Bretton Woods Agreement

Distribution of Power

A characteristic of the international system emphasized by realists based on the number of great or major powers and how power is distributed among them in a given period of time.

Morgenthau

A classical realist who believed that the goal of states is the accumulation of power. Morgenthau is important because he offers a different perspective than Waltz, a structural realist, who felt that the goal of states is security and survival.

War

A conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

First Strike Advantage

A countries ability to strike first and greatly reduce the other countries ability to retaliate. The first strike advantage is important because if both sides have a first strike capability, it will be harder for the sides to come together and find an agreement.

Chicken

A game in which each of two opponents threatens the other with great harm or death in an effort to force capitulation.

The Prisoner's Dilemma

A game in which the best strategy for both opponents is to defect, but that yields an outcome worse than the one achieved by mutual cooperation.

Public/Collective Good

A good, provided to the collective, that cannot be consumed exclusively by those who pay for it, or denied to those who do not; also called "public good."

Accountability

A government's responsibility to its population, usually by periodic popular elections and by parliament's having the power to dismiss the government by passing a motion of no confidence. In a political system characterized by accountability, the major actions taken by government must be known and understood by the citizenry.

Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)

A group of states that constitute a free trade area, a customs union, a common market, and a currency union.

Hecksher-Ohlin Model

A model that suggests that countries differ in terms of factor endowments (land, labor, capital). This is important because countries that have a comparative advantage in one good should trade with other countries who have comparative advantages in other goods to maximize general welfare.

Bretton Woods Agreement

A monetary policy that focuses on fixed exchange rates to ensure political and economic stability. It is important because the Bretton Woods Agreement allowed for the U.S. to adopt the gold standard and allowed other countries to peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar, which was effective until the U.S. dropped out of Bretton Woods.

Free Rider

A person who benefits from private goods without paying any costs. One example of this are NPR listeners who A situation in which individuals who stand to benefit from a collective good have on incentive to contribute, thus threatening the provision of the good.

Dependency

A perspective that attributes underdevelopment in the Global South to the unequal economic relationships linking industrialized and nonindustrialized countries.

Radicalism

A perspective that emphasizes the conflicting economic interests of social classes and the injustices experienced by the less advantaged. This is important because it is an economic theory that Marx discussed in order to explain why different social classes have conflicting interests.

Liberalism

A perspective that stresses the importance of cooperation, coordination, and non-violent modes of conflict resolution. Liberalism is important because it includes three main assumptions, including 1)States as primary actors, 2) states represent societal interests and 3) states behavior is determined by a configuration of political power and independent state preferences.

Realism

A perspective that stresses the importance of self-help, power, and the competitiveness of states in an anarchical international system. This is important in international relations because realism includes Structural Realists, like Waltz, and Classical Realists like Morgenthau.

Group Think

A phenomenon often observed in small-group decision making in which individual views tend to conform to group views.

The Gold Standard

A provision of the Bretton Woods Agreement that all printed money, such as a paper dollar, would be convertible to gold and could be cashed in at any time for that gold.

Credible Signaling

A reliable sign of a person's purpose, showing that the person is committed and trustworthy.

Just war Doctrine

A set of principles that identify the circumstances justifying the resort to war and once begun, the requirements for just conduct

MAD

A situation in which neither state can attack another without suffering dame from a catastrophic retaliatory strike. MAD is an important concept in Dr. Strangelove and in the Cold War, which involves the importance of communication and the significance of having a second strike capability to effectively prevent mutual destruction.

The Security Dilemma

A situation in which one state's security is seen as another state's insecurity, leading to a vicious circle of competitive power accumulation.

Failed State

A state whose government, if it exists at all, cannot provide citizens with the minimum level of security and well-being expected of a sovereign state.

Waltz

A structural realist who believed that the goal of states is survival and security. Waltz is important because he offers a different perspective of realism while Morgenthau, a classical realist, feels that the goal of states is the accumulation of power.

National Missile Defense (NMD)

A system designed to protect a state's homeland from ballistic missile strike.

Hypothesis

A theoretical statement that links explanations to possible real world examples. Hypotheses are important because they use deductive and inductive reasoning to help organize the complexities of the world and answer questions.

Tragedy of the Commons

A type of collective action problem in which goods are divisible but non-excludable, meaning that one person cannot prevent another person's use of that good, but that my use of the good does restrict your use. The fish in the sea example is an example of Tragedy of the Commons; Tragedy of the Commons is important because it reveals why people have the tendency to over-use public goods, especially when there is a limited quantity of goods.

Sanctions

An action (e.g., trade restrictions) by one or more states toward another state intended to force that state to comply with a demand(s)

Arms Race

An action-reaction process of acquiring arms in response to the arms acquisitions of an adversary.

Balance of Power

An arrangement , whether bipolar or multipolar, in which capabilities are fairly evenly distributed among the major actors.

Collective Security

An arrangement by which all members of the international community agree to oppose together a threat to the security of any of them.

