchases of US exports as part of the Phase 1 trade agreement.

China is targeting Trump's voting base so it hurts

Orange tariff (Florida)

8. How have domestic political considerations (and the distributional consequences of trade) in the United States contributed to this trade war?

-China has intentionally targeted sectors and regions of the US economy that are more likely to vote for Trump

-China hopes to leverage U.S. elections to pressure Trump into making concessions in the trade war

Module 19

Finance and US Foreign Policy

1. What does globalization in financial terms look like?

The movement of capital across national boundaries. It generates economic growth, can reverberate recessions, and fosters peace between states. It connects markets through imports and exports of capital.

2. What is an exchange rate? How do shifts in exchange rates alter patterns of imports and exports? How can exchange rate changes influence trade policy?

Exchange rates reflect differences in the value of respective currencies; price of one currency in terms of another

-Value relative to another currency

-As $ appreciates, it can buy MORE units of a foreign currency

-As $ depreciates, it buys FEWER units of a foreign currency

EXAMPLE:

--February 2018 - $ buys 0.81 euros

--May 2020 - $ buys 0.91 euros

---Dollar appreciates relative to euro from 2018-2020

Exchange rates are important:

-Shape the price of conducting international trade

-When the dollar appreciates, imports go up because the foreign products (bought by more valuable $) are cheaper

-When the dollar appreciates, exports go down because they are priced in $ and more expensive to foreign consumers

-Opposite with depreciating currency

--Helps exports, slows imports

3. What is a trade deficit? How are trade deficits related to foreign capital inflows and investment in the United States?

A trade deficit is when imports exceed exports- evidence of unfair trade practices from other countries

Undermine competitiveness of domestic firms - put them out of business- too much import competition

Greater imports hurt employment in the US

Current account deficit is offset by capital account surplus

Current account (ratio of exports to imports) = Capital account (ratio of capital outflows to inflows)

Current account surplus (net exporter) = Capital account deficit (net lender)

Bring foreign capital into the US drive domestic investment levels up & help Compensate for low savings rates

*Current account deficit (net importer) = Capital account surplus (net borrower)

If the US runs a trade deficit in a given year - it is buying more than it is selling

US finances these trade deficits with loans from foreigners

Healthy investment climate (more capital into the US)

Compensate for low savings rates

Due to globalization

4. What is the political significance of the dollar's reserve currency status in the global economy?

$ as the Global Reserve Currency

Money as a medium of exchange facilitates economic growth and specialization

National governments supply for the domestic economy, who supplies money for the global economy?

Dollar as the global currency

See this role whenever there is a flight to safety (investor sells bonds & purchases treasury bonds- safest investment)

The political and economic benefits of the dollar's reserve currency status

Global liquidity or money supply generated via treasury bonds

Government issues Treasury bonds when it runs a budget deficit

Budget deficit - expenditures exceed (tax) revenues

The ability to rely on foreigners to finance budget deficits helps fund domestic and foreign policies that Americans unwilling to fund through taxes (eg how Bush funded the Iraq war)

Tenure - repay after 10 yrs

Is the US being exploited for its global economic leadership?

The US has leverage since $ is the global reserve currency

The US derives a benefit from this

Paid for wars and tax cuts in post 9/11 period

5. How can global capital markets discipline or influence the economic policy of governments?

The Discipline of Global Capital (bond) Markets (Punish the irresponsible economic policies)

When foreign capital holders lose confidence in a government's monetary policy, they tend to sell assets or treasury bonds denominated in that currency

Currency depreciates

The government can reassure investors (or bring them back) by

Raising taxes or cutting government spending

Offering higher returns (i.e. push interest rates up)

But... these measures push the domestic economy into recession

EXAMPLE: Greece in the Euro crisis (30% interest rate)

Real policy implications - International capital markets can sharply constrain a country's monetary policy; limiting the discretion of elected officials and forcing them to push their economy into recession to reassure creditors

6. What emergency actions did the Federal Reserve undertake to help prevent a broader global financial crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Federal reserve emergency actions in the COVID-19 pandemic

Federal reserve - bank of largest banks in the US (insulated from pressures from elected officials)

Hold deposits at the fed reserve

Regulate the banking system

Make monetary policy (issues money & regulates money supply by influencing interest rates)

