Untitled Flashcards Set

• Deterrence by denial strategies seek to deter an action by making it infeasible or unlikely to succeed

• Deterrence by punishment, on the other hand, threatens severe penalties, such as nuclear escalation or severe economic sanctions, if an attack occurs

bargaining model of war

• incomplete information

• commitment problems

• issue indivisibility

crisis bargaining

• A bargaining interaction in which at least one actor threatens to use force in the event that its demands are not met. used to resolve conflicts

• in crisis bargaining, the risk-return-trade-off the trade-off is between trying to get a better deal and trying to avoid a war

• Cuban Missile Crisis, where the United States and the Soviet Union negotiated under immense pressure to remove nuclear missiles from Cuba, with the threat of potential war looming if an agreement couldn't be reached

Bargaining

• A zero-sum interaction in which two or more actors must decide how to distribute something of value. In bargaining, increasing one actor's share of the good decreases the share available to others

• Compare cooperation (positive-sum) interaction where at least one actor becomes better off.

• In the "Phase One" deal, China agreed to increase purchases of certain US goods and services in exchange for reduced tariffs.

Peacekeeping operation

• A military operation that helps countries transition from conflict to peace following the conclusion of a war

• Compare to peace-enforcement operation, which is a military operation that is attempting to stop an ongoing conflict 

• The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur (UNAMID)

Peace-enforcement Operation

• A military operation in which force is used to make and/or enforce peace among warring parties that have not agreed to end their fighting

• Compare peacekeeping operation

• Operation Desert Storm: A military coalition campaign to liberate Kuwait after the UN's initial efforts failed

Humanitarian interventions:

• Interventions designed to relieve humanitarian crises stemming from civil conflicts or large-scale human rights abuses, including genocide

• Done by UN security countil, whose role is to maintain security and peace - controversial though

• The NATO-led intervention in Kosovo in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by widespread ethnic cleansing

Genocide

• Intentional and systematic killing aimed at eliminating an identifiable group of people, such as an ethnic or religious group

• A constructivist would interpret genocide as a clash of identities, values, and ideas.

• Nazi Germany

Collective security organizations:

• Broad based institutions that promote peace and security among their members

• liberalist through cooperation

• League of Nations and UN

Entrapment:

• The condition of being dragged into an unwanted war because of the opportunistic actions of an ally

• While alliances allow states to gain protection, and economize by combining resources, there are other times where the commitment to fight for your ally in an offensive alliance that may put an actor into a situation that would not benefit them.

• Austria-Hungary's involvement in World War I due to its alliance with Germany

Bandwagoning

• A strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict

• In bandwagoning, it can be considered a one-sided alliance where weak states follow the strongest power to most likely avoid being fought by them.

• During the Cold War, smaller nations in Eastern Europe aligned themselves with the Soviet Union (who was stronger and more likely to win militarily) rather than the West

Sovereignty

• Sovereignty is the ability of a state to govern its territory free from control of its internal affairs by other states.

• Arose from the Peace of Westphalia, which called on governments not to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries

Collaboration

• A type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives not to comply with any agreement.

• Compare to coordination, which actors gain from working together and therefore have no incentives to defect

• Prisoner’s dilemma

Coordination

• A type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive not to comply.

• Compare collaboration - where there is incentive to defect

• International climate agreements, such as the Paris Climate Agreement

Hegemony

• Hegemony is the predominance of one nation-state over others.

• Hegemony can often lead to stability and peace, preventing major conflicts.

• When the British Empire became the global hegemonic power after the Napoleonic Wars, Pax Britannica ("British Peace") marked a century-long period, during which Britain's economic and diplomatic influence contributed to economic openness and relative peace.

Globalization

• Globalization is the process of increasing the connection between economies, cultures, and populations around the world.

• liberalism - cooperation, set the framework

• Student exchange programs

Anarchy

• The absence of a central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws that bind all actors.

• Realism assumes that the international system is anarchic, meaning there is no central authority to enforce rules

• During the French Revolution, the government of France was overthrown and a group of radical revolutionaries seized power.

Mercantilism

• Mercantilism is an economic doctrine based on a belief that military power and economic influence complement each other.

• applied especially to colonial empires in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries

• It ensured the empires' own political and military power, and was used by European empires and private businesses such as the Dutch East India Company which controlled the spice trade and accumulated large profits through exclusive access to valuable goods

Colonialism

• Colonialism is the practice of a foreign power controlling and exploiting a land and its people for an extended period

• postcolonial theory

• A clear example of colonialism is the British colonization of India. From the 18th to the mid-20th century, Britain established control over India, exploiting its resources (such as cotton, spices, and tea) and using it as a market for British manufactured goods.

Cooperation

• An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off. (positive-sum)

• Compare bargaining (zero-sum)

• During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries lacked access to vaccines, but the World Health Organization funded vaccines to low-income countries

public goods

• Public goods are products that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption

• contrasted with common-pool resources, resources that are available to everyone but can be overused due to their limited supply

• clean air or water/national defense

collective action problems

• Collective action problems are obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts with the expectation that others will pay the costs of cooperation.