Fixed Exchange Rate

An aspect of a monetary regime in which foreign currency values are pegged to a common currency, like the U.S. dollar.

Floating Exchange Rate

An aspect of a monetary regime in which foreign currency values vary relative to each other in response to supply and demand in currency markets.

Nash Equilibrium

An equilibrium in which all players are playing their best responses to everyone else's best response.

Theory

An intellectual tool that shows how phenomena are interrelated and organizes the complexities of the world. Theories are important because they use deductive and inductive reasoning and because they determine not only the answers we come up with but the questions we ask about the world.

The United Nations

An organization of nations that was formed in 1945 to promote peace, security, and international cooperation.

Non-State Actors

Are actors that work as entities across borders. Non-State actors like the IMF and WTO are important because they help foster cooperation in the international community.

Hard Power

Changing other people's behavior. This is important because it uses both compellence and deterrence, which are components of hard power.

Compellence

Compellence is getting another state to pursue an action its not already pursuing or to stop an action it is already pursuing. Compellence is important because it is one of the components of hard power. Example) U.S. forces Iraq to leave Kuwait.

Externality

Costs/Benefits accrued to non-producers. This is important because positive and negative externalities explain how collective action problems can both positively and negatively impact non-producers. Ex) Negative externality: Asthma Positive: Canada benefiting from U.S. security.

The World Bank

Created after the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. Looks to increase growth and reduce poverty in developing countries and to fund specific infrastructure projects.

Customary Law

Customary practice regarded as binding because a majority of states feel a legal obligation to conform. Customs are one of the sources of international law, which makes customary law very important to international law.

Unitary Actor

Describes an international system with a single major actor, usually a single state, that possesses a predominant share of capabilities and influence.

Diversionary War

Engaging in an international conflict to divert public attention away from pressing domestic/economic matters. This is important because it was used by Margaret Thatcher in the Falklands War.

Absolute Advantage

Exists when a country can produce a good or service at a lower cost than other countries.

Factor Price Equalization Theorem

Free trade between two countries will tend to cause factor prices to equalize. The FPET is an important theorem because it serves as a benefit of free trade and suggests why countries should incorporate free trade into their economies.

Robert McNamara

Harvard Graduate who served in the air force during WWII, who worked his way up the corporate ladder at the Ford Motor Company to become the company's president. Kennedy made him his Secretary of Defense when he was elected. As Secretary of Defense, McNamara used his business knowledge to cut costs, while modernizing the army at the same time. He turned the military's focus away from the using the threat of nukes as it's biggest weapon, to achieving flexible response options.

Sovereignty

Independence from authority outside one's territory (external sovereignty); supreme authority over all other entities within one's territory (internal sovereignty).

Indivisible policy space

Indivisible policy space is one of Fearon's three exceptions to the claim that there is always a settlement that rational actors prefer over war. Indivisible policy space includes the division of holy sites, which reveals that sometimes it is difficult for rational actors to compromise and come to terms for a negotiation.

IMF

International Monetary Fund: An organization that helps regulate exchange rates and monetary policies to ensure economic stability. The IMF was created after Bretton Woods and is important because it is an example of international cooperation.

The Montreal Protocol

International agreement signed by more than 150 countries to limit the production of substances harmful to the stratospheric ozone layer, such as CFCs. One of the most important international treaties of all time.

Power Transition

Introduced in Organski's "World Politics" (1958), this is the view that war is cyclical, and that the risk of war is greatest at a time when a challenger to the dominant world power emerges and seeks to alter the existing international system. Shifting and even distribution of power and resources is more likely to lead to war, while stable and unequal distributions are more conducive to peace. A hegemonic power is challenged by a rising great power in cycles of 60-90 years.

Mundel Flemming Trilemma

Is a model whereby countries can pursue economic policies with openness and fixed exchange rates or domestic monetary policy autonomy, which greatly impacts economic policy. This is important because a country can only implement two of these three policies at one time, and the other choice will serve as a trade off.

The Euro

Is an economic and political union between 27 member countries, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, it has developed a single market through a standardized system of laws which apply in all member states, ensuring the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital. It maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries, and regional development.

Deduction

Is the assumptions about the world. This is important because in order to generate a theory, one must use deduction and induction (observations about how the world works).

Justice in War

Is the idea that if a country decides to go to war, the war must be just. This is important because justice in war is a part of the Just War Theory, which states that in order to engage in war, there must be justice in war and justice of war.

Bandwagoning

Joining the stronger alliance of states, in the hope of sharing the spoils of victory.

Balancing

Joining the weaker alliance of states in an effort to offset the power of the stronger state or alliance of states.

Soft Power

Joseph Nye. Using attraction as opposed to coercion. Influencing others by changing the environment of decision-making. This is important because it limits other people's options and also changes the perception of preferred decisions in order to change the environment in which other people make decisions.

Jus in bello

Justice in war. Considerations on how a war is prosecuted. Who, By What Means, Treatment of Prisoners

Jus ad bellum

Justice of War

Collective Action Problem

Mancur Olson: The idea that individual incentives lead to inefficient collective outcomes, which is a type of market failure. This is important because there are two types of collective action problems: Tragedy of the Commons and Provision of Public Goods.

