Poli Sci 240 Topic 4: Interests, Interactions and Institutions

State

A central authority with a monopoly on the legitimate use of force- Weber

National Interests

interests attributed to the state itself, usually security and power. This is seen through a domestic lens/ level of analysis

Strategic Interactions

each actors’ strategy depends on the anticipated actions of others (this is the Hershey kiss game)

Strategy

A Plan to do as well as possible given ones expectations of the interests and actions of others

Cooperation

an interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo (what the situation originally was) without making others worse off

Positive sum game

It makes at least one player better off and no players worse off

Bargaining

An interaction in which two or more actors have to decide how to distribute something of value; increasing one actor’s share of the good decreases the amount available to others 

Zero sum game

One player’s gain is another player’s loss

Coordination

a type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive not to comply (eg. driving institutions where we all drive on the same side of the road- do not deviate its not beneficial)

Collaboration

a type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives not to comply with any agreement (unilateral incentive to defect

Public Goods

products that are consumption nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption (eg. national defense, clean air and water, public health etc)

Collective Action Problems

obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate, but each acts with the expectation that others will pay the costs of cooperation (Think DJT and NATO, think free rider dilemma, think climate change)

Linkage

the linking of cooperation on one issue to interactions on a second issue

Power

the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself

Reversion outcome

the outcome that is achieved when no bargain is reached. This is sometimes the status quo (eg. the “deals” that have been attempted during the Palestinian genocide) 

Agenda Setting

Actions taken before or during bargaining to make the reversion outcome more favorable to one party

Fait accompli

accomplished fact (seizing disputed territory before the other state can react)