Provide credit

The Fed has undertaken EXTRAORDINARY, UNPRECEDENTED actions during the past five weeks to prevent the economic shutdown associated with COVID-19 from triggering a global financial crisis If it gets to the banks

Using part of the 2008 playbook and then going way beyond that

Powell - Trump doesn't like that he slowed the economy just before COVID hit; pushed interest rates up before pandemic

Changes to the Fed's balance sheet in the last decade

Measures the Fed's assets or its outstanding loans

Less than $1 trillion in Sep. 2008

$4.15 trillion on Feb. 24, 2020

$6.1 trillion on April 9

Buying US Treasury bonds; mortgage-backed securities; corporate debt; making loans to businesses smaller than 10k employees; loans to state and local governments; and debt collateralized with student loans/auto loans

Buys these assets by creating reserves for the financial institutions that sell them to the Fed

Creating deposits or (electronic) money

Doing this to encourage private financial institutions to continue lending in this crisis

Fed Monetary policy actions in March and April 2020

March 3: dropped federal funds rate target to 0.00 from 0.25 (overnight interest rate charged to largest banks)

Multiple rounds of quantitative easing (asset purchases that increase the size of its balance sheet)

3/15 - announce purchases of $700 billion (Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities)

3/23 - announced that purchases open-ended (NEW)

Direct lending to large corporations instead of only banks (NEW)

Treasury (the US taxpayer) provides a backstop to take on up to $75 billion in losses

April 9: indirect lending to small and medium-sized businesses (NEW)

Fund 95% of loans originated by other domestic financial institutions

Direct lending to state and local governments, up to $500 billion (NEW)

Swap lines (exchange dollars for foreign currencies) to 14 most trusted central banks

March 31: FIMA Repo Facility (Foreign and International monetary authorities) - Fed will lend dollars (create reserves) to foreign actors that hold and post US Treasury bonds as collateral (NEW)

Preventing a global run on the dollar so foreign financial institutions (banks, hedge funds, pension funds, etc.) don't have to sell US Treasury bonds (and drive down their price) to cover other losses

7. How does the status of the U.S. dollar as the reserve currency of the global economy help the Federal Reserve to take such dramatic steps during the pandemic to support the U.S. economy? How is this related to the Hegemonic Stability Theory?

Global demand for dollars is helping Congress to run massive deficits (at near zero percent interest) and Fed to print trillions of dollars to backstop US financial institutions and the domestic economy

If the US runs a $4 trillion deficit this year with 5% interest

Interest payments would increase the US deficit by $200 billion

Instead, the real annual interest rate is around 0.5%

Interest payments would increase the US deficit $20 billion

Huge implications for hegemonic stability theory

The concentration of economic capabilities in the hands of the US creates positive economic benefits for the global economy, hoping to expand international trade and global economic growth

Supports benefits (e.g., dollar as reserve currency, and access to US consumer markets)

US can run exploding deficits because the world needs dollars

8. What do the Fed's actions say about the costs and benefits of American hegemony/leadership in the global economy?

Fed wants to prevent foreigners from selling US Treasury (drive down the value of the dollar)

Got more aggressive recently

Cost to the US would go up substantially

The trade deficit is associated with capital imports into the United States that help raise domestic investment.

True

Central Banks help set monetary policy by influencing domestic interest rates.

True

As part of its efforts to contain the economic fallout from the COVID pandemic, the Federal Reserve has expanded its balance sheet by creating new electronic money to buy mortgage backed securities, US Treasury bonds, and corporate bonds.

True

The Mundell-Fleming Trilemma suggests that the United States could simultaneously pursue monetary policies that support fixed exchange rates, capital mobility, and monetary autonomy.

False - the definition states you can only pursue 2 out of 3 objectives

Module 20

The United States and the Bretton Woods Institutions

1. What is the Bretton Woods economic order? What were the main forces that served as an impetus for the U.S. to construct the Bretton Woods order? What are the main organizations that emerged from Bretton Woods?

