Untitled Flashcards Set

Q: What is Game Theory?
A: A framework for understanding strategic interactions where outcomes depend on the choices of multiple actors.

Q: What is deterrence in game theory?
A: The use of threats to prevent an adversary from taking an undesired action.

Q: Why is credibility important in deterrence?
A: A threat or promise must be believable to influence the other player's decision.

Q: What is a normal form game?
A: A representation of a game using a matrix showing payoffs for each strategy combination.

Q: What is a zero-sum game?
A: A situation where one player’s gain is another’s loss.

Q: What is the Prisoner’s Dilemma?
A: A game showing why two rational actors might not cooperate, even if it’s in their best interest.

Q: What is an extensive form game?
A: A game represented as a decision tree, showing the order of moves and possible decisions.

Q: What is backwards induction?
A: Solving an extensive form game by analyzing from the end to the beginning.

Q: What is a commitment device?
A: A strategy that locks an actor into a course of action to make threats/promises credible.

Q: What is a dominant strategy?
A: A strategy that provides a better outcome regardless of the opponent’s choice.

Q: What is a Nash equilibrium?
A: A stable strategy combination where no player benefits from changing unilaterally.

Q: How do the Korean War and Berlin Airlift illustrate game theory?
A: They show strategic interaction, deterrence, signaling, and commitment under Cold War tensions.

Security & International Relations

Q: What is the security dilemma?
A: When one state’s effort to increase security causes insecurity in others.

Q: How does uncertainty relate to security dilemmas?
A: Uncertainty about others’ intentions intensifies security dilemmas.

Q: What is human security?
A: A concept that broadens security to include threats to individual well-being (e.g., poverty, disease).

Q: What does anarchy mean in international relations?
A: The lack of a central authority governing states, leading to self-help behavior.

Q: How does anarchy connect to game theory?
A: It explains why states may defect or arm themselves due to mutual distrust.

Power, Structure & Hegemony

Q: What is power in international relations?
A: The ability of one actor to influence another’s behavior.

Q: What is a hegemon?
A: A dominant power that enforces order in the international system.

Q: What is system structure in IR?
A: The distribution of power (unipolar, bipolar, multipolar) among states.

Historical & Regional Case Studies

Q: What is the 9-dash line?
A: China's maritime claim in the South China Sea, disputed by several countries.

Q: Why is the South China Sea important?
A: It's a major shipping route and rich in resources, raising tensions.

Q: What is the Monroe Doctrine?
A: A U.S. policy opposing European colonialism in the Americas.

Q: What is Manifest Destiny?
A: The 19th-century belief that the U.S. was destined to expand across North America.

Q: How can Russia serve as an IR case study?
A: In its foreign policy, power projection, Ukraine invasion, and role in multipolarity.

Q: How does the Cold War illustrate IR concepts?
A: It exemplifies deterrence, bipolarity, proxy wars, and ideological conflict.

Q: What is the significance of Russia/Ukraine in IR today?
A: Highlights sovereignty, power politics, hybrid warfare, and NATO dynamics.

Q: What is the relevance of the Former Yugoslavia in conflict studies?
A: Shows ethnic conflict, international intervention, and peacekeeping challenges.

Weapons & Warfare

Q: What are the main views in the Waltz vs. Sagan nuclear debate?
A: Waltz supports nuclear proliferation for deterrence; Sagan warns of organizational failures and risk.

Q: What is a revolution in warfare?
A: A shift in how wars are fought, often due to technology or strategy changes.

Q: What is force protection?
A: Measures taken to safeguard military personnel, tied to counterinsurgency challenges.

Ethnic Conflict

Q: What are definitions of ethnic conflict?
A: Violent disputes rooted in ethnic divisions, viewed through different lenses (primordial, instrumental, constructivist).

Q: What are the views on ethnicity?
A: Primordial (fixed), instrumental (used by elites), constructivist (socially shaped).

Q: What happened in Rwanda (1994)?
A: A genocide where Hutus killed ~800,000 Tutsis and moderate Hutus, shaped by ethnic identity.

Q: Who was Slobodan Milosevic?
A: Serbian leader charged with war crimes during the Yugoslav Wars.

Q: What is ethnic outbidding?
A: When political actors escalate ethnic rhetoric to win support.

Terrorism & Insurgency

Q: What is terrorism?
A: The use of violence to instill fear and achieve political goals.

Q: What is transnational organized crime?
A: Crime that crosses borders and may involve drug trafficking, arms, or human smuggling.

Q: What is counterinsurgency (COIN)?
A: Military, political, and social efforts to defeat insurgency.

Q: What is the “Impossible Trilemma” in COIN?
A: Balancing force protection, political legitimacy, and effective operations—often failing to achieve all three.

Q: What is lone wolf terrorism?
A: Terror acts by individuals not formally linked to terrorist groups.

Q: Who are Boko Haram, Al Qaeda, Taliban, and ISIS?
A: Islamist militant groups with varying goals and global impacts.

Q: Who was Osama Bin Laden?
A: Founder of Al Qaeda, mastermind of 9/11, killed by U.S. forces in 2011.