UC Berkeley Political Science 5: Intro to International Relations Hyde Midterm 1 terms

Bargaining

An interaction in which two or more actors decide how to distribute something of value. In the case of bargaining, one actor’s win or gain is the other party’s loss as it decreases the share available to others.
An example would be if State A and State B are bargaining over territory and how to distribute it, eventually deciding to split it 50/50. Both parties got 50%, but also lost the other 50%.
This relates to the climate of international relations as bargaining is a type of interaction that actors engage in all the time to try and fulfill their interests.

Cooperation

A type of interaction where two or more states and/or actors work together to achieve a shared interest.

An example of this would be countries working together during COVID to prevent the spread of the disease.

This relates to the climate of international relations as cooperation is a type of interaction actors and states engage in to achieve their interests.

Anarchy

Anarchy is the lack of a central authority to enforce rules and regulations.

For example, although there might be set rules between State A and State B to prevent invasion, there is no central authority over all the states to enforce this if State B were to invade State A.

This is important in the climate of international relations as the domain of international relations exists in a state of anarchy, and everything encompassed in the domain is directly affected by the existence of anarchy on the international stage as it brings in other aspects to balance like institutions, alliances, and security organizations.

Mercantilism

The economic doctrine was based on the belief that military power and economic influence complemented each other, and these policies benefited the motherland much more than the colonies and their competitors.

For example, the 13 colonies were under mercantilism with Britain as their motherland, with the 13 colonies being forced to engage only in trade with Britain.

This relates to the domain of International Relations as

Peace of Westphalia

The settlement that ended the Thirty years war and is often referred to the as the catalyst of the creation of the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and nonintervention. 
For example, it established the sovereign principle that all domestic affairs shall not be interfered with by an external state.

This relates to the domain of International Relations as it is the catalyst for the modern state system, and is what defined the beginnings of sovereignty. 

Sovereignty (as defined in textbook)

States have legal and political supremacy or ultimate authority within their territorial boundaries.
For example, domestic affairs in State A can be resolved in whatever way State A desires and no other state should interfere.
Sovereign states are important in the domain of International Relations as it sets clear norms across all states in the anarchic state of international politics.

Hegemony

The predominance of one nation-state over the others.

For example, British international hegemony after the defeat of Napoleon in Waterloo.

Hegemony plays a role in international relations as a hegemony’s dominant power allows it to play an influential role in international politics and economics.

Decolonization

The process of colonial possessions winning independence, especially during the rapid end of the European empires in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean between the 1940s and the 1960s.

Interests

What actors want to achieve out of political action. These are their goals and preferences of outcomes.

Actors

The basic unit for analysis of international politics, they are the players. They can be individuals or groups of people with common interests

Collaboration

A type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives not to comply with any agreement. Compare coordination.

National interests

Interests attributed to the state itself, usually security and power.

Coordination

A type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive not to comply. Compare collaboration.

Public goods

Products that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption, such as national defense or clean air or water. Compare common-pool resources.

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.

Free ride

To fail to contribute to a public good while benefiting from the contributions of others.

Iteration

Repeated interactions with the same partners.

linkage

The linking of cooperation on one issue to interactions on a second issue.

Power

The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself.

Coercion

A strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior.

Agenda Setting

Actions taken before or during bargaining that make the reversion outcome more favorable for one party.

Institutions

Sets of rules (known and shared by the relevant community) that structure interactions in specific ways.

interstate war

A war in which the main participants are states. Compare civil war.

Civil war

A war in which the main participants are within the same state, such as the government and a rebel group. Compare interstate war and terrorism.

Security Dilemma

A dilemma that arises when efforts that states make to defend themselves cause other states to feel less secure; can lead to arms races and war because of the fear of being attacked.

Crisis Bargaining

A bargaining interaction in which at least one actor threatens to use force in the event that its demands are not met. Compare coercive diplomacy.

Coercive Diplomacy

The use of threats to advance specific demands in a bargaining interaction. Compare crisis bargaining.

