International Politics by Mr. Miller Mid-Term Study Guide

Politics

1. The process in any society, working through the institutions of government and involving the use of power 

Political Science

1. the study of political phenomena. Known as a soft science because the variable that it studies, humans, are unpredictable and hard to measure definitively. 

Power

1. The ability of A to get B to do something B wouldn’t normally have done

2. The ability of a state to influence other actors to achieve its goals, economic, military, political, or cultural. States use power to protect their sovereignty and gain influence in the international system.

3. The ability of states to shift the probability of an outcome

Human Nature - 3 assumptions

1. to be human is to have needs, wants, and desires

2. resources that satisfy human needs are scarce

3. benefits are costly and are paid for with economic resources or human lives

Niccolo Machiavelli

1. Italian political diplomat in the 16th century who advised the Medici prince on how to be a ruthless and therefore effective leader. “Better to be feared than loved”

2. Political actions should be separate/free from moral considerations or theocratic standards of conduct

Thomas Hobbes 

1. Wrote The Leviathan, advocated for authoritarian government under a social contract

John Locke

1. Wrote Two Treatises on Government, believed that man was governed by reason. Moral and legitimate governments protected natural rights through equal laws, a neutral judiciary, and an executive that would enforce the laws

Sovereignty

1. Implies political independence from a higher authority and theoretical equality. It’s a state’s power to govern itself autonomously because of recognition by other states and nonstate actors

Political Realism

1. Theory predicted on the assumption that all political behavior is based on individuals, groups, and nations seeking in their own self-interests defined in terms of power

2. Achieve self-interests through power, life is a struggle for power, peace and security, and a sense of history predicts current actions

Hans J. Morgenthau

1. Political scientist who was one of the major 20th-century figures in the study of international relations, - father of realism as interests defined as power being the objective

Neo-Realism

1. Similar to realism but focuses on the international system instead of individual states and actors. 

2. The world exists in a state of anarchy, but instead of trying to gain power to achieve security, the primary goal of states is survival, so they remain defensive in nature.

3. Cooperation is difficult and limited in the international system due to the inherent distrust and competition among states

4. System structure determines the environment of IR, bipolar are more stable, predictable, and effective than multipolar systems

Liberalism

1. States achieve peace through cooperation and altruism, primarily through IGOs

2. Kant’s Democratic Peace Theory

3. Foreign policy should form a more orderly and peaceful international system because national and common interests are tied

   1. Neoliberalism: liberal economic policy, but government intervention in social policy to discourage discrimination and social injustice

Post-Internationalism

1. States cannot control the complex and ever-changing world of global politics, especially because of the increase in globalization and transnationalism (critical of state-centric theories)

2. NGO’s, Terrorist groups, TDC’s, and TAN’s are more effective at setting the global agenda and influencing political and economic outcomes

Turbulence

1. Unexpected changes that cause pervasive uncertainties

2. Now the norm, not the exception, but may be only short-term

Postmodernism

1. There is no objective truth or universal values, and meaning is dependent on individual perspectives

2. The individual experience determines truth, not political ideologies, which are too narrow and metanarrative

Feminist Theory

1. Women have been excluded by men from the international politics process and from the conceptualization of world politics

Economic Internationalism

1. Belief that free economic exchange without political interference can bring prosperity to all nations

2. Advocate for capitalism, laissez-faire, economic liberalism, MNC’s and IGO’s

Economic Structuralism

1. Economics plays a dominant role in determining global politics because the struggle between the haves and have-nots defines power

Economic Nationalism

1. Economic strength = more state power, closely connected to realism

2. Suspicious of free trade and globalism

Constructivism

1. The exchange of ideas creates structures, and these structures shape ideas and agents

2. Disagrees with realists and liberalists that structures are stable and unchanging, believes that political identities are subject to change and adaption

Collective Security

1. States and global actors produce structures such as treaties and international laws to settle disputes

2. Assume that states will relinquish some sovereignty and freedom of action for peace and a balance of power

Behavioralism

1. Removes human factors that make political science unpredictable to calculate the probability of observed behavior occurring

Post-Behavioralism

1. Can’t make political science more of a hard science because it removes to many factors important for studying politics

Democratic Peace Theories

1. Democracies are inherently more peaceful

2. 2 liberal democracies have never been at war with each other since 1816

3. Weakened by liberal bias of the interpretation of “democracy”

Game Theory

1. assumes actor rationality in a competition where each actor tries to maximize gains and minimize losses 

Zero-sum game

1. What one wins, the other loses

   1. Ex: if A wins 5, B loses 5

Non-zero-sum game

1. Gains and losses are not necessarily equal, both sides may win, and both sides may lose 

Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention

1. Thomas Friedman's theory that no two countries have fought a war with each other if both had McDonald’s at the time

2. When a country reached the level of economic development where it had a middle class big enough to support a McDonald's network, it became a McDonald's country.