Emerges in final stages of WWII, US supports creation of international organizations to ensure economic growth through international trade

Impetus from Great depression & WWII

Diagnosis of global strategic problem at Bretton Woods

Collapse of economic cooperation- great depression- Nazi takeover, imperial rivalry, WWII

Sought to prevent events of this nature from repeating; wanted to institutionalize globalization

Plan for institutional solution at Bretton Woods

Construction of international organizations that support reduction of trade barriers- political cooperation to sustain globalization- peace & economic growth (prevent another World War)

Political cooperation in international economic affairs

Joint reduction in tariff barriers

Monetary cooperation- multiple countries coordinate monetary policies to preserve stable exchange rates

Foreign aid

Emergency lending

Why is political cooperation hard to achieve

Problem of contracting over time- states cheat

Uncertainty about political interests of other states

Monitoring compliance

Distribution hurdles: which side is getting a better deal?

International organizations help resolve some challenges associated with cooperation

Provide enforcement mechanisms (WTO, IMF)

Help to reveal info about state interests

Monitor compliance

Reduce distributional challenges

44 nations met to discuss ways to manage economic cooperation in the post-war world order. The main forces that serves as an impetus for the Bretton Woods order were the collapse of the First Era of Globalization in 1914 with the onset of WWI, as well as the unraveling of economic cooperation in the interwar period that contributed to economic downturn, volatility, and helped lead to the onset of WWII. The main organizations that emerged from the Bretton Woods order were the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, also known as the World Bank.

2. Describe the main elements of international economic cooperation. Why is political cooperation between states on international economic affairs difficult to achieve?

Enforcement mechanisms to deter states from cheating which takes in the form of withdrawing economic concessions that have been promised

Cooperation because joining an organization signals FP interests, it requires concessions that are costly domestically for future government policies that reduce uncertainty that it might change policies in the future

states cheat; fail to honor concessions; won't come to agreement if this might happen

states are uncertain about interests of other states; states might lie

can be challenging to monitor behavior of other states

face distribution challenges; one side might benefit more than the other

3. How might international economic organizations, like the WTO and the IMF, facilitate economic cooperation among states and higher levels of international trade?

Provides enforcement mechanisms

WTO: judicial panel (judges hear the sides and then decide whether the injured state may impose tariffs or not)

IMF: conditionality (insists on conditions that must be followed by states for IMF assistance)

Helps to reveal information about state interests through its own investigations

Monitors compliance of all members

Reducing distribution challenges

4. What is the GATT? What is the WTO? How do these organizations differ? What are some of the norms, principles, and rules associated with the GATT and WTO? How does the dispute settlement mechanism in the WTO support international trade?

GATT or General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (precursor to the WTO)

A multilateral international organization designed to support the reduction of trade barriers on a reciprocal basis among states

Reciprocity is the key to the GATT (expectation among states that any concession or tariff cut taken by a state would prompt some set of tariff cuts by another country)

It provided a series of rules that would guide negotiating rounds and boosted a country's aggregate trade flows during the Cold War (ultimately increased international trade)

However, did not provide a mechanism to adjudicate trade disputes

Important: no enforcement capabilities, trade disputes handled on a bilateral basis (bigger countries have higher leverage)

WTO(World Trade Organization)-legal mechanism

Key difference: institutionalized a dispute settlement mechanism with established procedures for filing grievance, investigating complaints, and punishing defection (enforcement tool!)

Designed to ensure that states uphold existing trade concessions (e.g. tariff cuts) negotiated through GATT/WTO

Judicial panel can enforce these obligations by authorizing compensation to injured party in form of trade sanctions

Interesting: plaintiff gives a lot of discretion on where to impose retaliatory tariffs on the defendant to give them (Bush got tariffs on Orange Juice) pain

pain

Political logic: WTO enforcement capacity keeps global economy open by punishing states pursuing protection

While successful at preserving existing trade concessions, WTO relatively ineffective over the last decade in securing further trade liberalization because of limited support in the developed world (US, Europe, Japan)- it make sense because when there's enforcement mechanism, it level up the playing fields, big countries are less likely to get what they want. (designed to offset large state powers.)

5. What is the International Monetary Fund? What are its main functions? What is the main source of its influence in the international economy? What is conditionality and how does the IMF use it to promote economic reforms within countries? Why does the U.S. have so much influence within the IMF?

