PS 100 Final
Bretton Woods Institutions
The collective name given to the international financial institutions set up as World War II ended. These institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were set up by agreement of 43 countries in 1944.
Cold War
A conflict between the two largest military powers in the world after World War II, the United States with its allies and the United Soviet Socialist Republics and its allies. The conflict was militarized in that both sides invested heavily in military power aimed at the other, but the conflict was “cold” because, despite a few incidents in which the threat of the use of force seemed imminent, neither side pulled the trigger.
Empirical
Having to do with observation, data, or experience rather than theory or logic.
Epistemology
A branch of philosophy is concerned with asking questions about why and how we know what we know, and how we distinguish fact from opinion and objectivity from subjectivity.
Global North
Those countries of Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan were the first part of the world to industrialize in the nineteenth century and where economic and political power relied on the raw materials of countries from the Global South. May also refer to those parts of a political economy within a country that experiences economic growth by relying on the labor and raw materials of others.
Global South
Those countries that were either legally or economically colonized by countries of the Global North, resulting in economic and political positions in the global political economy whereby they have marginalized voices in influencing the terms of international institutions, including trade, finance, climate, and security. May also refer to those parts of a political economy within a country that experiences economic stagnation or decline even when other parts of that same economy grow, often because they provide labor and raw materials.
International relations
Is an interdisciplinary field of study blending political science, law, history, anthropology, economics, linguistics, geography, philosophy, women’s studies, environmental science, and more that takes up questions of international, transnational, regional, and global politics and how these are influenced by and affect national and local politics
Positivism
In international relations, an epistemology holds that knowledge is the result of empirical data interpreted through reason and logic, as it might be in the natural sciences and math.
Racialize
Is the process of constructing a political and social hierarchy by ascribing racial identities and political meaning to differences, often reified in social and political policies and institutions.
Sovereignty
Is a state’s control of its own affairs both domestically (internal sovereignty) and externally (over foreign policy).
Structural Violence
In ways in which social structures or institutions systematically harm or disadvantage certain groups of people.
Commodification
Is turning something or someone into nothing more than a commodity, an object for sale.
Commodity fetishism
Is the understanding of the economy as based on market relationships between commodities rather than social relationships between people.
Exchange Rates
The rate at which currency in one denomination (e.g., US dollars) is exchanged for currency in another denomination (e.g., British pounds)
Foreign Currency
Money in a denomination different from your own
Gross Domestic Product
The total measurable output of the national economy, valued in money terms
Hierarchies of Difference
The stratification of status and wealth along the lines of race, gender, class, nation, and other socially constructed categories, and the normalization of these inequalities
Inflation
The increase in price levels without change of the underlying value, often over a short time period
International Political Economy
The study of power and wealth across countries
Market
The physical or virtual site where goods and services are exchanged, but also a way of organizing economic relations
Microfinance
Loans and savings instruments targeted at individuals and groups with no or little access to banking services
Remittance Economies
Funds that migrant workers send back to households located in their home country
Social Construction
Collective understandings that are the basis for shared assumptions about the world and how it works
Social reproduction
The socially necessary work that is central to the production of life itself, including biological reproduction, caring for and maintaining households and intimate relationships, and the reproduction of labor and collective community
Environmental (In)security
The lack of safety from natural disasters, climate events, contaminants, or other environmental factors that may cause humans danger.
Food (In)security
The lack of availability of basic food needs, including but not limited to an appropriate number of calories or a balanced diet, or the lack of certainty about where meals will come from and when they will be available.
Health (In)security
The lack of health stability or access to adequate preventive or treatment mental or physical healthcare, or the inability to protect one’s body from damage due to work or living conditions.
Human Security
An understanding that to be “secure,” a person or group of people must have their basic needs met, including economic means, nutrition, health resources, environmental safety, personal physical integrity, and a secure community.
Intersectional Security
A broad-based approach to understanding security that takes account of a wide variety of axes on which people are rendered vulnerable or insecure.
Nation
A group that understands itself to be “inside” of a political organization and understands those that are not included in the group to be “outside” of their political organization.
Nuclear Deterrence
The idea, more frequently discussed during the Cold War than after, that a state (or non-state actor) can “deter” another state (or non-state actor) from engaging in the use of nuclear weapons by a credible threat of second-strike capacity: once weapons were used against state/group X by state/group Y, state/group X (or their allies) would still be able to nuke state/group Y. If this is the case, it is assumed that state/group Y will be “deterred” from using the weapons in the first place due to fear of retaliatory damage.