Realpolitik

1. pragmatism, principles based on practical rather than moral considerations

Holy Roman Empire

1. A medieval and early modern political entity in Western and Central Europe that claimed to be a continuation of the Roman Empire

The Treaty of Westphalia (1648)

1. Ended 30 Years War, the benchmark for international relations

Popular sovereignty

1. the political idea that the people are the source of all political power and authority and that the government is created by the consent of the people and is obligated to serve their will

Imperialism

1. An ideology where a nation extends its power and dominance over other nations or territories through political, economic, or military influence

Cold War

1. 1947-1991, geopolitical conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, characterized by political and economic rivalry and proxy wars

Proxy Wars

1. a conflict where major powers avoid direct confrontation with each other by supporting opposing sides (or proxies) in a conflict within a third country, typically through financial, logistical, and sometimes military aid

Jihad v. McWorld

1. book by Benjamin Baber, Jihad is the provincial, tribal, and often religious beliefs and ways of life that resist the expansion of Western culture and economic hegemony, while McWorld is the process of global capitalism, mostly perpetrated by Western states, that threatens to overwhelm indigenous cultures

2. The two ideologies are often in conflict

Illiberal Democracies

1. Democracies that have elections and other democratic structures, but they aren’t fair and free, or they don’t utilize the structures

Economic Interdependence

1. the mutual reliance of two or more entities (countries, businesses, or individuals) on each other for goods, capital, or services, often through trade or financial transactions

Economic Disparity

1. the uneven distribution of income and wealth, as well as the differences in opportunity and access to resources among various groups within a society

Economically Developed Countries (EDCs)

1. High levels of economic growth, technological infrastructure, and a high standard of living

2. measured through per capita income, GDP, and Human Development Index.

Less Developed Countries (LDCs)

1. low incomes and limited socioeconomic development

Newly Industrial Countries (NICs)

1. Nations undergoing rapid economic development, transitioning from predominantly agricultural economies to industrial ones through manufacturing growth and expanding urban populations

Levels of Analysis

1. Realist perspective by John Spanier that looks at the balance of power between states, the domestic character of individual states, and the policy-making processes within those states, respectively

Decision-Making Level of Analysis

1. focuses on specific choices made by leaders and policymakers within a state

Heuristic Devices

1. mental shortcuts or simplified rules that decision-makers use to make quick judgments about complex situations, often relying on readily available information or past experiences

2. can sometimes lead to biased or inaccurate assessments

Organizational Behavior

1. The study of how individuals and groups within different countries behave within the context of international interactions

Idiosyncratic Analysis

1. the study of the specific factors that affect a security or asset, rather than the state as a whole

Polyheuristic Theory

1. a model of foreign policy decision-making that suggests leaders use a two-stage process: first simplifying complex choices through cognitive shortcuts (heuristics), and then evaluating the remaining options more analytically, with a strong emphasis on the political implications of each decision

2. heuristic devices + idiosyncratic analysis = polyheuristic theory

Cognitive Decision-Making

1. the study of how individual leaders and policymakers mentally process information and make foreign policy decisions, often influenced by cognitive biases, heuristics, and personal beliefs

Groupthink

1. Group members prioritize agreement over critical evaluation, members suppress their own views to conform to the group, the group overlooks alternative solutions or doesn't analyze risks

2. Ex: Bay of Pigs (1961)

Nation-State Level of Analysis

1. analyses the internal characteristic of individual states, including their political systems, economic conditions, and national interests

National Paradigm

1. theoretical perspective that prioritizes the interests of individual nation-states as the primary driving force in global politics

2. emphasizing national sovereignty, security concerns, and the pursuit of power above broader international cooperation

Global-State System Level of Analysis

1. broader international system, focuses on the distribution of power among states and how this structure influences their behavior

Vertical Authority Structure

1. a global hierarchical system where power and decision-making authority are concentrated at the top, with power flowing to less powerful actors

2. creates a system where states have significantly less influence and control over international affairs than others

Horizontal Authority Structure

1. a system where power is distributed relatively equally among states with no singal domincant authority

2. liberalism - leads to a more collaborative and consensus-based approach to decision-making

State-centric System

1. a theoretical framework where nation-states are considered the primary actors and most significant force in global politics

Balance of Power Theory

1. The international system seeks equilibrium, which provides peace and security

   1. security over peace (peace is the by-product of the balance of power)

   2. maintain the state-system

   3. oppose the dominant power

Hegemonic Power

1. A dominant state that exerts significant influence over other states through a combination of economic, military, and cultural power

Classical Balance of Power system (1815-1914)

1. SUCCESSFUL - After Napoleon’s conquest, the Congress of Vienna (1815) was held, bringing France back in as a player in the balance of power

2. FAILED - After WWI, the  Treaty of Versailles (1918), Germany was embarrasse,d and the other states were  extremely weakened, their state structure

3. SUCCESSFUL - After WWII (1945) Germany/Japan were defeated by and rebuilt by the victors, became important allies in the new Balance of Power

Unipolar Model

1. Stable, one system, one superpower

Pax Romana

1. 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E, world peace through world domination by the Roman Empire for 200 years

Pax Britannica

1. 1700-1900, Great Britain established their own global system through imperialism and colonialization

Power Transition Theory

1. One dominant power puts its power in place, then when a successful challenger comes along it emerges as the new dominant power

