International Politics: Conflict, Institutions, and Global Order

Vocabulary flashcards covering international relations theories, game theory interactions, conflict dynamics, domestic politics, civil wars, terrorism, collective security, and international law concepts.

Mercantilism

An economic and political system in which imperial governments use military power to enrich themselves and their supporters, subsequently utilizing those riches to enhance their military power.

Imperialism

The transfer of political authority from local rulers to an imperialist home country.

Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

The $1648$ peace agreement ending the Thirty Years' War in the Holy Roman Empire and the Eighty Years' War between Spain and the Dutch Republic, which established state sovereignty, the right to form foreign alliances, and domestic religious autonomy.

Realism

An international relations theory asserting that the world is anarchic, states act to maximize power, relative power is what matters, and smaller states align to balance the power of larger states.

Hegemonic Stability Theory

A theory proposing that a global hegemon provides shared public goods—such as stability, commercial standards, and punishment for defectors—which benefits all states rather than relying on a Westphalian system of strictly equal states.

Investiture

The diplomatic recognition and granting of formal titles used to maintain relationships within historical Asian hierarchical systems.

Constructivism

An international relations school of thought holding that culture, identity, and ideas shape political realities ('anarchy is what states make of it'), and that socialization and institutions help establish what behavior is appropriate.

Liberalism

A theoretical approach asserting that many types of actors are significant, wealth is a widely shared goal, states possess common interests serving as the basis for cooperation, and institutions facilitate that cooperation.

Nash Equilibrium

A stable outcome in game theory in which no player has a profitable deviation because both players are playing best responses to each other.

Pareto Efficiency (Pareto Optimality)

A condition in which no alternate outcome exists that is simultaneously more preferred by at least one player and at least as good for all other players.

Bargaining

An interaction in which actors divide a good they both desire, operating as a zero-sum or constant-sum game where one actor's gain equals the other's loss.

Commitment Problem

A bargaining challenge where mutual gains from cooperation exist, but actors cannot credibly promise or trust that an agreement will be honored in the future.

Distribution Problem

A coordination obstacle wherein actors mutually benefit from cooperating, but disagree over which specific coordinated outcome should occur.

Reversion Outcome

The outcome or state of affairs that occurs if a negotiated deal or bargaining interaction fails.

Outside Option

An alternative deal or course of action that an actor can pursue if ongoing negotiations or bargaining collapse.

Assurance Game (Stag Hunt)

A strategic interaction where players share an incentive to cooperate for a higher payoff, but an actor will receive nothing unless assured that the other player is also cooperating.

War

The organized use of military force by actors (or groups of actors) that reaches a minimum threshold of severity, typically at least $1000$ battle casualties.

Indivisibility

A property of a disputed good that cannot be divided without destroying its value, complicating peaceful bargaining.

Brinkmanship

A strategic tactic of taking actions that increase the risk of accidental war to signal resolve and make threats credible.

Tying Hands

A method of rendering threats credible by publicly committing to a course of action and elevating domestic or international audience costs if one backs down.

Effective Coercion

A dynamic where the threat of force by one actor successfully compels an opposing actor to concede without requiring the threat to be carried out.

Rally Around the Flag Effect

The tendency for international conflict or crisis to temporarily boost domestic national unity and public approval of political leaders.

Diversionary Incentive

A leader's motivation to spark an international dispute in order to redirect domestic attention and generate public support.

Gamble for Resurrection

The risky political calculation of initiating an international conflict in the hope of securing a major political victory to survive impending political removal, despite the risk of steep downside costs.

Collective Action Problem

A social dilemma where actors have an incentive to free ride and defect rather than contribute to the provision of a non-excludable and non-rival public good.

Democratic Peace

The empirical finding that democratic states are substantially less likely to engage in armed conflict against one another due to shared norms, institutional constraints on executives, and voter accountability.

Defensive Alliance

A formal commitment between states pledging mutual military support in the event that an alliance partner is attacked.

Bandwagoning

A strategy in which states align themselves with a stronger, threatening power to share in the spoils of victory rather than balancing against it.

Entrapment

The danger that signing an alliance causes an ally to pursue reckless or opportunistic behavior, dragging the partner state into an unwanted conflict.

Civil War

An armed conflict between organized actors within a single state that meets a minimum threshold of severity, where both the government and an identifiable rebel group suffer at least $5\%$ of the fatalities.

Grievance

A civil conflict motive arising when societal groups face discrimination, political repression, or ethnic, religious, and ideological exclusion.

Greed

An economic driver of civil war where rebel groups are motivated by lack of legal economic opportunities or the prospect of capturing lucrative illicit revenue, such as illegal mining or narcotics.

Internationalized Intrastate Conflict

A civil war occurring between organized actors within a state meeting severity criteria where at least one foreign state contributes military troops.

Spoiling

The strategic use of violence by extremist factions to undermine or derail an impending peace agreement between moderates and a target government.

Terrorism

The premeditated threat or use of violence against noncombatants (civilians) by individuals or subnational groups to attain political or social goals through the intimidation of a wider audience.

Provocation

A terrorist strategy intended to provoke a target government into an indiscriminate or disproportionate military response, alienating the local population and driving support toward the extremist group.

Outbidding

A terrorist strategy directed at domestic supporters to demonstrate that a specific organization is more committed, resolute, and capable of fighting the enemy than rival groups.

Blowback

An unforeseen, unintended negative consequence resulting from a covert operation, foreign policy, or military intervention.

Peace Enforcement

A collective security intervention designed to impose peace on belligerents through force, featuring heavily armed troops authorized to engage aggressors directly (e.g., Korea, Gulf War).

Peacekeeping

A mission deployed following the cessation of hostilities that requires host-country consent, impartiality, and the non-use of force except in self-defense, aimed at monitoring and supporting peace accords.

Degree of Formalization in International Law

A spectrum illustrating the range of international legal rules from soft law (norms and customary law) to hard law (formal international treaties).

Norms

Shared standards of behavior for actors with a given identity that define rights and obligations within the international arena.

Customary Law

International rules developed slowly through long-standing state practices that states recognize over time as appropriate, binding, and correct.

Obligation (International Law)

The degree to which states are legally bound by a given rule or commitment, ranging from high (legally binding treaties where non-compliance is a violation) to low (voluntary declarations).

Precision (International Law)

The clarity, specificity, and exactness of rules and commitments established within international legal texts.

Delegation (International Law)

The degree to which authority is granted to a third party, such as a court or international body, to interpret, monitor, or implement international legal rules.

Genocide

Acts committed with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial, or religious group (explicitly excluding political groups).

Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

A global doctrine endorsed by the United Nations in $2005$ establishing that states have an obligation to protect their populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity, and that failure to do so permits authorized international intervention.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

A permanent international tribunal holding jurisdiction over human rights atrocities when national judicial systems are 'unable or unwilling' to investigate or prosecute, lacking its own police force for enforcement.