IMF: International Monetary Fund- more lenient

Acts like a bank

Overseas pool of capital created by countries apart of the organization

Main functions

Limits exchange rate fluctuations (prevent currency wars form depression that interrupted trade)

Lender of last resort: helps governments in exchange rate crisis stabilize reserves with loans

Main source of influence

Control over exchange rate stability - prevents global economic order from collapsing

Conditionality/loans - powerful because they'll loan when no one wants to (getting that money back will provide enough reputation for private investors to reinvest)

Conditionality and how does the IMF use it?

Conditionality: demands conditions that change economic conditions in country and enhance long term ability to repay

Conditions may include cut tariff barriers, cut budget deficits, raise taxes, cut spending (leads to tons of job loss, so states hate conditions)

IMF will give partial money and then state needs to follow through with conditions before getting more money

Why is US so influential over IMF

All countries are not equal: voting power and political power influences the capital in the pool of capital that IMF owns

US is the biggest shareholder, therefore it has a lot of influence on the emergency loans

US will often relax conditions for strategic reasons (such as being allies with US)-

Module 21

The Environment and US Foreign Policy

1. What is the basic scientific claim about the causes and extent of climate change? What are the main environmental consequences that scientists fear will result from climate change?

Average temperatures of the earth are increasing

Human activity since the industrial revolution are most responsible for this change

Scientific claims: CO2 is a heat trapping gas & volume of CO2 in earth's atmosphere increased since the industrial revolution (from 280 ppm to 400 ppm)

Consequences: the doubling of CO2 in the atmosphere will increase average global temperature by 5.5 fahrenheit

Cause more extreme heat waves (droughts, wind patterns),this warming might add to more variability in weather patterns (some regions might see longer gaps between rain, but then more intense rainfall when rain does occur) ocean levels rising (ice sheets melting) endangering coastal communities, warming of the atmosphere may reach a point where its irreversible (no amount of CO2 cuts will restore atmospheric temperatures to pre-industrial rangers) so coastal communities will have to relocate

Mass immigration of climate refugees, increased volatility as borders contested and resources deplete.

2. What is the tragedy of the commons? Why is it rational for individuals to overuse public goods? How does this phenomenon help to explain the difficulty of managing the sustainable use of commonly held public property? Know some examples.

Tragedy of the commons- encourages overuse of common pool resources (atmosphere, bodies of water, fisheries) because individuals making consumption/use decisions of the resources do not bear the full social consequences of their overuse

Emerges with public property or resources for which it is difficult (costly) to restrict their use (consumption)

Divergence between private benefits and social cost (individual rational for people to consume, but diffused costs to society)

Resources get depleted

oil fields, common grazing lands, overpopulation, fisheries, atmosphere

Ex: factory dumps pollutants in river which is key water resource for the city: people get sick but also depend on factory for job

Factory adapts alt energy source to cut emissions, but becomes less profitable, out of business

City pays factory to cut emissions, simultaneously subsidize production

Problem: how to define property rights over a common pool resource

Absence of property rights leads to overuse & limits incentives for conservation

Private & social costs diverge

Factory pays nothing for pollution (no private costs) while people pay health costs (social cost)

Factory distributes cost to everyone else

3. What is an externality?

a side effect or consequence of an industrial or commercial activity that affects other parties without this being reflected in the cost of the goods or services involved

Costs borne by actors not directly involved in a process (The mailman who got lung cancer bc he lived next to the factory)

4. What is the collective action problem? How might it be applied to the challenges of managing climate change? What are some of the political solutions to the collective action problem in the case of carbon dioxide emissions?

Collective action problem

a situation in which all individuals would be better off cooperating but fail to do so because of conflicting interests between individuals that discourage joint action

Common Pool Resource

A resource that is both nonexcludable and rivalrous

There are many incentives to overproduce greenhouse gas emissions but the only incentive to stop is future costs associated with climate change

Possible Solutions:

Affected parties negotiate a solution that preserves sustainability and distributes burden according to all parties' joint preferences

Only arises w/ small number of parties and few barriers to negotiation

Regulation provided by institutions that can set limits on usage of common pool resources, establish rules for the provision and maintenance of common pool resources, and monitor the behaviors of the parties

Faces issues in getting countries to actually alter their existing practices, and distributional issues

