Introduction to International Relations and Global Development

Vocabulary flashcards covering key actors, sovereignty, statehood, world regions, and development metrics in international relations.

Thucydides (~400 BCE)

Greek historian considered the father of realism and author of the 'History of the Peloponnesian War', who emphasized power in international relations and wrote the Melian dialogue.

Kurdish-inhabited area

A geographic region spanning parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran inhabited by the Kurds, serving as a prominent example of a nation without a sovereign state.

Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)

Transnational political institutions composed of sovereign states that act together on the international stage.

Hierarchy

A system or governance structure regulating relations between individuals within a single group or state.

Anarchy

The absence of an overarching authority or governance structure to regulate behavior between different groups or states.

Nation

A socio-cultural group equivalent to a 'people' sharing common values (goals, objectives, morality) and common culture (language, history, traditions, shared group memory), not requiring a common territory.

State

A legal abstraction and political institution defined by a specific territory, law-making and administrative institutions, citizens, and sovereignty.

Sovereignty

A principle defined by absolute power over subjects and territory, and the absolute right to be free from external interference, giving a government a monopoly over the use of force within its borders.

Peace of Westphalia (1648)

The treaty ending the Thirty Years War (1618–1648) that brought the sovereign state into being and recognized exclusive domestic rights of rulers.

East–West Division

The primary global division during the Cold War distinguishing democratic, capitalist Western political-economic systems from totalitarian, centrally-planned Eastern systems.

North–South Division

The primary modern global division distinguishing rich, developed nations in the North from poor, developing nations in the South.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

A standard measure of economic size and power evaluated either nominally or through Purchasing Power Parity (PPP).

GDP Per Capita

An economic indicator calculated as total GDP divided by total population, traditionally used to measure national standard of living or development.

Decolonization

The post-WWII process of ending global colonial empires, which led to a dramatic increase in the number of sovereign states worldwide.

United Nations' Membership Growth

The expansion of UN member states from 51 in 1945 to 193 in 2011, driven primarily by post-WWII decolonization and the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Human Development Index (HDI)

A UN development metric introduced in the 1990s measuring outcomes across three dimensions: health (life expectancy at birth), education (years of schooling), and standard of living (GNI per capita).

Human Development Index vs. GDP per capita

A comparative evaluation demonstrating a positive correlation between economic output per person and broader human development outcomes across global regions.