IR Concept Test

What does realism say about states?

States are the main actors

What does realism say about the world and it’s security?

World is anarchical and security is a central problem.

In a realist mind, what is it that states do?

Pursue gains and a balance of power; but this power transition becomes dangerous.

Who are the key actors in liberalist theory?

Individuals and groups

What theory does liberalist thought subscribe to and what does it mean?

Democratic peace theory - where democracies don’t enter conflict with each other.

What do liberals see as reducing conflict?

Economic interdependence and transnational connections.

Constructivist theorists see what as mattering a lot?

Norms and ideas. Identities help shape interests.

What do constructivists say that elites are shaped by?

Strategic Culture

How many states are there today?

206

How many UN members were there in 1945?

51

How many UN members were there in 2020?

193

What’s caused a growth in UN states?

Decolonisation

What does Tilly (1975) say about the state?

“war made the state and the state made war”

What does the quote “war made the state and the state made war” mean and who said it?

Said by Tilly (1975) and it refers to the formation of states. E.g. European states were made through conflict requiring taxation mass organisation

What is an important key distinction when discussing recognised states?

Juridicial statehood (legal recognition) vs empirical statehood (actual capacity to govern).

Most post-colonial states have juridicial statehood not empirical like DRC or Somalia

What does postcolonialism challenge?

Eurocentric narratives

What is postcolonialist theory also known as?

Critical IR

What do postcolonialists say about modern state formation and global inequalities?

That states were formed by colonisation and that inequalities reinforce colonial hierarchies.

14 states gained independence from the USSR in 1991.

E - - - - - -

L - - - - -

L - - - - - - - -

U - - - - - -

K - - - - - - - - -

G - - - - - -

M - - - - - -

A - - - - - -

A - - - - - - - - -

U - - - - - - - - -

K - - - - - - - - -

T - - - - - - - - -

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B - - - - - -

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

Ukraine

Kazakhstan

Georgia

Moldova

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Uzbekistan

Kyrgystan

Turkmenistan

Tajikistan

Belarus

Where is sovereignty traditionally traced back to, and referred to as “a … system”

Peace of Westphalia (Westphalian system)

When was the Peace of Westphalia?

1648

What did the Peace of Westphalia do?

made sure states recognised each other’s sovereignty, and non-interference became the norm

Some people argue that sovereignty wasn’t formed from the Peace of Westphalia, but instead from…

Capitalism — French Revolution and industrialisation

What does Bhambra (2018) argue is left out from accounts on sovereignty and what does it mean?

Colonisation - non-European places were usually not deemed sovereign without justification

Who argued colonisation was ignored from traditional accounts on sovereignty?

Bhambra (2018)

What is a current example of how there is no basis for international law without an understanding of sovereignty?

Russia/Ukraine

What are some stateless nations? (3)

Palestine; Catalan; sometimes Scotland

What are some multinational states? (2)

The UK; Spain (Catalan/Castilian/Basque)

Sovereignty

capacity to govern residents in a given territory to establish relations with other governments

State

political entity with territorial borders and authorities who have sovereignty

Nation

collection of people who share a language, culture or history

Imperialism

state strategy, where one conquers foreign land, to turn them to colonies

Globalisation

ongoing process of international economic and technological integration; made possible through transport/communication advances

Power Transition

when 2 or more states change their relative power due to tech changes or uneven economic growth

Mediation

NOT IN GRIECO ET AL

third party conflict resolution, using diplomatic measures to promote a negotiated settlement

Levels of Analysis

different places to look for answers about IR; grouped into state, individual and international levels

Strategic Culture

refers to assumptions about the nature of the global system, and assumes strategies are shared by elites

Norm

FINNEMORE AND SIKKINK (1998)

standards of behaviour for political actors

Security Dilemma

situation where state takes actions to be more secure; but reactions from other states cause them to be less secure

Peacekeeping

UN operations after a war ends with the aim to keep warring parties apart and uphold peace

International Institution

rules, principles and expectations which govern interstate interaction

Interstate War

2 or more states directing military force against eachother

Diplomacy

process where 2 or more governments send representatives to meet and discuss common concerns

Deterrence

using power resources to stop a state from acting aggressively

Democratic Peace

theory that democracies tend to be peaceful to one another

Commercial Liberalism

market society and economic independence tends to pacify states; as economic interests grow, so does stability

Anarchy

in IR there is no overarching government, so no adjudicator and no advocate for weak states

Who wrote the definition for “norm”?

Finnemore and Sikkink (1998)