Last-minute Review Notes

Course logistics and study approach

• Scheduling: two sessions per week; aim to pick times that maximize attendance; if you cannot attend any chosen times, options are limited; attendance may be reassessed if participation is poor.
• Reading strategy for Economist articles: print out and highlight; read three times:
  • 1) skim for overall sense
  • 2) identify key points, dates, numbers, locations
  • 3) read surrounding sentences/paragraphs to digest context
  • Bring highlighted copies to class; questions can be discussed on Friday.

Constitutional and treaty framework

• Article II, Section 2: the president has the power to negotiate and sign treaties.
• After signing, a treaty is binding under international law, but not enforceable under U.S. law until ratified domestically.
• Ratification requires a two-thirds vote in the U.S. Senate: $\frac{2}{3}$ of the Senate.
• NATO basics: stands for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization; ratified by the U.S. Senate in $1949$.
• NATO membership details include a long list of member states; some members joined later or left over time; not all listed allies remained in February $20$-?? (note: as discussed, some members left after about 10–11 years).
• Neutral and cautious states: Switzerland and Austria remain neutral; Ireland is neutral but considerations about joining NATO have been discussed due to security concerns (e.g., Russian activity in airspace).
• Country checks: Moldova is not NATO; Romania is NATO; Ukraine’s status relates to security guarantees and proximity to NATO alliance dynamics.
• Military presence in Afghanistan: approximately $3{,}100$ American troops reported vs total NATO presence around $9{,}592$; reflect on the relative burden among allies.

Security guarantees: Budapest Memorandum

• Budapest Memorandum ( $1994$ ) provided security guarantees to Ukraine in exchange for giving up nuclear weapons.
• Guaranteeing powers: United Kingdom, Russia, and the United States.
• Principle: security guarantees are meaningful only if backed by real power and credible action; on paper guarantees without backing are not sufficient.

U.S. government structure and legitimacy

• Executive bureaucracy size: about $16$–$17$ cabinet-level departments.
• Civilian federal workforce vs. military: speaker notes there are more people in the civilian bureaucracy than the Chinese military.
• Legitimacy concept: government’s right to exercise power is legitimized when a majority accepts it; legitimacy drives voluntary compliance, including tax payments.
• Historical note: governments without legitimacy crumble; East Berlin experience and the 1989 revolutions (Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia; violence in Romania) illustrate legitimacy dynamics.

State sovereignty and early U.S. governance (terminology)

• Post-independence governance was weak by design; sovereignty largely rested with states.
• The term “state” in the era referred to entities with exclusive authority; modern terms like “sovereign” are hard to spell, so the speaker suggests using “exclusive authority” to convey the idea.
• Distinction between exclusive authority and federal power helps explain the early constitutional structure.

Quick recall takeaways

• Treaties require Senate ratification by $\frac{2}{3}$; signing creates international obligations, but domestic enforceability requires ratification.
• NATO is a core alliance with many members; neutrality remains with some states; membership can evolve over time.
• Security guarantees require credible backing; paper commitments without power are insufficient.
• Legitimacy underpins compliance and tax revenue; weak legitimacy leads to instability.
• Early U.S. governance emphasized limited central power with significant state sovereignty; understanding that context helps interpret constitutional development.