POL 123 Midterm 2 Review: Voting Power, Strategic Games, Peace Operations, and Sovereignty

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering institutional voting indexes, game-theoretic bargaining models, UN peacekeeping classifications, Charter sovereignty provisions, and collective security dynamics.

Shapley-Shubik Index (SSI)

A mathematical index measuring a member's voting power by calculating the percentage of time that member serves as the pivotal voter across all possible voting permutations.

Current UNSC Voting Power Distribution

Under the 15-member Security Council ($5$ veto, $10$ non-veto, majority of $9$), each permanent veto member holds a power share of $19.6\%$ ($0.196$), while each non-veto member holds $0.186\%$ ($0.00186$).

Caveat of the Shapley-Shubik Index

The model's limitation of failing to account for real-world political alliances, coalitions, or historical voting alignments (e.g., the United States and the United Kingdom frequently voting together).

Voting Power

The formal capacity within an international organization to determine whether or not an agreement is adopted when the yay/nay vote takes place.

Bargaining Power

The ability to dictate what a proposed agreement will contain prior to the vote, generated through voting leverage (such as legislative pork) and the relative strength of a state's BATNA.

BATNA

Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement; the fallback outcome an actor faces if negotiations collapse. An actor with a superior alternative secures greater bargaining leverage.

FARC vs. Colombian Government Game

A 52-year strategic conflict modeled as a Prisoner's Dilemma where both sides choose between Accept (A) and Fight (F), resulting in an equilibrium of mutual fighting $(F,F)$ because each actor expects combat to improve its future BATNA.

Asymmetric Coordination (Battle of the Sexes)

A strategic interaction where both players prioritize coordinating together above all else, but maintain opposing preferences regarding which coordinated equilibrium to choose ($(S,S)$ vs. $(V,V)$).

Symmetric Coordination Game

A strategic game where players have identical preferences and only care about matching their choices (e.g., road driving sides, satellite orbits, radio frequencies), solved by service organizations establishing technical focal points.

Assurance Game (Stag Hunt)

A strategic interaction where players share a preference for mutual cooperation ($3,3$), but requires institutional monitoring and verification to provide assurance against the risk of unilateral defection ($2,2$).