International Relations Midterm

Behavioralism

    an approach to the study of social science and international relations that posits that individuals and units like states act in regularized ways; leads to a belief that behaviors can be described, explained, and predicted.

globalization

    the process of increasing integration of the world in terms of economics, politics, communications, social relations, and culture; increasingly undermines traditional state sovereignty.

international relations

    the study of the interactions among various actors (states, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations, and sub national entities like bureaucracies, local governments, and individuals) that participate in international politics.

normative

relating to ethical rules; in foreign policy and international affairs, standards suggesting what a policy should be.

balance of power

any system in which actors (e.g., states) enjoy relatively equal power, such that no single state or coalition of states is able to dominate other actors in the system.

caliphate

the notion that the Muslim world must have a caliph, a spiritual leader of Islam, heading the community.

capitalism

    the economic system in which the ownership of the means of production is in private hands; the system operates according to market forces whereby capital and labor move freely.

cold war

    the era in international relations between the end of World War II and 1990, distinguished by ideological, economic, political, and military rivalry between the Soviet Union and the United States.

colonialism

    the practice of founding, maintaining, and expanding a state’s reach to territory abroad, motivated by expectation of economic gain, political agreement, or cultural supremacy.

containment

a foreign policy designed to prevent the expansion of an adversary by blocking its opportunities to expand through foreign aid programs or through use of coercive force; the major U.S. policy toward the Soviet Union during the Cold War era

detente

    the easing of tense relations; in the context of this volume, détente refers to the relaxation and reappraisal of threat assessments by political rivals, for example, the United States and Soviet Union during the later years of the Cold War

hegemon

a dominant state that has a preponderance of power; often establishes and enforces the rules and norms in the international system

imperialism

    the policy and practice of extending the domination of one state over another through territorial conquest or economic domination

league of nations

    the international organization formed at the conclusion of World War I for the purpose of preventing another war; based on collective security

legitimacy

   the moral and legal right to rule, which is based on law, custom, heredity, or the consent of the governed

domino effect

    a metaphor that posits that the loss of influence over one state to an adversary will necessarily lead to a subsequent loss of control over neighboring states, just as dominos fall one after another

nationalism

  a sense of national consciousness where people identify with a common history, language, or customs, often placing primary emphasis on one’s own nation’s culture and interests over those of other nations

north american treaty organization (nato)

military and political alliance between Western European states and the United States established in 1948 for the purpose of defending Europe from aggression by the Soviet Union and its allies; post–Cold War expansion to Eastern Europe

populism

    belief that champions the common person, contrasting people’s concerns with those of the elite; often opposing big business and financial interests

rollback

    a strategy of using, or threatening the use of, armed force to aggressively coerce an adversary into abandoning occupied territory

socialism

    an economic and social system that relies on intensive government intervention or public ownership of the means of production in order to distribute wealth among the population more equitably; in radical Marxist theory, the stage between capitalism and communism

sovereignty

    the authority of the state, based on recognition by other states and by nonstate actors, to govern matters within its own borders that affect its people, economy, security, and form of government

summits

    talks and meetings among the highest-level government officials from different countries

superpowers

    highest-power states as distinguished from other great powers; term coined during the Cold War to refer to the United States and the Soviet Union

third reich

    the German state from 1933–45; a time which coincides with the rule of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist Workers Party, or “Nazis”

treaties of westphalia

treaties ending the Thirty Years War in Europe in 1648; in international relations represents the beginning of state sovereignty within a territorial space

war on terror

    declaring to use a given society’s material and nonmaterial resources to defeat those using terror, often nonstate actors targeting noncombatants to instill fear in the population

warsaw pact

    the military alliance formed by the states of the Soviet bloc in 1955 in response to the rearmament of West Germany and its inclusion in NATO; permitted the stationing of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe

weapons of mass destruction

    nuclear, chemical, biological, and radiological weapons which can kill or bring major harm to large numbers of people or structures.

