Untitled Flashcards Set

Key concepts: 1. Mercantilism 2. Peace of Westphalia 3. Sovereignty 4. Hegemony 5. Pax Britannica 6. Gold standard 7. Treaty of Versailles 8. League of Nations 9. Bretton Woods system 10.Warsaw Pact 11.Decolonization 12.Rationality 13. Anarchy 14.Cooperation 15.Bargaining 16.Public goods 17.Collective action problem 18.Free riding 19.Iteration 20.Linkage 21.Outside options 22.Agenda setting 23.Institutions 24.Actors Questions: 1. Why was the world not a meaningful political and economic unit before 1500, and what changed after 1500? 2. Why is the Peace of Westphalia significant? 3. Why did European powers—and later others—seek to colonize nonEuropean lands? 4. How did Cold War tensions between the US and USSR begin, and how did the superpowers consolidate support? 5. What are the three categories of interests, and how are they defined? 6. If cooperation benefits everyone, why don’t actors always choose to cooperate? 7. Why do actors comply with institutional rules despite incentives to defect? How to analyze any political or socio-economic event? Era: How to remember: Fill in: Mercantilist Era (1492 – 1815) Key words: mercantilism, sovereignty, Peace of Westphalia No idea of sovereign states at first, just trade. Trade brought money, which funded wars. Wars led to territorial expansion and more conflicts. There were no rules or institutions to manage relations between states. Eventually, states realized they needed sovereignty to keep order (Peace of Westphalia). Actors: Interests: Interactions: Institutions: Pax Britannica (1815 – 1914) Key words: hegemony, trade, Gold Standard After the Napoleonic Wars, Britain became the strongest power. Its navy dominated the seas, allowing global trade to grow. The gold standard emerged as a major institution, stabilizing currencies and boosting international trade. Free trade and Actors: Interests: Interactions: Institutions: Institutions Interactions Interests Actors industrialization brought wealth, reducing major conflicts. Britain acted as a "global policeman," maintaining peace. Thirty Years Crisis (1914 – 1945) Key words: crisis, WW1, WW2, League of Nations After World War I, global powers struggled to rebuild and maintain peace. Economic instability and rising tensions led to the Great Depression. The gold standard collapsed, weakening international trade. The League of Nations, created to prevent future wars, failed to manage conflicts. Aggressive nationalism and unresolved disputes led to World War II. Actors: Interests: Interactions: Institutions: The Cold War (1945 – 1990) Key words: bipolarity (US vs. USSR), nuclear deterrence, ideology, institutions After World War II, the world was divided into two blocs: The United States leading the capitalist West and the Soviet Union leading the communist East. Both sides competed for global influence but avoided direct war, relying on proxy wars and arms races instead. Institutions like the United Nations and Bretton Woods system helped manage global tensions and rebuild economies. However, conflicts like the Korean and Vietnam Wars highlighted the division. Actors: Interests: Interactions: Institutions: The Age of Globalization (1990 – now) Key words: interdependence, cooperation, institutions After the Cold War, the world became increasingly interconnected through trade, technology, and communication. Institutions like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) promoted global markets and economic cooperation. Advances in technology revolutionized industries and linked societies. However, globalization also brought challenges like inequality, climate change, and financial crises. Actors: Interests: Interactions: Institutions: Week 2. War Key concepts: 1. War 2. Interstate war 3. Civil war 4. Security dilemma 5. Crisis bargaining 6. Coercive diplomacy 7. Bargaining range 8. Compellence 9. Deterrence 10.Capability 11.Resolve 12.Brinksmanship 13. Tying hands 14.Audience costs 15.Preventive war 16.Preemptive war 17.Indivisible good 18.Nationalism 19.Bureaucracy 20.Interest group 21.Rally effect 22.Diversionary incentive 23.Democratic peace 24.Democracy 25.Autocracy 26.Military-industrial complex Bargaining model of war How to remember: Questions: Incomplete information Lack of complete information causes uncertainty, which can lead to mistakes in judging capabilities or resolve. 1. What are capabilities and resolve? 2. Which is harder to assess: capabilities or resolve? 3. Why does incomplete information create a credibility problem? 4. How can threats be made credible? 5. How does misjudging bargaining lead to war? 6. How can strategies to make threats credible backfire? Commitment problems Even with full information, doubt about whether a state will follow through can create mistrust. 