Essentials of International Relations: Major Paradigm Theories

Vocabulary practice flashcards reviewing core theories, concepts, and key visual models in Realism, Liberalism, and Constructivism.

Defensive Realism (Waltz 1979)

A realist theory holding that international conflict arises from mistake and misperception caused by the security dilemma, where defensive military technology improves security while offensive technology worsens it.

Offensive Realism (Mearsheimer 2001)

A realist theory positing that states actively seek power to deter attacks, with the ultimate goal of becoming a regional or global hegemon.

Neo-Classical Realism (Rose 1998)

A realist approach asserting that domestic factors condition how decision-makers respond to systemic pressures under anarchy, leading to varying foreign policies among different types of states.

Functional Similarity (under Anarchy)

Kenneth Waltz's concept that under international anarchy, states perform the same essential functions and remain functionally similar rather than specialized.

Relative Gains

Concerns over how gains from joint cooperation are divided among states; according to Waltz, relative gains considerations hinder international cooperation under anarchy.

Prisoners' Dilemma

A game theory model demonstrating how two rational actors both have a dominant incentive to defect, producing a sub-optimal payoff of $(2,2)$ for each instead of mutual cooperation at $(3,3)$.

Power-Transition Theory

A theory focusing on the two most powerful states, postulating that peace breaks down when a dissatisfied contender approaches the dominant power's capability level.

Leadership Long Cycle Program

A theory explaining global order through cycles driven by radical technological innovation in a system leader's economy, leading to global expansion, delegitimization, deconcentration, and global war.

World Systems Program

A macro-structural perspective dividing the global economy into Core states (efficiency, capital control), Peripheral states (raw materials and labor), and Semi-peripheral states.

Ideational Liberalism

A branch of liberalism defined by Moravcsik (2010) where state preferences are rooted in domestic social values and identities regarding legitimate borders, political institutions, and socioeconomic equality.

Commercial Liberalism

A branch of liberalism defined by Moravcsik (2010) where state preferences are determined by economic interests and the changing costs/benefits of transnational trade.

Republican Liberalism

A branch of liberalism defined by Moravcsik (2010) positing that systems of domestic political representation shape state policy, exemplified by Democratic Peace Theory.

Shadow of the Future

A game theory concept where the expectation of repeated future interactions encourages states to cooperate in the present to avoid long-term retaliation.

Stag Hunt

A game theoretic payoff structure where both actors possess a primary incentive to cooperate rather than defect.

Deadlock

A game structure in which both actors have an incentive to defect and cannot achieve a better outcome through cooperation, rendering repeated interaction ineffective.

Constructivism

An IR paradigm asserting that state identities, interests, and international concepts like sovereignty have no fixed objective meaning, but are socially constructed through discourse and interaction.

Systemic Constructivism (Wendt)

Alexander Wendt's constructivist approach focusing on unitary state interactions and how international ideational structures shape states' social and corporate identities.

Social Identity vs. Corporate Identity (Wendt)

In Wendt's systemic constructivism, Corporate identity refers to internal human, material, and cultural factors, whereas Social identity refers to the role or status ascribed to a state by international society.

Unit-Level Constructivism

A constructivist approach emphasizing internal domestic social and legal norms as the primary drivers of state identity and national foreign policies.

Holistic Constructivism

A constructivist perspective that bridges domestic and international domains into a unified framework to analyze dynamics of global change.

Competitive Security System (Wendt)

A security system where states identify negatively with each other's security, treating security strictly as a zero-sum calculation.

Cooperative Security System (Wendt)

A security system where states identify positively with one another, defining national interests in terms of the wider international community.

Codetermination of Institutions and Process

Alexander Wendt's model illustrating how reciprocal social processes between states create intersubjective understandings that continually shape and reinforce state identities and institutions.

Great Powers, 1700–1979 Table

A historical table adapted from Wright (1965) tracking the status of major states as Great Powers across key years between 1700 and 1945.