anarchy

    the fact that there exists no hierarchically superior, coercive authority that can create laws, resolve disputes, or enforce law and order in the system

balancing

    taking actions to offset the power of more powerful states

bandwagoning

    a process in which states that might have opposed a threatening state choose to ally with it instead

collective security

    the idea that aggression by a state should be defeated collectively because aggression against one state is aggression against all

complex independence

    states are connected through multiple channels (both formal and informal), there is no hierarchy of issues, and the result is a decline in the use of military force

constructivism

    an international relations theory that hypothesizes how ideas, norms, and institutions shape state identity and interests

dependency theory

    a strand of the radical school of economic thought that seeks to explain the underdevelopment of dominated states

discourse

    how we choose to talk about ourselves and others

external balancing

    allying with other states to offset the power of more powerful states

hypotheses

    specific falsifiable statements that question the proposed relationship among two or more concepts

identity

    a sense of self based on certain qualities and beliefs that define a person or group

internal balancing

    a state building up its own military resources and capabilities in order to be able to stand against more powerful states

international institutions

    sets of rules such as international treaties and organizations meant to govern international behavior

liberalism

    the theoretical perspective based on the assumption of the innate goodness of the individual and the value of political institutions in promoting social progress

multinational corporations (MNCs)

private enterprises which span state borders through the actual presence in, investments in, or trade with other countries

national interest

the interest of the state, most basically the protection of territory and sovereignty; in realist thinking, the interest is a unitary one defined in terms of the pursuit of power; in liberal thinking, there are many national interests; in radical thinking, it is the interest of a ruling elite

neorealism

    a reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so; institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions

norms

    collective expectations for the proper behavior of actors with a given identity

radicalism

1\.)   radicalism

    a social theory, formulated by Karl Marx and modified by other theorists, that posits that class conflict between owners and workers will cause the eventual demise of capitalism; offers a critique of capitalism

neoliberal institutionalism

    a reinterpretation of liberalism that posits that even in an anarchic international system, states will cooperate because of their continuous interactions with each other and because it is in their self-interest to do so; institutions provide the framework for cooperative interactions

radical actors

actors that make decisions by weighing the costs and benefits of various options against the goal to be achieved

realism

a theory of international relations that emphasizes states’ interest in accumulating power to ensure security in an anarchic world; based on the notion that individuals are power seeking and that states act in pursuit of their own national interest defined in terms of power

relative gains

    how much more one state gains over another

security dilemma

    the situation in which each state tries to increase its own power to protect itself, but this increased power is seen as a threat by other states, leading them to be more insecure and thus to seek to increase their own power which, in turn, makes others more insecure

socialization

    the process through which one adopts the identities of other groups

theoretical perspectives

    sets of theories united by some common themes such as actors, concepts, and issues

theory

    a collection of propositions that combine to explain phenomena by specifying the relationships among a set of concepts

belief system

    the organized and integrated perceptions of individuals that form a relatively integrated set of images

bipolar

    the distribution of the power to conquer is concentrated in two states or coalitions of states

cognitive consistency

    the tendency to accept information that is compatible with what has previously been accepted, often ignoring inconsistent information

evoked set

    details from a present situation that are similar to information gleaned from past situations

groupthink

    a mode of thinking that people engage in when they are deeply involved in a cohesive in-group, when members’ strivings for unanimity override their motivation to realistically appraise alternative courses of action

levels of analysis

analytical framework based on the ideas that events in international relations can be explained by looking at individuals, states, or the international system and that causes at each level can be separated from causes at other levels

mirror images

    seeing in one’s opponent the opposite of characteristics seen in oneself

multilateralism

    the conduct of international activity by three or more states in accord with shared general principles, often, but not always, through international institutions

multipolar

    the distribution of the power to conquer is concentrated in more than two states

nation

    a group of people sharing a common language, history, or culture

nation-state

    the entity formed when people sharing the same historical, cultural, or linguistic roots form their own state with borders, a government, and international recognition; trend began with French and American Revolutions

system

    an assemblage of units, objects, or parts united by some form of regular interaction in which a change in one unit causes changes in the others