Bargaining range

The set of deals that both parties in a bargaining interaction prefer over the reversion outcome. When the reversion outcome is war, the bargaining range is the set of deals that both sides prefer over war.

Compellence

An effort to change the status quo through the threat of force. Compare deterrence.

Deterrence

An effort to preserve the status quo through the threat of force. Compare compellence.

Incomplete information

A situation in which actors in a strategic interaction lack information about other actors’ interests and/or capabilities.

Resolve

The willingness of an actor to endure costs in order to acquire a particular good.

Risk-return trade-off

In crisis bargaining, the trade-off between trying to get a better deal and trying to avoid a war.

Credibility

Believability. A credible threat is a threat that the target believes will be carried out. A credible commitment is a commitment or promise that the recipient believes will be honored.

Brinkmanship

A strategy in which adversaries take actions that increase the risk of accidental war, with the hope that the other will “blink” (lose its nerve) first and make concessions.

Audience costs

Negative repercussions for failing to follow through on a threat or to honor a commitment.

Preventive war

A war fought with the intention of preventing an adversary from becoming stronger in the future. Preventive wars arise because a state whose power is increasing cannot commit not to exploit that power in future bargaining interactions. Compare preemptive war.

First-strike advantage

The situation that arises when military technology, military strategies, and/or geography give a significant advantage to whichever state attacks first in a war.

Preemptive war

A war fought with the anticipation that an attack by the other side is imminent. Compare preventive war.

Indivisible good

A good that cannot be divided without destroying its value.

Nationalism

A political ideology that prioritizes attachment to one’s nation, where nations are groups defined by common origin, ethnicity, language, or cultural ties.

Bureaucracy

The collection of organizations—including the military, diplomatic corps, and intelligence agencies—that carry out most tasks of governance within a state.

Interest groups

Groups of individuals with common interests that organize to influence public policy in a manner that benefits their members.

Rally effect

People’s tendency to become more supportive of their country’s government in times of dramatic international events, such as crises or wars.

Diversionary incentive

The temptation that state leaders have to start international crises in order to rally public support at home.

military-industrial complex

An alliance between military leaders and the industries that benefit from international conflict, such as arms manufacturers.

Democratic peace

The observation that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature democratic states.

democracy

A political system in which candidates compete for political office through frequent, fair elections in which a sizable portion of the adult population can vote. Compare autocracy.

Autocracy

A political system in which an individual or small group exercises power with few constraints and no meaningful competition or participation by the general public. Compare democracy.

Accountability

The ability to punish or reward leaders for the decisions they make, as when frequent, fair elections enable voters to hold elected officials responsible for their actions by granting or withholding access to political office.

Alliances

Institutions that help their members cooperate militarily in the event of a war. Compare collective security organizations.

Balance of power

A situation in which the military capabilities of two states or groups of states are roughly equal.

Bandwagoning

A strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict.

entrapment

The condition of being dragged into an unwanted war because of the opportunistic actions of an ally.

Collective security organization

Broad-based institutions that promote peace and security among their members. Examples include the League of Nations and the United Nations. Compare alliances.

Genocide

Intentional and systematic killing aimed at eliminating an identifiable group of people, such as an ethnic or religious group.

Humanitarian interventions

Interventions designed to relieve humanitarian crises stemming from civil conflicts or large-scale human rights abuses, including genocide.

United Nations Security Council and the P5

The main governing body of the UN, which has the authority to identify threats to international peace and security and to prescribe the organization’s response, including military and/or economic sanctions. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia (formerly the Soviet Union), and China.

Veto power

The ability to prevent the passage of a measure through a unilateral act, such as a single negative vote.

Peace-enforcement operation

A military operation in which force is used to make and/or enforce peace among warring parties that have not agreed to end their fighting. Compare peacekeeping operation.

peacekeeping operation

An operation in which troops and observers are deployed to monitor a cease-fire or peace agreement. Compare peace-enforcement operation.