CO2 cuts as a collective action problem

Public good: non-excludable and non-rivalrous

Can activate free rider problem

Free riding- failing to limit own CO2 emissions

Costly to exclude countries from consuming once supplied

Potential solutions

Large actors provide public good on own

Large actors such as US or China simply absorb the cost of free riding, because they benefit enough individually from its supply

International agreement to punish noncompliance

Markets undersupply public goods, necessity of international agreement

5. What are the three different distributional struggles related to the problem of climate change?

Distributional struggle within countries:

Coal vs solar

Oil vs general public

winners would be investors in clean energy

losers are carbon-dependent industries

because new reduction requirements have extra costs that could be an expense for industries and create a loss

Distributional struggle among countries:

Developed (US, Europe) vs developing (Brazil, China, India, Russia)

Industrial era- Developed countries should pay for the carbon emissions- why should developing countries pay if they haven't even caught up yet

Variation in carbon emissions across countries means different levels of preparedness for changes

US: carbon consumption in electricity, transportation, industry

Industry (& carbon emissions) shifting to developing world: caps would impede their growth

production of gases is unequal

Who do you put the burden on? Most industrialized, industrializing, etc?

also the ability to implement change varies depending on the level of industrialization of a country

across generations:

the intertemporal gap; costs are diffused over time

costs are going to fall on our children, while the costs of transition fall on current generations who have much more political power

6. What is the Paris climate accord? How might it operate to reduce carbon emissions and limit the increase of average temperatures? How did it navigate the tension between developed and developing countries?

What is it?

Deal reached Dec 2015

Designed to reduce global carbon emissions as a way to avoid some of the effects of climate change

US played important role in the final terms of agreement, but pulled back on some of its pledges in this agreement after Trump as voted into office

multilateral agreement between countries on a process by which states would reduce carbon emissions to keep average global temperature increases below 2 degrees Celcius with an ultimate goal of below 1.5 degrees C, and therefore limit increasing average temperatures

It is a voluntary agreement where states set targets that are not legally binding

Member countries pledge to reduce emissions that progress every five years

Main components of agreement

States not adopting legally binding emission targets- countries would voluntarily submit their carbon emission targets (promotes compliance through naming & shaming)

Fund to transfer 100 billion dollars from developed to developing countries

Helps developing countries pay for costs & as compensation for the fact developed countries are more responsible for this problem due to industrialization

Advantages:

Broad collective agreement- previous climate agreements only included developed countries or failed altogether. Can't mitigate climate change without developing countries involved.

Voluntary approach instead of binding agreements is more realistic

Addresses needs of developing countries: has 100 billion to help developing countries break out of poverty without contributing to climate change

Disadvantages

Challenge of executing and deepening the Paris deal

Current targets created by states will not meet the target of an increase global temperature of less than 2 degrees celsius

Watchdog groups show that countries are not meeting their voluntary NDC's

How might it operate...

members countries pledge to reduce emissions by a certain amount by a certain date

How did it navigate...

Paris Accord required both developed and developing countries to pledge to reduce emissions

Everyone needs to participate to affect immediate change

ability of states to set own targets meant each type of country was able to determine for self what their goal should be

7. What are the main components of the Paris Climate Accord? How should it operate to limit the growth of carbon dioxide emissions?

Main components

Goal: limit global temp increases under 2.0 °C with new goal to get under 1.5 °C. (In 2015: avg temps +1.0 °C since 1880)

Binding process for monitoring and reporting pledges on emission targets and progress in upholding those pledges.

Need to make a national plan public every 5 years, each plan needs to be as strong or stronger than the prior one.

Foreign aid from developed to developing countries.

Ease costs of alt energies

Compensate for costs of climate change.

8. Which group of countries will be the recipients of foreign aid under the Paris Climate Accord? How did this aid help facilitate the construction of this international agreement? And how might this aid help countries fulfill their emission targets?