uni-polar

    the power to conquer all other states in the system combined resides within a single state

bureaucratic politics model

    the model of foreign policy decision making that posits that national decisions are the outcomes of bargaining among bureaucratic groups having competing interests; decisions reflect the relative strength of the individual bureaucratic players or of the organizations they represent

compliance

    the use of threats to coerce another into taking an action it otherwise would not take

credibility

    the quality of having both the ability and incentive to act using a certain policy such that other states believe it will be carried out

deterrence

    the policy of maintaining a large military force and arsenal to discourage any potential aggressor from taking action

diplomacy

    the practice of states trying to influence the behavior of other states by bargaining, negotiating, taking specific noncoercive actions or refraining from such actions, or appealing to the foreign public for support of a position

engagement

    getting a target state to act in a desired way by rewarding the moves it makes in the desired direction; often referred to as positive sanctions

ethno national movements

    the participation in organized political activity of self-conscious communities sharing an ethnic affiliation; some movements seek autonomy within an organized state; others desire separation and the formation of a new state; still others want to join with a different state

extremist islamic fundamentalism

    groups seeking to change states and societies through violent and coercive means to support imposition of Sharia law

fragile state

    state which has ineffective or nonexistent government, widespread lawlessness, often accompanied by insurgency and crime; situation where state authorities are not protecting their own people

hard power

    states using various sources of power (economic or military) to coerce other states into adopting actions in its interests

organizational process model

the foreign policy decision-making model that posits that national decisions are the products of subnational governmental organizations and units which follow the standard operating procedures and processes of the organizations

pluralist

a model of foreign policy making that focuses on the role that societal groups play in influencing national decisions

power

    the ability not only to influence others but also to control outcomes so as to produce results that would not have occurred naturally    a measure of the power an entity like a state could have, derived from a consideration of both its tangible and its intangible resources; states may not always be able to transfer their power potential into actual power

power potential

    a measure of the power an entity like a state could have, derived from a consideration of both its tangible and its intangible resources; states may not always be able to transfer their power potential into actual power

public diplomacy

    use of certain diplomatic methods to create a favorable image of the state or its people in the eyes of other states and their publics; methods include, for example, goodwill tours, cultural and student exchanges, and media presentations

sanctions

economic, diplomatic, and even coercive military force used to enforce an international policy or another state’s policy; sanctions can be positive (offering an incentive to a state) or negative (punishing a state)

satisficing

    in decision-making theory, the tendency of states and their leaders to settle for the minimally acceptable solution, not the best possible outcome, in order to reach a consensus and formulate a policy

smart power

    using a combination of the hard power of coercion with the soft power of persuasion and attraction

smart sanctions

    limited sanctions targeted to hurt or support specific groups; used to avoid the humanitarian costs of general sanctions

soft power

the power to attract states to change their behavior rather than having to coerce them into doing so; power is based on the legitimacy of the state’s values or its policies

state

an organized political unit that has a geographic territory, a stable population, and a government to which the population owes allegiance and that is legally recognized by other states

statecraft

    techniques states use to exert influence and project power including diplomacy, economic, and use of force tools

track one diplomacy

    negotiations among government officials taken on behalf of governments

track two diplomacy

    unofficial overtures by private individuals or groups from outside governments to try and resolve an ongoing international crisis or civil war

transitional movements

    groups of people from different states who share religious, ideological, or policy beliefs and who work together to change the status quo

interstate wars

wars between states

intrastate wars

wars that take place within a state (also known as civil wars)

jus ad bellum

laws that deal with when it is just / legal to go to war

jus in bello

laws that define what acts are considered legal and illegal when fighting in a war

just war tradition

    the idea that wars must be judged according to two categories of justice: (1) jus ad bellum, or the justness of war itself; and (2) jus in bello, or the justness of each actor’s conduct in war

war

    an organized and deliberate political act by an established political authority that causes 1,000 or more deaths in a 12-month period and involves at least two actors capable of harming each other.