Social 20 RI3 Study Guide Flashcards
Key Definitions and Concepts
Internationalism: A political principle which transcends nationalism and advocates a greater political or economic cooperation among nations and peoples. It is the belief that nations should work together for the common good.
Foreign Policy: A government's strategy and set of goals for dealing with other nations and international organizations. This includes decisions regarding trade, diplomacy, defense, and international law.
Self-determination: The principle that a people or nation should have the power to control their own destiny, form their own government, and manage their own affairs without external interference.
National Interest: The goals, objectives, and priorities that a nation-state pursues to ensure its security, prosperity, and cultural identity. It is the primary motivator for a country's foreign policy.
General Assembly: The main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the United Nations. Each of the member states has one vote, ensuring equal representation.
Greenhouse Gas: Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect and global warming. Examples include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Kyoto Accord: An international treaty signed in that extended the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and committed state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
League of Nations: An international organization established after World War I to provide a forum for resolving international disputes and preventing future conflicts; it was the precursor to the United Nations.
Odious Debt: A legal theory in international law which holds that national debt incurred by a regime for purposes that do not serve the best interests of the nation or its people should not be enforceable or transferable to successor governments.
Peacekeeping: The active maintenance of peace by international forces, typically those of the UN, through monitoring and observing peace processes in post-conflict areas and enforcing ceasefires.
Peacemaking: The process of bringing about peace through diplomacy, negotiation, or sometimes the use of force to end an active conflict and bring parties to a settlement.
Poverty: The state of being extremely poor, characterized by a lack of access to basic human needs such as food, clean water, shelter, and healthcare.
Refugee: An individual who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster.
Responsibility to Protect (R2P): A global political commitment endorsed by all UN member states to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity.
Security Council: The UN body primarily responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It consists of members, including permanent members with veto power (USA, UK, France, Russia, China).
Sovereignty: The supreme authority of a state to govern itself and make its own decisions regarding its territory and population without external interference.
Supranationalism: An arrangement in which member nations give up some degree of their sovereignty to a higher international authority or organization (e.g., the European Union).
Tariff: A tax or duty to be paid on a particular class of imports or exports, often used to protect domestic industries.
Civil Society: Organizations and institutions that operate independently of the government, such as NGOs, labor unions, and religious groups, representing the interests and values of citizens.
Subsidy: A sum of money granted by the government or a public body to assist an industry or business so that the price of a commodity or service may remain low or competitive.
Treaty: A formally concluded and ratified agreement between countries.
Unilateral: An action or decision performed by or affecting only one person, group, or country involved in a particular situation, without the agreement of others.
Multilateralism: The principle of participation by several countries in a given action or policy to achieve a common goal.
Isolationism: A policy of remaining apart from the affairs or interests of other groups, especially the political affairs of other countries.
Motives for International Involvement
The Four Main Motives for Nation-State Involvement:
Economic Stability: Countries engage in international affairs to secure trade routes, establish trade agreements, and ensure access to vital resources, which maintains a stable internal economy.
Peace and Security: Nations join alliances (like NATO) or international bodies (like the UN) to protect themselves from external threats and to promote global stability to prevent conflicts that might reach their borders.
Self-Determination: A nation might involve itself in the affairs of others to support ethnic or cultural groups in their struggle for independence or to gain recognition for their own sovereignty.
Humanitarianism: Involving a state in international affairs to provide aid during natural disasters, intervene in human rights abuses, or help alleviate global poverty and disease.
Reasons for Non-Involvement in International Affairs:
Prioritizing Domestic Issues: Governments may choose to focus resources on internal problems such as unemployment, healthcare, or infrastructure rather than spending money abroad.
Maintaining Neutrality: To avoid being drawn into costly or dangerous foreign wars, similar to the historical stance of Switzerland.
Economic Protectionism: Avoiding international trade agreements to protect domestic industries from foreign competition via high tariffs and subsidies.
Understandings of Internationalism and Global Organizations
Five Different Understandings of Internationalism:
Hegemonic Internationalism: When one powerful nation dominates the international system and imposes its values, culture, and policies on others (e.g., the historical British Empire or modern American influence).
Revolutionary Internationalism: The belief that international cooperation should be used to spread a particular political or social ideology across borders (e.g., the spread of Communism during the Cold War).
Liberal Internationalism: The idea that independent nations should cooperate through international organizations and follow a set of global rules to promote trade, peace, and human rights.
Socialist Internationalism: Focuses on the solidarity of the working class across international borders to oppose capitalism and imperialism.
Environmental Internationalism: The perspective that environmental issues (like climate change) transcend national borders and require global cooperation to solve because the planet is a shared ecosystem.
Organizations Promoting Internationalism:
United Nations (UN): Promotes internationalism by providing a forum for dialogue, facilitating peacekeeping missions, and setting global standards for human rights and development.
European Union (EU): Promotes supranationalism by integrating European economies and political systems, allowing for the free movement of goods, services, and people.