Developing countries (BRIC) will be the recipients of foreign aid under the Paris Climate Accord for actions on climate change adaptation and mitigation

It relieved tension between developed and developing countries about who should shoulder the burden of mitigating climate change

It will help developing countries switch to forms of renewable energy so they can continue to grow without emitting as much carbon as fossil fuels do

9. What is a Nationally Determined Contribution?

Set nationally, voluntary; not negotiated internationally

EU: Pledged to reduce emissions by 40% in 2030 from 1990 levels, set legally binding EU target in October 2014, already down 19%

10. What are the pros and cons of the Paris climate accord?

Pros:

commits both developed and developing countries to change (broad collective agreement)

voluntary approach more realistic; agreement could be made more quickly

addresses needs of developing countries by providing money to help them industrialize w/o contributing too much to climate change

Cons:

current targets will not get the job done

execution is not guaranteed

no target set on peaking of global emissions before change so peaks will be hit at different times

11. Describe how President Obama's use of executive orders to commit to the Paris climate accord made the U.S. commitment to the agreement vulnerable. Describe how President Trump undermined the Paris climate accord when he came into office and then withdrew the U.S. from the agreement.

Obama based his pledge for American carbon emission reductions on executive orders- vulnerable because the next president could reverse them unilaterally - "Clean Power Plan": curb coal use; government incentives for renewable energy sources. Rescinded clean power plan.

The Trump administration undermined the American commitments to the Paris agreement before formally withdrawing by rescinding Obama's executive orders. Called for more coal drilling and protections for the oil industry.

Even if the US rejoined, other states would question the stability of their commitment

Other countries are unlikely to push for significant emission reduction while allowing the US (the world's second largest carbon emitter) to free ride

They are vulnerable because the next president could reverse them unilaterally (which happened when Trump was elected)

Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement in 11/2017.

There is a 3 year waiting period, so the US was formally exited on 11/03/2020, a day before the presidential elections.

12. How might a future President Biden reverse President Trump's decisions on the Paris climate accord? Why would other countries potentially question the stability of the U.S. commitment to the agreement of a Democratic president reenters the Paris accord?

Biden intends to reenter the agreement. The rentery waiting time is approximately 30 days.

However, other countries may question the stability of the nation, especially if in the future the country is to reexit the agreement, other countries are unlikely to push for significant reductions while allowing the US, the world's second largest carbon emitter to continue free riding. They're skeptical because although a democrat is in office now what's to say the next president isn't a republican who will just pull the US out of the deal again.

13. According to the Baker reading, what are the economic and national security benefits of ambitious U.S. leadership in combating climate change? What are the four pillars of the Baker-Schultz plan to reduce carbon emissions?

Presents a conservative argument for US leadership in combating climate change

Environmental protection & economic growth are complementary not mutually exclusive

US already has a comparative advantage in low emissions manufacturing so stronger environmental protections would promote a more equal playing field for American companies

Environmental protection can foster economic growth (less expensive and less carbon)

Cleaner energy is becoming more cost effective, so the US has substantially cut emissions while maintaining a strong economy

Climate saving technologies can bring economic efficiencies

Climate change is causing economic costs through natural disasters

Environmental protection can enhance national security

Climate change causes serious national security threats such as flooding of major cities & international conflicts over water scarcity & thus reducing climate change will lessen these threats

Winner of clean energy race will determine the international balance of power & set rules for new clean energy economy

Policy proposal- carbon pricing as the most efficient means to reduce emissions (those producing most will pay more cost)

The 4 pillars of the reading are:

Economic-wide, revenue neutral carbon fee. (cost less than subsides and regulations)

Revenue from carbon fee returned to US citizens as dividends, a family of four would receive approx. $2000 a year. (enhance support on mass scale)

Carbon pricing would replace many environmental regulations.

Carbon tariff would be applied to energy-intensive imports to level the playing field. (make sure countries pay the price of their decisions)

Module 22

Immigration Policy

1. What are the main differences between voluntary and forced migration?

Voluntary- moving to another country for personal gain, usually economic opportunity

Can be obtained through legal & illegal (undocumented) means

Forced migration- leave home country to escape war, repression, or natural disaster

States are required to take in forced migration but not required to take voluntary migrants

-Refugees, human traffiking

2. Discuss the global patterns of international migration. What are the countries with the largest inflows of international migration and which countries have the largest inflows of refugees?

Dramatic growth of migrants overtime- number of migrants grown by 50% since 2000

Flow from undeveloped to developed countries (for voluntary migration)

Flow from war torn states to neighboring countries (for forced migration)

Developing countries like Turkey receive immigrants fleeing war & natural disaster because they neighbor war-torn states

Germany also receives lots of refugees

US, Saudi Arabia, Germany are top receiving countries

India, Russia, China, Mexico are top sending countries

US has the greatest total number of immigrants (people who moved throughout the years)

However, migrants make up a greater percent of the total population in Australia (30%), Canada (20%), United Arab, Saudi Arabia... US (15%).

