PS5 Midterm Study Guide- Berkeley

Mercantilism

an economic system that linked wealth and military power, where colonies supplied resources and trade was controlled to benefit the mother country

Peace of Westphalia

the treaty that ended the Thirty Year War and established the modern state system by recognizing national sovereignty and nonintervention

Sovereignty

the expectation that states have legal and political supremacy- or ultimate authority- within their territorial boundaries

Hegemony

the predominance of one nation-state over others

Decolonization

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

Interests

The ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes.

Actors

are the basic unit for the analysis of international politics; can be either individuals of groups of people with common interests

Anarchy

The absence of a central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws that bind all actors

National interests

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

Interactions

The ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes.

Cooperation

An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off.

Bargaining

An interaction in which two or more actors must decide how to distribute something of value.

Coordination

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

Collaboration

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

Public goods

Products that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption, such as national defense.

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 (in game theory)

actors can prevent one another from cheating by threatening to withhold cooperation in the future.

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.

Outside options

The alternative to bargaining with a specific actor.

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.

Civil war

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

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.

Coercive diplomacy

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

Bargaining range

The set of deals that both parties in a bargaining interaction prefer over the reversion outcome.

Compellence

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

Deterrence

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

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.

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.

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 incentive 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.

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.

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.

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 organizations

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

Genocide

International and systemic 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.

UN Security Council

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.

Permanent 5 (P5)

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 single resolution by a 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.

Peacekeeping operation

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