1. Why do wars over strategic goods occur? 2. What is a preventive war? 3. What is a preemptive war? 4. How do preventive wars differ from preemptive wars? Indivisible goods The good can't be shared without losing value, or there's no way to fairly enforce the sharing. 1. Is indivisibility an inherent characteristic of a good? 2. How can a state strategically use claims of indivisibility? 3. What role does an enforcement mechanism play in dividing goods? Questions: 1. Explain the bargaining process involved in the decision to go to war. 2. What mistakes can occur when states have poor or incomplete information about each other’s willingness to go to war? 3. Why is it difficult for states to establish credibility in international relations? 4. What types of commitment problems can prevent states from reaching peaceful settlements? 5. What factors could explain the decline in wars over time? 6. Which factors determine whether disputes can be resolved without resorting to war? 7. What are the four primary types of actors within a state? 8. How do leaders' motivations influence decisions about war and peace? 9. Why might the diversionary effects of conflict on domestic politics be weak? 10.In what ways can the military act as an influential actor in the decision to go to war? 11.Why do interest groups focus on shaping their state’s foreign policy? 12.What are some limitations of using interest-group explanations for the causes of war? 13.Does democracy promote peace? Discuss popular explanations for this relationship. Week 3. War and International Institutions Key concepts: 1. Alliance 2. Balance of power 3. Bandwagoning 4. Entrapment 5. NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) 6. Warsaw Pact 7. United Nations (UN) 8. Collective security organizations 9. Genocide 10.Humanitarian interventions 11.UN Security Council (UNSC) 12.Permanent five (P5) 13.Veto power 14.Peace-enforcement operation 15.Peacekeeping operation Questions: 1. What is the difference between a bilateral and a multilateral alliance? 2. How do security dynamics differ between bilateral and multilateral alliances? In which type of alliance are collective action problems and free-riding more likely, and why? 3. What is the difference between asymmetrical and symmetrical alliances? 4. If you are a weak state, should you join a symmetrical or asymmetrical alliance? Why? 5. What is the difference between an offensive and a defensive alliance? 6. Which type of alliance—offensive or defensive—is more common in the modern era? 7. What motivates states to form alliances? 8. Why are alliances costly for states? 9. Under what conditions do alliances work most effectively? 10.How can alliances serve as signals to the international community? 11.What role do alliances play in maintaining the balance of power? 12.Is the balance of power the only reason why alliances exist? 13. What is collective security organization? 14.What is the difference between CSO and alliance? 15.How does collective security work? 16. What is the basic logic of collective security? 17.How do CSOs make war costlier? 18. Why do CSOs experience collective action and joint decision problems? 19.What is the role of veto power in resolving collective action problem? 20.Why can veto power be controversial? Week 4. Violence by Nonstate Actors: Terrorism Key concepts: 1. Civil war 2. Terrorism 3. Asymmetrical warfare 4. Separatist 5. Irredentist 6. Proxy wars 7. Insurgency 8. Extremists 9. Coercion 10.Provocation 11.Spoiling 12.Outbidding Questions: 1. What are the root conflicts of interest in civil wars, and how can they be described? 2. What are the arguments for and against groups having states of their own? 3. What are the three main factors that help explain the rise of violent opposition groups? Summarize each explanation. 4. Why might foreign governments choose to support or host rebel groups? 5. How do the features of the bargaining problem explain the occurrence of civil wars? 6. Why do rebel groups prefer insurgency tactics over conventional warfare? 7. What is COIN (Counterinsurgency), and how is it relevant to civil wars? 8. In what ways could promoting democracy help or harm efforts to reduce civil wars? 9. Why are terrorists often perceived as irrational actors? 10.What weaknesses do terrorist groups face, and what problems do these weaknesses create? 11.How can terrorism be analyzed through the lens of the bargaining problem? 12.What strategies of violence do terrorist groups use to advance their interests? 13.What challenges arise when attempting to deter terrorist groups? 14.What difficulties do rebel groups and terrorist organizations pose to states?