Superpower

1. see hegemonic power, though there can be only one hegemon, but multiple superpowers

Bi-polar model

1. Inherently unstable, but with the presence of nuclear weapons (ex: Cold War), the bipolar system is more stable

2. Two superpowers with their own allies that are more like clients. Any changes in the balance threaten the security of the superpower 100%

3. Zero-sum game, all winners or all losers

Multi-polar model

1. Stable, flexible system where all allies are equal and shift to counter dominant powers to maintain equilibrium

2. Key to the system is the “holder of the balance” which plays the deterrence role

3. The greater the number of poles, the more likely the stability and vice versa

Nations

1. a people who share demographic and cultural similarities, possess a feeling of community, and want to control themselves politically and be politically separate

Nationalism

1. Establishes values about what is good vs. bad, directs adherents on how to act patriotically, links those who adhere to the decided ideology, and distinguishes from those who are not in the group

Demographics

1. language, race, religion, common culture, and shared historical experience

Culture

1. the collection of beliefs, values, and practices that a group of people share

Exceptionalism

1. the belief that a specis, country, society, institution, movement, individual, or time period is “exceptional”/superior in some way 

Ideology

1. a system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy

Nation-States

1. Combines the idea of a nation with that of a state, where a nation exists within the borders of a currently existing state

Early Nationalism

1. Holy Roman Empire connected people through religion and Latin, but after the fragmentation that resulted from the collapse of the HRE

2. Growth of nationalism resulted, and became intertwined with the growth of the state, than the nation-state

3. Conversion to Anglicanism in England to help spread nationalism to the masses

Modern Nationalism

1. Around the 1700s, the growth of emotional attachment to location and the growth of sovereignty

2. Ideas of nation implied equally (liberalism) destroyed empires

Unification Nationalism

1. The easiest form of state building when a strong sense of cultural and political identity exists among a people

2. Nations came first, and later became states, as seen often in Europe

Political Identity

1. a form of social identity marking membership of certain groups that share a common struggle for a form of power

Self-Determination

1. May end many abuses of ethnic oppression, but is more problematic in practice, causing international instability because of the complicated untangling of groups

Failed state

1. a country so fragmented that it cannot be said to exist as a unified political or national entity, ex: Afghanistan

Microstate

1. countries with tiny populations

Patterns of Tension of Nationalism

One Nation, One State

1. about 10% of all countries, ex: The United States

One State, Multiple Nations

1. 30% of states have no nation that constitutes a majority, ex: Canada

One Nation, Multiple States

1. Departure from the nation-state ideal, when a nation overlaps the border of two or more states, many occurred during the Cold War, ex: Korea, Serbia and Montenegro

One Nation, No State

1. Stateless nation, ex: The Palestinians, The Kurds

Multiple Nations, Multiple States

1. Misfit pattern when several states and nations overlap

Positive Nationalism

1. Belief that nationalism = good: it promotes democracy, discourages imperialism, allows for economic development, diversity, and experimentation

Negative Nationalism

1. Belief that nationalism = bad: growth of militant nationalism, causes reluctance to help others, exclusionism, xenophobia, internal oppression, and external aggression

Xenophobia

1. fear of others; “they-groups”

Globalization

1. Economic: the emergence of global markets, Historical: an epoch dominated by global capitalism, Sociology: underscores the celebration of diversity as well as the convergence of social preferences in matters of lifestyle and social values, Political Science: the gradual erosion of state sovereignty

2. Best understood as a concept that transcends individual disciplines and also unites them, must be approached from a multi-disciplinary perspective

The three Ps of Globalization

1. Globalization is a Phenomenon, a Philosophy, and a Process

Transnationalism

1. A social movement grown out of the heightened interconnectivity between people all around the world and the loosening of boundaries between countries

2. Economic process, global reorganization of the production process

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)

1. A non-profit voluntary group that operates independently from the government, focuses on humanitarian, social, environmental, and human rights causes

International Inter-Governmental Organizations (IGOs)

1. An entity created by treaty, involving two or more nations, working in good faith on issues of common interest

Transnational Advocacy Networks (TANs)

1. Actors working internationally on an issue, who are bound together by shared values, a common discourse, and dense exchanges of information and services

United Nations (UN)

1. An international organization with the goal of maintaining peace and security throughout the world

International Monetary Fund (IMF)

1. An organization that promotes global economic growth and financial stability

   1. Goals: to reduce global poverty, encourage international trade, and ensure the stability of the international monetary system

2. A major financial agency of the United Nations

Multi-National Corporations (MNCs)

1. corporations that produce and/or control the production of goods and services in a home country and beyond to more than one sphere of influence

Business Cartels

1. a formal agreement among competing firms. The formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production

Drug Cartels

1. Organized criminal groups that control drug production and trafficking

International Terrorist Organizations (ITOs)

1. An organization that a court finds is directly or indirectly engaged in preparing, planning, assisting, or fostering the doing of a terrorist act, or the government has listed them as a terrorist organization by regulations

Transnational Diaspora Communities (TDCs)

1. Groups of people who maintain familial, social, cultural, or economic links across national borders while the group has moved out to places all over the world