3. Why is there a gap between public opinion regarding the preferred levels of immigration and immigration policies adopted by democracies? How does the collective action problem help to explain this gap?

Public wants decreased immigration, but immigration increases in the US because of its government policies

Collective action problem- powerful interests experience concentrated benefits from immigration while the costs are distributed widely across less organized interests

Powerful interests such as the High-tech and agriculture sectors receive concentrated benefits from immigration through low labor costs, and therefore have high incentives to push for open immigration

4. How is immigration policy related to partisanship in the United States?

Free market republicans were willing to work with democrats to construct a political solution that could've given legal status to the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the US at the time

Economics interests that served as the core constituency of the Republican party (big businesses) favored relatively open immigration, which was reflected in Bush's immigration reform plan

By Bush's 2nd term, he was unpopular because of the war in Iraq & didn't have enough political capitol left to put together a grand bipartisan compromise on the immigration issue

Much of the Republican party developed a tougher stance on immigraion

Viewed the policy issue of undocumented individuals through law & order & national secirity prisms which demands that the illegal immigrants should be deported before receiving any economic and political benefits associated with citizenship

Only became an issue when Trump forced it on the agenda (usually would not be on the agenda)

Democrats more likely to support friendly immigration policies while Republicans more likely to oppose them

Republicans worried about voting, immigrants might vote for the Democrats

5. How is international migration a part of the broader phenomenon of globalization? How does the international flow of labor through international migration create winners and losers within domestic economies?

International migration is part of the broader phenomenon of globalization

Movement of labor across national borders increases economic growth in the aggregate

People often migrate to the US in search of higher wages

Migration creates income distributional effects, which creates economic winners & losers

High tech wants to employ high skilled workers to keep costs down

Agriculture, construction, service wants to employ low skill foreign workers for lower labor costs

Low labor costs also benefit consumers through lower prices & can increase economic growth

Migrants also increase demand for public goods, spurring economic growth

Costs of immigration are borne by workers & taxpayers

By pushing labor supply, real wages are driven down

Migrants also present a cost through increased demands for social services such as schools, public safety, and health care paid through taxes

6. What are remittances? How do remittances help to redistribute wealth from wealthy countries to poorer ones?

Remittances- money sent from migrants to family & friends back home (represents one of the largest transfers of capital across international borders

Represents a greater distribution of wealth from wealthy countries to poorer ones than foreign aid

Have certain advantages over other forms of wealth transfer such as foreign aid or investment

Because they usually involve transfers between family members, remittances cannot be withdrawn & are unconditional

They also avoid government structures & corruption

Because they are target for individuals, they avoid costly overhead

Provide a valuable form of social insurance, credit, & investment in countries that lack these markets

7. According to your reading for this module, how does international migration affect the demographic composition of countries? How do these demographic changes create conflict within countries over issues of national identity?

As new migrants with different racial & ethnic & religious identities enter a country, they change the relative size of the minority and majority population, accentuating racial & ethnic conflict

In the US- debates of English as the primary language & national identity rooted in anglo protestant culture

In Europe- concerns over muslim immigration

There is strong public sentiment that knowing the national language and identifying as a Christian (moreso in europe) is important to national identity

Fear of losing dominant social status- switch from voting Obama in 2012 to Trump 2016

Racial anxiety > economic anxiety for a small group of voters that helped swing votes in 2016

8. How does international migration intersect with national security? According to your reading for this module, how does international migration present challenges for national security but also resources that can enhance a country's security?

Americans & Europeans increasingly concerned that open borders that facilitate immigration will increase the risk of more terrorists strikes

Terrorists attacks in San Bernardino, Paris, & Brussels reenforce these fears

Immigration raises fears of infiltration by terrorists through lack of regulation

Leads to calls for stricter control/regulation of access through borders, especially of migrants and refugees from countries experiencing war

More pronounced in Europe, especially in countries on the front lines of the migrant crisis caused by the Syrian Civil War & instability in the Middle East