Intro to IR Final Exam Vocab

Extremists

Actors whose interests are not widely shared by others; individuals or groups that are politically weak relative to the demands they make.

Coercion

A strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior.

Provocation

A strategy of terrorist attacks intended to provoke the target government into making a disproportionate response that alienates moderates.

Spoiling

A strategy of terrorist attacks intended to sabotage a prospective peace between the target and moderate leadership.

Outbidding

A strategy of terrorist attacks designed to demonstrate superior capability and commitment relative to other groups devoted to the same cause.

Comparative advantage

The ability of a country or firm to produce a particular good or service more efficiently than it can produce other goods or services.

Absolute advantage

The ability of a country or firm to produce more of a particular good or service than other countries or firms can produce with the same amount of effort and resources.

Neo-mercantilism

A belief that national economic policy should encourage exports and discourage imports to run a trade surplus.

Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory

The theory that a country will export goods that make intensive use of the factors of production in which it is well endowed.

Protectionism

The imposition of barriers to restrict imports.

Trade barriers

Government limitations on the international exchange of goods.

Tariff

A tax imposed on imports.

Quantitative restriction (quota)

A limit placed on the amount of a particular good that is allowed to be imported and sold domestically.

Nontariff barriers to trade

Obstacles to imports other than tariffs.

Stolper-Samuelson theorem

The theorem that trade protection benefits the scarce factor of production.

Ricardo-Ciner (specific-factors) model

A model that emphasizes the sector in which factors of production are employed rather than the nature of the factor itself.

Reciprocity

A mutual agreement to lower tariffs and other barriers to trade.

Most-favored-nation (MFN) status

A status guaranteeing that the signatories will extend to each other any favorable trading terms offered in agreements with third parties.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An institution created in 1995 to govern international trade relations and oversee the resolution of trade disputes.

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

An international institution created in 1947 to reduce barriers to trade and provide similar trading conditions to all members.

Regional trade agreements (RTAs)

Agreements among three or more countries to reduce barriers to trade among themselves.

Less developed countries (LDCs)

Countries at a relatively low level of economic development.

Infrastructure

Basic structures necessary for social activity, such as transportation and telecommunications networks.

Primary products

Raw materials and agricultural products, typically unprocessed or only slightly processed.

Oligopoly

A market or industry dominated by a few firms.

Terms of trade

The relationship between a country’s export prices and its import prices.

Import-substituting industrialization (ISI)

Policies aimed at reducing imports and encouraging domestic manufacturing.

Export-oriented industrialization

Policies to spur manufacturing for export, often through subsidies and incentives.

Group of 77

A coalition of developing countries in the UN that seeks changes to the international economic order.

Commodity cartels

Associations of producers that restrict world supply of their products to raise prices.

Human rights

The rights possessed by all individuals by virtue of being human.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

A declaration that forms the foundation of modern human rights law.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)

An agreement detailing the basic civil and political rights of individuals.

International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)

An agreement specifying basic economic, social, and cultural rights.

International Bill of Rights

The UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR collectively forming the core of the international human rights regime.

Nonderogable Rights

Rights that cannot be suspended for any reason.

Prisoners of conscience (POCs)

Individuals imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs.

Individual petition

A right permitting individuals to petition international legal bodies for rights violations.

International criminal court

A court for human rights cases with specific jurisdictional conditions.

Public goods

Products that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption.

Common-pool resources

Goods available to everyone, but with rival consumption.

Nonexcludable goods

Goods that cannot be prevented from being consumed by others once available.

Nonrival goods

Goods whose consumption by one does not diminish availability for others.

Kyoto Protocol

An amendment establishing targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer

A framework convention to regulate emissions damaging the ozone layer.

Montreal Protocol

An international treaty to phase out ozone-depleting substances.

Cap-and-trade system

A system setting limits on emissions, allowing for buying and selling of credits.

Nationally determined contribution (NDC)

The commitment each party to the Paris Agreement makes for reducing global warming.

Externalities

Costs or benefits from an actor’s decision affecting others.