PoliSci 121: Exam #1

Sovereignty

A state’s authority to govern itself within its territory without outside interference

Security Dilemma

When one state increases its military strength to feel safer, causing other states to feel threatened and buildup their own militaries, making everyone less secure

Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)

An independent organization that operates outside government control to address issues such as human rights, poverty, or the environment

International Organization (IO)

An organization created by states, usually through an agreement, to cooperate on international issues.Examples include the United Nations and NATO.

Liberal International Order

A system of international relations built around rules, institutions, international cooperation, free trade, and, historically, the leadership of the United States and its allies after World War II.

International Institutions

Established rules, norms, and procedures that shape how states interact and cooperate. They can exist with or without a formal organization.

Non-Alignment

A policy in which a state avoids formally siding with major competing power blocs or alliances.

Democratic Peace

the theory that democracies are unlikely to fight wars against other democracies.

Prisoner’s Dilemma

A situation in which two actors acting in their individual self-interest may produce a worse outcome for both than if they cooperated.

Fearon’s Bargaining Model of War

James Fearon’s theory explaining that war can occur even when both sides would prefer a negotiated settlement, because of problems such as private information, incentives to misrepresent capabilities or resolve, and commitment problems.

Anarchy

A condition in international relations in which there is no central world government with authority over all states.

International Norm

A shared expectation about appropriate behavior for states or other international actors

Nuclear Taboo

The strong international norm against using nuclear weapons, particularly in warfare, that has developed since their use in 1945.

Interdependence

A situation in which states or societies depend on one another, so that actions in one country can affect others economically, politically, or socially.

Constitutive Effects of International Norms

The way norms shape the identities, interests, and roles of international actors, influencing who they understand themselves to be.

Regulative Effects of International Norms

The way norms guide, limit, or encourage the behavior of actors whose identities and interests may already exist.

Norm of Racial Equality

The international principle that people should not be discriminated against or denied equal rights because of their race.

Apartheid

The system of legally enforced racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa, which lasted from 1948 to the early 1990s.

United Nations

An international organization founded in 1945 to promote international peace and security, cooperation, human rights, and friendly relations among states.

UN Security Council

The UN body primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It has 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power.

Chapter VII

The section of the UN Charter that authorizes the Security Council to respond to threats to peace, breaches of peace, and acts of aggression, including through sanctions and, when authorized, military force.

UN General Assembly

The UN body in which all member states have a vote. It debates international issues and adopts resolutions, which are generally recommendations rather than legally binding decisions

International Court of Justice

The principal judicial organ of the UN. It settles legal disputes between states that have accepted its jurisdiction and provides advisory opinions on legal question

Humanitarian Intervention

The use of military force in another state's territory, generally without that state's consent, with the stated purpose of stopping widespread human suffering or human rights abuses. Its legality and legitimacy can be contested.

Inter-state war

An armed conflict fought between two or more states.

Civil war

An armed conflict fought within a state, usually between the government and organized domestic opponents or between competing internal groups.

International Order

The overall arrangement of power, rules, institutions, and norms that shapes relations among international actors.

Misperception

When a state or leader incorrectly interprets another actor's intentions, capabilities, or behavior, potentially contributing to conflict.

International Law

Rules and legal obligations that govern relations between states and other recognized international actors, based on sources such as treaties and customary international law.

Legitimacy

The belief that an actor, institution, rule, or action has a rightful or acceptable basis of authority.

Rationalist/Material (Explains International Behavior)

Emphasize strategic calculations and tangible factors such as military and economic power

Normative/Non-Material (Explains International Behavior)

Emphasize ideas, identities, values, and beliefs about appropriate behavior.

Norm of Non-Intervention

The principle that states should not interfere in the domestic political affairs of other sovereign states.

Balancing/Balance of Power

Balancing is when states build up their capabilities or form alliances to counter a powerful or threatening state. The balance of power is the resulting distribution of power intended to prevent one state from dominating others.

Identity

How a state or other actor understands who it is, including its values, history, roles, and relationships with others. Identity can influence its interests and foreign policy.

Repeated Interactions

Situations in which actors deal with each other multiple times. Repeated interactions can encourage cooperation because actors consider future rewards, retaliation, and reputation

Norm of Multilateralism

The principle that states should address international issues through cooperation among three or more states, often using shared rules and institutions.

Alliance

A formal or informal agreement between states to cooperate, often for security or defense against common threats.

Asymmetric Information + Incentive to Misrepresent

A bargaining problem in which one side knows more about its capabilities or willingness to fight than the other side, and has a reason to exaggerate its strength or resolve. This can prevent peaceful agreements and contribute to war.

Responsibility to Protect

The principle that states have a responsibility to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. If a state fails to do so, the international community has a role in responding through appropriate collective measures, consistent with the UN Charter.

Cold War

The period of geopolitical rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective blocs, generally dated from around 1947 to 1991. It involved ideological competition, arms races, and proxy wars without a direct, full-scale war between the two superpowers.

International System

The collection of states and other relevant international actors and the patterns of interaction among them, particularly how power and anarchy shape their behavior.

Mutually Assured Destruction

A condition in which two nuclear-armed adversaries can each inflict devastating nuclear damage on the other, even after suffering a first strike, discouraging either side from launching a nuclear war.

Deterrence

A strategy of preventing an opponent from taking an action by convincing them that the costs or risks will outweigh the benefits.

Laws of War

The body of international humanitarian law that regulates how wars are fought, including protections for civilians and wounded combatants and restrictions on certain weapons and methods of warfare.

Collective Defense Organization

An organization in which members agree that an armed attack against one or more members will trigger a collective response under agreed conditions. NATO is a prominent example.

Authority

The recognized right or accepted power to make decisions, establish rules, or issue commands that others are expected to follow.