International Relations Exam 2

Alliances are what?

More than wartime pacts, they shape long term international order

What do alliances do? 

combine power and solve collective problems 

combine power

allies achieve more together than alone

solve collective problems

coordination against threats

coalition

short term agreement, Ad Hoc (ex. WWII coalitions)

Ad Hoc

necessary or needeed

alliance

institutionalized, enduring (ex. NATO)

What are the three phases of alliances? 

Ad-Hoc coalitions (pre WWII) 

Integrated Military Alliances (Post WWII) 

Political Organizations (Post Cold War) 

Ad Hoc coalitions

pre-WWII

formed out of necessity and during war only

ex. Germany-USSR pact to invade Poland

Integrated Military Alliances

Post WWII

NATO as defense + coordination body, interoperability, shard standards

Political Organizations

Post Cold War

NATO adds political memberships rules (ex. democracy)

functions as a forum for political coordination

What are 2 key alliance dilemmas? 

Abandonment and entrapment 

abandonment

ally fails to help you when attacked

abandonment example

fear of US abandoning Taiwan

entrapment

ally drags you into its own conflict

entrapment example

fear of US being entangled by Israel in Iran conflict 

What are some solutions for abandonment and entrapment?

costly signaling (troop stationing), treaties, tripwires

Why trade?

Autarky, absolute/comparative advantage, trade increases wealth

autarky

economic isolation that leads to inefficency

example of autarky

North Korea

absolute advantage 

countries benefit by producing what they make best com

comparative advantage

even if one country is better at everything, trade still helps both

what does trade increase?

wealth, efficiency and innovation

3 illustrations of trade

1. Salt trade from EU to India; distance doesn’t block efficiency

2. China has specialization in energy imports and exports of rare earth metals

3. Korea; nighttime satellite imaging shows North vs South trade openings and activity

Who are winners in trade?

consumers (low prices) and exporters (market access) 

who are losers in trade?

import-competing industries (jobs at risk)

political logic behind trade

1. benefits are dispersed

   1. cost is concentrated, strong by lobbying protectionist groups

3 reasons to not trade

1. distributional concerns: regional and sectoral inequalities

2. special interest politics: protectionism by losers (steel, farming)

3. national security: states protect defense-related industries (ex. US subsidies to shipbuilding or semi conductors)

democratic peace theory

wars between democratic countries are extremely rare

what does it mean that the democracit peace theory id dyadic? 

it is about interaction between two (democratic) states 

how do democracies remain peaceful?

they cultivate norms of compromise and nonviolent dispute resolution (starts domestically and can be enforced internationally)

what is the expectation for peace regarding leaders of democratic countries?

leaders anticipate reciprocal restraint by other democracies

transparency

institutions reveal preferences, constraints, and resolve, which reduces misperception

electoral incentives 

large winning coalitions raise the cost of failed wars, leaders avoid wars unless victory is highly probable 

correlation vs causation

democracy does not cause peace

3 things peacefulness may reflect

1. economic interdependence

2. institutional transparency

3. shared alliances/interests

what do economic ties amplify?

the opportunity cost of the conflict

3 phases of the historical evolution of trade 

1. Agricultural Era: limited surplus, low tradability, autarkic communities 

2. Industrial Era: transportable final goods, expanding trade networks 

3. Globalized Supply Chains: fragmented production across many countries 

what does war disrupt and what does it do?

it disrupts chains, finance, and welfare, which raises opportunity costs

third party enforcement effects 

multinational corporations, institutions, and affected states prefer stability f

firefighter problem

even the weakest link must be supported

agricultural revolution

surplus, farmers went from 80 to less than 2 percent of US population

industrial revolution

mechanization and mass production

service revolution 

intangibles become dominant ( around 80 percent of US workforce) ; ideas and creativity are non-coercible and difficult to monitor

what describes economies today?

advances economies’ surplus is knowledge based (ex. extracting oil like in the Gulf wars is now politically and materially costly, avoid material based wars)

subsistance agriculture

low capital, low appropriation risk

capital-investment economies

sunk investments vulnerable to predation after they’re made

stationary bandit

monopolizes coercion, prefers steady taxation over plunder 

what are 2 important institutional transitions?

1. Magna Carta and American Rev: put constraints on extraction, representation, and rights

2. Post WW2 Reciprocal System: US security provision without formal empire

reciprocity logic

alignment and cooperation sustains the system; noncompliance risks withdrawal wh

what is the main transition shown regarding trade throughout history?

a sedentary life transitioned into governance by trade