La Francophonie: Promotes internationalism among French-speaking nations by encouraging cultural exchange, educational cooperation, and the promotion of democracy.
Amnesty International: An NGO that promotes internationalism by advocating for human rights globally and pressuring governments to end abuses regardless of sovereignty.
World Health Organization (WHO): Coordinates international healthcare responses, monitors disease outbreaks, and sets global health standards.
Right to Play: An international NGO that uses sport and play to educate and empower children and youth in disadvantaged areas and conflict zones.
Arctic Council: A high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses issues faced by the Arctic governments and the indigenous people of the Arctic.
Foreign Policy and Global Tools for Internationalism
Promoting Peace Through Foreign Policy:
Economic Incentives: Positive measures taken by a country to encourage another to act in a certain way, such as offering lower trade tariffs, providing loans, or increasing foreign aid.
Economic Sanctions: Negative measures or penalties imposed on a country, such as trade embargoes or freezing assets, to force that country to change its behavior (e.g., sanctions against North Korea for nuclear testing).
Main Problems Faced by Peacekeepers: They often lack the mandate to use force except in self-defense, they must remain neutral even in the face of atrocities, and they require the consent of the host country, which can be withdrawn.
Peacemakers vs. Peacekeepers: Peacemakers can engage in active combat and use force to separate fighting parties or impose a settlement, whereas peacekeepers only maintain a peace that has already been agreed upon.
International Laws and Agreements:
The World Court (International Court of Justice): The principal judicial organ of the UN. It has the power to settle legal disputes submitted to it by states and to give advisory opinions on legal questions referred to it by authorized international organs.
Foreign Aid:
Tied Aid: Foreign aid that must be spent in the country providing the aid (the donor) or in a group of selected countries. It is frowned upon because it often benefits the donor's economy more than the recipient's and may result in the recipient receiving overpriced or inappropriate goods/services.
The Solution: An idea proposed by Lester B. Pearson (former Canadian Prime Minister) in . It suggests that developed nations should contribute at least of their Gross National Income (GNI) toward international development assistance.
Global Issues and Special Mandates
Responsibility to Protect (R2P): The UN mandate states that sovereignty is a responsibility, not just a right. If a nation is unable or unwilling to protect its people from mass atrocities (genocide, war crimes, etc.), the international community has the mandate to intervene using diplomatic, humanitarian, or military means.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization): An organization that tries to protect and preserve world heritage sites, promote cultural diversity, and improve global education and science.
Trickle Down Effect: In an international context, it is the theory that economic growth and liberalization in wealthy nations will eventually benefit developing nations through increased trade and investment. It is often criticized as being ineffective because the wealth often remains concentrated at the top.
WTO (World Trade Organization): A global international organization that deals with the rules of trade between nations, aiming to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably, and freely as possible.
Effectiveness of Internationalism on Global Issues
Ranking Scale ( - Very Effective to - Not Effective at All):
Climate Change: Ranked or . Reasoning: While treaties like the Kyoto Accord and Paris Agreement exist, global emissions continue to rise and many nations fail to meet targets.
Access to Water: Ranked . Reasoning: Millions still lack clean water despite UN goals, as infrastructure and privatization remain significant barriers.
Disease (Spread): Ranked or . Reasoning: The WHO is relatively effective at coordinating responses (e.g., Polio eradication), but modern travel makes containment difficult (e.g., COVID-19).
Poverty: Ranked . Reasoning: Extreme poverty has decreased in some regions (like China), but the gap between the global north and south remains vast.
Debt: Ranked . Reasoning: Many developing nations are trapped in cycles of debt to international lenders, and "odious debt" is rarely forgiven.
Human Rights: Ranked . Reasoning: International pressure and the UN Charter have improved awareness, but violations continue in many authoritarian regimes without significant international intervention.
Conflict: Ranked . Reasoning: Major world wars have been avoided since , but regional conflicts and civil wars (e.g., Syria, Yemen) persist despite UN efforts.
Case Study: Vietnam and Sovereignty
Ho Chi Minh: The leader of the North Vietnamese nationalist movement. He attempted to persuade the US to support Vietnamese sovereignty after WWI by appealing to President Woodrow Wilson’s principle of self-determination. He failed because the US prioritized its alliance with France (who wanted to keep Vietnam as a colony) and feared the spread of Communism.
US Decision in Vietnam: The US administration (specifically under LBJ and Nixon) believed the military situation was deteriorating and that a conventional win was unlikely. However, they continued the war due to the "Domino Theory" (fear that if Vietnam fell to Communism, neighboring countries would follow) and the desire to maintain national prestige and international credibility.
Two Significant Motives for US Engagement:
Containment: The foreign policy goal of stopping the expansion of Communism globally.
National Interest (Security and Prestige): The belief that losing Vietnam would show weakness to the Soviet Union and China, undermining American global leadership.
Domestic Resistance in the US: Examples include large-scale student protests on university campuses (e.g., Kent State), draft dodging/resistance, the development of the "counter-culture" movement, and public outcry following the leak of the Pentagon Papers.