The Kyoto Protocol

Modeled after Montreal Protocol, but...Kyoto Protocol (1997) defines emission reductions for Annex I (developed) countries Developing countries largely exempt Penalties for noncompliance missing

North South Gap

Most of the globes developing countries are located in the Southern Hemisphere while the industrialized economics are more often found in the North.

Expected utility

Probability x Utility - (cost) Expected utility, also called payoff, is the net benefit of a course of action or outcome. This is important because rational actors use the rational actor model to maximize utility and achieve the best possible outcome.

Partition

Separating the antagonists; the idea that separate identities lead to less conflict. This is important because partition was a method used to lessen the possibility of civil war.

Terrorism

Shocking acts of violence in which the principal purpose is not destruction itself but the dramatic psychological effects on populations and governments.

The International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression (although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression)

First-Strike Capability

The ability to launch an initial nuclear strike against a country and greatly reduce its ability to retaliate. It is important because it is an example of a pre-emptive strike used to prevent attack by disabling the enemy.

First Mover Advantage

The ability to move first so that all other actors must react to you. This is important because the first mover advantage is important in the Dating Game and Chicken because if one person moves first, all of the other players must react to the initial choice.

Anarchy

The absence of a higher, central authority. This is an important concept to realists because realists believe that the international system is anarchical, and because there is no higher authority, states must rely on themselves (self-help).

Comparative Advantage

The benefits of specializing in goods that a state can produce relatively efficiently, even if that state is not the most efficient producer in an absolute sense.

ICJ

The branch of the UN without universal jurisdiction where two parties decide on disputes. The ICJ is important because it is one of the four courts (ad hoc tribunals, national courts, ICC, ICJ) that is a source of international law.

Universal jurisdiction

The claimed authority to try an accused individual whether or not the accused is a national or committed crimes against nationals.

Neo-Realism/Structural

The main goals of a states are security and survival--Waltz

Rally 'Round the Flag

The phenomenon whereby a leader is able to gather popular support for foreign policy initiatives, especially during an international crisis.

Rational Actor Model

The rational actor model allows rational actors to make rational decisions by selecting goals, identifying options, evaluating consequences, and making decisions. This is important because it is a decision-making tool that allows decision-makers to make the most rational decision by maximizing their expected utility.

MID: Militarized Interstate Dispute

The treat, display, or use of military force short of war by one state is explicitly directed toward the government, official representatives, of fiscal forces, property or territory of another state. These are important because they include blockades, occupations, clashes and raids that can result in an interstate war.

Second strike capability

This is the idea that a state has the ability to absorb a nuclear attack from one country and still be able to mount a catastrophic retaliatory strike. The second strike capability is important to deterrence because if both sides have a second strike capability, neither side will threaten the other.

Resource Curse

This is the idea that as commodities increase, the chances of civil wars also increase. This is important because having resources can sometimes be beneficial to a country but can also negatively impact and increase risk of international conflict.

The Democratic Peace

This is the idea that generally, stable democracies are unlikely to engage in war with other democracies. This is important because there are both normative arguments, shared norms of conflict resolution, and structural arguments, the costs of losing in a war with a democracy are high, that support the democratic peace.

Self-Help

This is the idea that the international system is anarchical, that there is no central authority to enforce rules or ensure safety, meaning that each country cannot depend on others for constant support. This is important because the idea of self-help is important to realists, who feel that the international system is anarchical.

Proportionality

This is the requirement that the aims for the war outweigh the harms resulting from the prosecution of war. This is important because proportionality is one of the seven concepts of the that must be met in order for a state to have a just reason to enter the war.

Thucydides

Wrote the Melian Dialogue, which discussed the battle between the Melians and the Athenians. This is important because Thucydides revealed that the strong do what they can and the weak accept what they must, which explains why the Melians were conquered by the Athenians.

David Ricardo

found that global welfare is maximized if everyone chooses free trade. This is important because Ricardo contributed to the comparative advantage and suggested that all countries should trade with each other in order to maximize global welfare.

Hegemony

is a countries military and economic predominance over other states and its exercise of leadership. This is importance because hegemony includes the preponderance of power and the ability to use power and can impact the balance of power in the international system.

Deterrence

is the process of preventing a state from doing something it otherwise might do. Deterrence is important because it is also a component of hard power but also because the U.S. used a policy of deterrence during the Cuban Missile Crisis to prevent the Soviet Union from placing more missiles in Cuba.

The Resource Curse

refers to the paradox that countries with an abundance of natural resources tend to experience things like poor governance, low levels of economic development, civil war, and dictatorship.

Classical Realism

the branch of realism that places an emphasis on the assumption that the goal of states is the accumulation of power--Morgenthau

Nuclear Deterrence

when two nations possess nuclear weapons, it is likely that neither will strike first since the consequence could be mutual destruction