• liberal: caused by a lack of communication

• climate change: all nations benefit from reducing global emissions, but each nation may hesitate to take action, expecting others to make the necessary sacrifices

Autocracy

• An individual or small group exercises power with few constraints and no meaningful competition

• compare democracy

• nazi germany

Democracy

• A political system in which candidates compete for political office through frequent, fair elections in which a sizable portion of the adult population can vote

• compare autocracy, which is when there are few constraints and no competition

Democratic peace

• The observation that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature and domestic states.

• peace creates democracies, more economically and socially integrated, mature democracy

• us and sweden

Rally Effect:

• People's tendency to become more supportive of their country's government in times of dramatic international events, such as crises or wars

• diversionary effect - could cause leaders to be incentivized to engage in war

• cuban missile crisis for JFK voter support

Indivisible good

• A good that cannot be divided without destroying its value.

• compare with public good, which is nonrivalrous and nonexcludable

• a baby

Preemptive war

• A war fought with the anticipation that an attack by the other side is imminent.

• compare preventive war, which is to prevent an adversary from becoming stronger

• The Six-Day War: Israel attacked Egypt and Syria after it became clear that they were about to attack. 

Preventive war

• A war fought with the intention of preventing an adversary from becoming stronger in the future.

• Compare with preemptive war, a war that is fought because of the anticpation that an attack is imminent

• The attack on Pearl Harbor by the japanese on us military base 

Brinkmanship

• A strategy in which adversaries take actions that increase the risk of accidental war, with the hope that the other will "blink" (lose its nerve) first and make concessions.

• can be explained by realism - self-interest, security and calculated risks

• "Cuban Missile Crisis" during the Cold War, where the United States and the Soviet Union came dangerously close to nuclear war by placing missiles in Cuba

Crimes against humanity

• Acts when committed as part of a planned and systematic attack directed against any civil population including murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, torture, etc.

• Compare with International Humanitarian law, laws to relieve humanitarian crises

• Uyghur muslims

Norms

• Standards of behavior for actors with a given identity; norms define what actions are "right" or appropriate under particular circumstances.

• Constitutive norms: what makes an actor legitimate or appropriate; Procedural norms: how decisions should be made; Regulative norms: how actors should behave with other actors

• Not pursuing territorial conquests or the Nuclear taboo

Security dilemma

• A dilemma that arises when efforts that states make to defend themselves cause other states to feel less secure; can lead to arms races and war because of the fear of being attacked.

• realism - seeking security can cause conflict

• Cold war arms race

Coercive Diplomacy

• The use of threats to advance specific demands in a bargaining interaction.

• differs from brute force, since this is more about persuading through threats vs sheer power

• The CCP's coercive tactics can include economic measures (such as trade sanctions, investment restrictions, tourism bans and popular boycott

Compellence

• Using a threat to get someone to do something they would prefer not to do; start something new or stop something they’ve already started

• Opposite is deterrence, maintaining status quo

• Trump threatening Putin in tweet over continuing invasion in Ukraine using taxes, tariffs, and sanctions

International Humanitarian law

• A body of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict, protect noncombatants, and restrict means and methods of warfare for humanitarian reasons.

• Compare with crimes against humanity, premeditated crimes against any civil population

• Geneva Conventions

Coercion

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

• Compellence is a form of coercion

• In response to North Korea's missile tests, the U.S. imposed heavy economic sanctions and threatened military action to pressure the regime into denuclearization talks. 

Accountability

• The ability to punish or reward leaders for the decisions they make

• When frequent, fair elections enable voters to hold elected officials responsible for their actions by granting or withholding access to political office.

• impeachment 

Identify and critique the Western biases in IR

• seeing history under a western lens

• focusing on their accomplishments without recognizing the root (ex. slavery)

• postcolonial theory

Identify and apply the central arguments of feminist IR;

• You can't understand international politics without a female perspective

• Lack of recognition of the capability of female leaders 

• Infantilizing women, and their autonomy

  • “Women and children”

Recall and explain the components of successful coercion;

• Credibility

  • adversary has to believe you will follow through

• capability

  • adversary has to believe you have the resources

• communication 

  • adversary has to know about the threat

Explain and compare explanations for war and peace from the domestic level of analysis;

• Democratic peace

• Diversionary effect/rally effect

• Nationalism 

Compare constructivist/liberalist/realist approaches to thinking about nuclear weapons;

• Feminist/Constructivist: nuclear weapons are immoral and there is a problem with how they are being discussed 

• Liberalist: nuclear weapons aren't necessary for deterrence because there are ways for states to cooperate without these weapons 

  • Cooperation will reduce the need for nuclear weapons 

• Realist: nuclear weapons increase security, which all states seek, using nuclear weapons is a way to assert power, which is the goal of all states 

  • Essential for deterrence