Security/(In)security
The ability or inability to be or feel “secure” along a number of dimensions, including but not limited to military security, state security, environmental security, cultural security, gender security, health security, and food security.
Security Narratives
Stories that are told or repeated about the ways that people or groups are (in)secure, often told in terms of “the good guys” and “the bad guys” in a way that engenders and escalates conflict while neglecting human security.
Womenandchildren
Used as a single term to refer to situations where women and children are grouped into a category understood to be physically or mentally incapable of some activity understood as the purview of men. For example, people often talk about “womenandchildren” as civilians in war – those to be protected. This category betrays gendered assumptions about what women are.
Crimes Against Humanity
Acts that are purposely committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against a civilian population.
Customary International Law
Rules that result from the long-term practice of states based on what they consider to be their legal obligations.
General Principles
International legal principles recognized by nations.
Genocide
The intentional action to destroy a people – usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group – in whole or in part.
Human Rights
A set of rights that all human beings are entitled to without discrimination in order to live in dignity and free from fear and want.
Indigenous Peoples
Ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area, in contrast to groups who occupied or colonized these areas later. Indigenous rights claims condemn exploitation through colonialism and aim at collective self-determination.
International Conventions And Treaties
Written agreements between two (bilateral) or more (multilateral) states.
International Court Of Justice
The main judicial body of the United Nations that settles disputes between states.
International Criminal Court
An intergovernmental organization and international tribunal with the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression.
International Law
Legal rules that regulate the relationship among states.
International Organizations
Organizations established by a formal intergovernmental treaty, charter, or statute between three or more states with activities in several states.
Public Versus Private Spheres
Areas of public interests, most commonly business and politics, versus areas of home and family.
Self-Determination
The right of nations and states to determine their own internal and external affairs and organization.
Slavery
Any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy, and sell other individuals.
Socioeconomic Rights
Are rights that allow a dignified life free from material want, including access to housing, decent working conditions, social security, and education and absence of child labor.
Statism
The idea that states are central to the functioning and working of the international system.
Torture
The act of deliberately inflicting severe physical or psychological suffering on a person for the purposes of obtaining information, punishment, intimidation, or coercion carried out or tolerated by state officials.
Universalism
The assumption that some ideas have general applicability or moral standing. It is a position that is often criticized or rejected as disguised particularism (e.g., Western-centrism, a worldview centered on and biased toward Western civilization).
War Crimes
Actions carried out during the conduct of war that violate accepted international rules of war, including intentionally killing civilians or prisoners, committing rape, and recruiting child soldiers.
Women’s Rights
Entitlements of women and girls to live as autonomously and self-determined as men and boys; requires overcoming androcentrism, meaning attitudes and practices that universalize male perspectives and thereby marginalize or subordinate female perspectives.
Austerity Measures
Policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits, including spending cuts and tax increases; often used by governments that find it difficult to pay their debts.
Balance Of Payments
The difference in total value between payments into and out of a country over a period.
Distributional Problems
Problems resulting from the existence of one or more possible cooperative agreements in which some actors benefit more than others.
Export-Processing Zones
Areas within developing countries that offer incentives and a barrier-free environment to promote economic growth and attract foreign investment for export-oriented production.
Global Governance
Cooperative problem-solving arrangements usually structured as a set of rules or institutions, often taking the form of formal international organizations.
Intergovernmental Organizations (IGOs)
Formal organizations with members from multiple states that place a variety of obligations on states in pursuit of a common goal.
Loan Conditionality
Conditions placed on loans by the International Monetary Fund, often requiring loan recipients to make adjustments to national economic policies.
Mandate
Obligations specified by IGOs, often in an official agreement or treaty, and required of states.
Multinational Corporation
An enterprise that operates in a number of countries with production or service facilities outside its country of origin.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Private, voluntary organizations whose members are individuals, groups, or associations from more than one country who come together in pursuit of a common goal or purpose.
Subsidies
A sum of money granted by the government to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity can remain low or competitive.
Veto Power
The ability to prevent the passage of a measure through a unilateral act, such as a single negative vote.
Washington Consensus
A collection of policy recommendations generally advocated by economists and policymakers in the Global North, including trade liberalization, privatization, and openness to foreign investment, among others.
