International Relations exam 3 flashcards

Realism

An international relations theory emphasizing power, national interest, and competition among states in an anarchic world.

Liberalism

An international relations theory emphasizing cooperation, international institutions, trade, and the potential for peace.

Constructivism

An international relations theory arguing that ideas, identities, beliefs, and social norms shape international politics.

Critical Theory

An approach that critiques existing political and economic power structures, exposing inequality and seeking social change.

Transnational Corporations

Companies that operate and conduct commercial business across multiple countries.

Triadization

The concentration of global economic activity around three major regions: North America, Europe, and East Asia.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An international organization that establishes rules for global trade and helps resolve trade disputes between member countries.

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

An international institution that promotes financial stability and provides loans to countries experiencing economic crises.

World Bank

An international institution that provides financial assistance and loans for long-term economic development and poverty reduction.

UN Millennium Project

A United Nations initiative that developed strategies to help countries achieve key global development goals, particularly reducing extreme poverty.

Import Substitution Industrialization (ISI)

An economic strategy that promotes domestic production of goods to replace foreign imports and encourage domestic industrial growth.

Montreal Protocol

A 1987 international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of ozone-depleting substances.

Precautionary Principle

The guideline that preventive action should be taken to avert possible serious environmental harm even when scientific evidence is incomplete.

Trade Liberalization

The reduction or removal of barriers to international exchange, such as tariffs, quotas, and non-tariff regulations.

Core

In world-systems theory, wealthy and dominant countries that control the global economic system and benefit most from it.

Semi-Periphery

In world-systems theory, intermediate countries that exhibit structural characteristics of both dominant and subordinated economies.

Periphery

In world-systems theory, less developed and less powerful countries that primarily supply raw materials and cheap labor to the global economy.

Darwin's Nightmare

A documentary examining the devastating environmental and social consequences of introducing Nile perch into Lake Victoria and its links to globalization.

Globalization

The growing interconnectedness and interdependence of countries through cross-border trade, technology, culture, and human mobility.

Comparative Advantage

The ability of an economic actor or country to produce a specific good or service at a lower opportunity cost than competitors.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

The total monetary value of all final goods and services produced within a country's borders over a designated timeframe.

Mode of Production

The specific organization of economic production in a society, including productive forces, technological tools, and social labor relationships.

Genuine Progress Index (GPI)

An economic metric that adjusts standard domestic output by incorporating costs associated with environmental degradation, income inequality, and quality of life.

The Charity Trap

The phenomenon where humanitarian aid creates long-term structural dependency and unintentionally impedes domestic economic self-sufficiency.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A composite statistical index evaluating national development based on life expectancy, education, and per capita income.

Global Warming

The long-term rise in Earth's average surface temperature, driven primarily by human-induced emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

Kyoto Protocol

A 1997 treaty that established legally binding greenhouse gas reduction commitments primarily for industrialized nations.

Climate Denialism

The organized rejection or dismissal of the scientific consensus regarding anthropogenic climate change and its severity.

Cap-and-Trade

A market-based environmental regulatory mechanism that sets an overall emissions ceiling and enables entities to trade pollution allowances.

E-Waste

Discarded electrical or electronic equipment that poses substantial toxic chemical risks to ecosystems and public health if mismanaged.

Poverty Traps

Self-reinforcing structural and economic mechanisms that restrict individuals or nations from escaping persistent impoverishment.

Principle of Common but Differentiated Responsibility

The environmental governance doctrine establishing that while all states share a duty toward ecological protection, developed states carry greater burden due to resources and cumulative historical emissions.

Paris Climate Agreement

A 2015 multilateral climate treaty aimed at keeping global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels using nationally determined contributions.

Race to the Bottom

A competitive dynamic where jurisdictions progressively dismantle labor, tax, and environmental standards to lure foreign investment and corporate capital.