International Relations - Chapter 2

realism

a broad intellectual tradition that explains international relations mainly in terms of power

idealism

an approach that emphasizes international law, morality, and international organizations, rather that power alone, as key influences on international relations

power

the ability or potential to influence others’ behavior, as measured by the possession of certain tangible and intangible characteristics

geopolitics

the use of geography as an element of power, and the ideas about it held by political leaders and scholars

anarchy

in international relations theory, a term that implies not complete chaos but the lack of a central government that can enforce rules

norms

the shared expectations about what behavior is considered proper

sovereignty

a state’s right, at least in principle, to do whatever it wants within its own territory; traditionally, sovereignty is the most important international norm

security dilemma

a situation in which actions that states take to ensure their own security (such as deploying more military forces) are perceived as threats to the security of other states

balance of power

the general concept of the power of one or more states being used to balance that of another state or group of states; the term can refer to :

1. any ration of power capabilities between states or alliances

2. a relatively equal ratio

3. the process by which counterbalancing coalitions have repeatedly formed to prevent one state from conquering an entire region

great powers

generally, the half dozen or so most powerful states; the great power club was exclusively European until the twentieth century

middle powers

states that rank somewhat below the great powers in terms of their influence on world affairs (for example, Brazil and India)

neorealism

a version of realist theory that emphasizes the influence on state behavior of the system’s structure, especially the international distribution of power

multipolar system

an international system with typically five or six centers of poewr that are not grouped into alliances

power transition theory

a theory that the largest wars result from challenges to the top position in the status hierarchy, when a rising power is surpassing (or threatening to surpass) the most powerful state

hegemony

the holding by one state of a preponderance of power in the international system so that it can single-handedly dominate the rules and arrangements by which international political and economic relations are conducted

hegemonic stability theory

the argument that regimes are most effective when power in the international system is most concentrated

alliance cohesion

the ease with which the members hold together an alliance; it tends to be high when national interests converge and when cooperation among allies becomes institutionalized

burden sharing

the distribution of the costs of an alliance among members; the term also refers to the conflicts that may arise over such distribution

north atlantic treaty organization - nato

a US military alliance, formed in 1949 with mainly western european members, to oppose and deter soviet power in europy; it is currently expanding into the former soviet bloc

warsaw pact

a soviet-led eastern european military alliance founded in 1955 and disbanded in 1991; it opposed the nato alliance

US-Japanese security treaty

a bilateral alliance between the United States and Japan, created in 1951 against the potential Soviet threat to Japan. the United States maintains troops in Japan and is committed to defend Japan if that nation is attacked, and Japan pays the United States to offset about half the cost of maintaining the troops

nonaligned movement

a movement of third world states, led by India and Yugoslavia, that attempted to stand apart from the US-Soviet rivalry during the cold war

deterrence

the threat to punish another actor if it takes a certain negative action (especially attacking one’s own state or one’s allies)

compellence

the threat of force to make another actor take some action (rather than, as in deterrence, refrain from taking an action)

arms race

a reciprocal process in which two or more states build up military capabilities in response to each other

rational actors

actors conceived of as single entities that can “think“ about their actions coherently, make choices, identify their interests, and rank the interests in terms of priority

national interest

the interests of a state overall (as opposed to particular parties or factions within the state)

cost-benefit analysis

a calculation of the costs to be incurred by a possible action and the benefits it is likely to bring

game theory

a branch of mathematics concerned with predicting bargaining outcomes; games such as prisoner’s dilemma and chicken have been used to analyze various sorts of international interactions

zero-sum games

situations in which one actor’s gain is by definition equal to the other’s loss

non-zero-sum game

it is possible for both actors to gain (or lose)

prisoner’s dilemma

a situation modeled by game theory in which rational actors pursuing their individual interests all achieve worse outcomes than they could have by working together