Anarchy
A condition in international relations where there is no overarching authority above states, leading to a self-help system in which each state must rely on its own capabilities.
Balance Of Power
A situation in international politics where power is distributed among multiple states so that no single state can dominate the others.
Bipolarity
A distribution of global power in which two states or coalitions dominate international relations, such as during the Cold War between the U.S. and USSR.
Collective Security
An arrangement in which all states agree to respond together against threats to peace, often through international organizations like the United Nations.
Constructivism
A theory of international relations emphasizing that ideas, beliefs, and identities shape how states interact, rather than just material power or interests.
Domination
The exercise of control or influence by one actor over others, often through coercive, economic, or ideological means.
Globalization
The increasing interconnectedness of people, economies, and governments across the world, driven by trade, technology, and cultural exchange.
Hard Power
Power derived from coercive means such as military force or economic pressure to influence other actors.
Hegemony
Dominance of one state or actor in the international system, often characterized by leadership or control over rules and norms.
Liberalism
A theory of international relations that emphasizes cooperation, institutions, and the role of international law and democracy in promoting peace.
Multilateralism
The practice of coordinating national policies in groups of three or more states, typically through international institutions.
Multipolarity
A distribution of global power in which three or more states or coalitions hold significant power.
National Interest
The strategic goals and objectives of a state, often used to justify foreign policy decisions.
Realism
A theory of international relations that emphasizes power politics, state sovereignty, and national interest in an anarchic world system.
Soft Power
The ability to influence others through attraction, culture, values, and diplomacy rather than coercion or payments.
Sphere Of Influence
A region or area where a powerful state exerts a dominant influence, often unofficially controlling the politics or economy.
Developed Countries
States with high levels of income, industrialization, infrastructure, and standards of living.
Emerging Economies
Countries experiencing rapid economic growth and industrialization, often transitioning from low-income to middle-income status.
International Monetary Fund
A global financial institution that provides monetary cooperation, financial stability, and short-term loans to countries facing balance-of-payment problems.
Millennium Development Goals
Eight international goals established by the United Nations in 2000 to reduce global poverty, hunger, disease, and improve education and gender equality by 2015.
Political Economy
The study of how politics and economics interact, particularly how public policy and economic systems influence one another.
Poverty
A condition where people lack sufficient resources to meet basic needs such as food, shelter, and healthcare.
World Bank
An international financial institution that provides long-term loans and grants to developing countries for projects that promote economic development.
Civil War
An internal conflict between organized groups within the same country, often over political power, territory, or resources.
Correlation
A statistical relationship between two variables that move together but do not necessarily imply causation.
Non-State War
A conflict involving armed groups that are not formally recognized states, such as terrorist organizations or rebel groups.
Peace
A condition where there is no active warfare or violence, and disputes are resolved through nonviolent means.
Proxy War
A conflict where external powers support opposing sides within a third country’s war, often to advance their strategic interests.
Spurious Correlation
A statistical relationship where two variables appear connected but are actually influenced by a third, hidden factor.
State
A political entity with a defined territory, permanent population, government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states.
War
A state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict between states or other political entities.
War (According To Correlates Of War Project)
A conflict resulting in at least 1,000 battle-related deaths in a calendar year involving organized armed forces.
Androcentrism
A perspective that centers male experiences and viewpoints, often marginalizing or ignoring the perspectives of women and other genders.
Humanitarian Intervention
The use of force by a state or group of states to protect people in another state from gross human rights violations.
Responsibility To Protect
A global political commitment to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity by encouraging and enabling state and international action.
Sanctions
Penalties or restrictions imposed by one or more states on another to influence its behavior, typically in the form of trade restrictions or asset freezes.
Anthropocene
A proposed geological epoch characterized by the dominant impact of human activity on the Earth's climate and ecosystems.
Collective Action Problem
A situation in which individuals or states would benefit from cooperating but fail to do so because each has an incentive to free-ride on others’ efforts.
Ecology
The study of the relationships between living organisms and their physical environment.
Nonrenewable Resource
A natural resource that cannot be replenished at the same rate it is consumed, such as fossil fuels or minerals.
Renewable Resources
Resources that are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as solar energy, wind, and forests.
Sustainable Development
Development that meets present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Tragedy Of The Commons
A situation in which individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete a shared resource, resulting in long-term collective loss.