POLS 170-Final Vocabulary
Marxism
Definition: A branch of socialism that emphasizes exploitation and class struggle and includes both communism and other approaches. Significance: All problems stem from class conflict. Example: Marxism is most influential in countries of the global South
GSP (Generalized System of Preferences)
Definition: the largest and oldest U.S. trade preference program. is a preferential tariff system which provides tariff reduction on various products. Significance: rich states give trade concessions to poor ones to help their economic development Example: it's an exception to the MFN (most favored nation) principle
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
Definition: A structure established in 1964 to promote third world development through various trade proposals. Significance: goals are to: "maximize the trade, investment and development opportunities of developing countries and assist them in their efforts to integrate into the world economy on an equitable basis". Example: part of the United Nations Secretariat
Chernobyl Disaster
Definition: A city in Ukraine that was the site of a 1986 meltdown at a Soviet nuclear power plant & created airborne radioactivity that spread over much of Europe, from Italy to Sweden. Significance: The accident exemplified the new reality—that economic and technical decisions made in one state can have grave environmental consequences for other countries. Soviet leaders made matters worse by failing to notify neighbors promptly of the accident. Example:
Dependency Theory
Definition: A Marxist-oriented theory that explains the lack of capital accumulation in the third world as a result of the interplay between domestic class relations and the forces of foreign capital. See also the enclave economy. Significance: A dependent country must borrow capital to produce goods; its debt payments then reduce the accumulation of surplus. Example: Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Argentina the economic processes that extract wealth from Latin America to the Global North
UNGA (UN General Assembly)
Definition: A body composed of representatives of all states that allocates UN funds, passes non binding resolutions, and coordinates third world development programs and various autonomous agencies . Significance: the main policy-making organ of the Organization. Comprising all Member States, Example: aspect of the united nations
UNSC (UN Security Council)
Definition: A body of five great powers (which can veto resolutions) and ten rotating member states Significance: ensuring international peace and security and make decisions about international peace and security, including the dispatch of UN peacekeeping forces.. Example: one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN)
Tragedy of the Commons
Definition: A collective goods dilemma that is created when a problem in economics that occurs when individuals neglect the well-being of society in the pursuit of personal gain. when common environmental assets (such as the world's fisheries) are depleted or degraded through the failure of states to cooperate effectively. Significance: One solution is to "enclose" the commons (split them into individually owned pieces); international regimes can also be a (partial) solution. Example: the world's fisheries
MNCs (Multinational Corporations)
Definition: A company based in one state with affiliated branches or subsidies operating in other states Significance: highly beneficial for developing countries in terms of bringing employment opportunities and new technologies that spillover to domestic firms. Furthermore, _____ often benefit from government subsidies, which could in future be linked to investment in local firms. Example: McDonalds, AT&T, airlines, grocery stores, banks, auto,oil, electronic industries
Tariffs
Definition: A duty or tax imposed on certain types of imports (usually as a percentage of their value) as they enter a country. Significance: also can be an important source of state revenues. Example: When U.S. motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson lost half its U.S. market share in just four years, the U.S. government imposed ___ on imported Japanese motorcycles.
NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement)
Definition: A free trade zone encompassing the United States, Canada, and Mexico since 1994. Significance: reduced or eliminated tariffs on imports and exports between the three participating countries, creating a huge free-trade zone. Example: The implementation of ____ on January 1, 1994, brought the immediate elimination of tariffs on more than one-half of Mexico's exports to the U.S. and more than one-third of U.S. exports to Mexico.
Kyoto Protocol
Definition: A major international treaty on global warming, which entered into effect in 2005 and mandated cuts in carbon emissions. Almost all the world's major countries, except the United States, were participants. Significance: adopted a complex formula for reducing greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels in the global North over about a decade. Countries in the global South received preferential treatment because their levels (per capita) were much lower Example:
ICC (International Criminal Court)
Definition: A permanent court of justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity. In the hague, netherlands Significance: to help put an end to exemption from punishment for the perpetrators of the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, and thus to contribute to the prevention of such crimes. Example: of an intergovernmental organization
Autarky
Definition: A policy of self-reliance, avoiding or minimizing trade and trying to produce everything one needs (or the most vital things) by oneself. Significance: The motivation behind a policy of autarky is usually a combination of securing the supply of important goods and a desire to reduce the dependence on other nations in general. Example: may not pay in most economic activities, but for military goods, states will sacrifice some economic efficiency for the sake of self-sufficiency to reduce vulnerability in the event of war.
Bretton Woods System
Definition: A post-WWII arrangement for managing the world economy, established at a meeting in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire in 1944. Its main institutional components are the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) now World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Significance: remains a significant event in world financial history. The two Bretton Woods Institutions it created in the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank played an important part in helping to rebuild Europe in the aftermath of World War II. Example: first example of a fully negotiated monetary order intended to govern monetary relations among independent nation-states
Diplomatic Immunity
Definition: A privilege under which diplomats' activities fall outside the jurisdiction of the host country's national courts. Significance: protects them against prosecution for the entire period in which they hold their diplomatic post. Example: For example, in a 1983 case the New York City Police Department suspected a diplomat's son of 15 different rapes. The son was allowed to leave the United States without ever being taken to court because he claimed this.
UNDP (UN Development Program)
Definition: A program that coordinates the flow of multilateral development assistance Significance: and manages 6,000 projects at once around the world (focusing especially on technical development assistance). Example: help countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable human development, an approach to economic growth that emphasizes improving the quality of life of all citizens while conserving the environment and natural resources
UNEP (UN Environment Program)
Definition: A program that monitors environmental conditions and, among other activities Significance: works with the World Meteorological Organization to measure changes in global climate. Example:
Uruguay Round
Definition: A series of negotiations under the GATT that began in _____ in 1986 and concluded in 1994 with an agreement to create the World Trade Organization. The ______followed earlier GATT negotiations such as the Kennedy Round and the Tokyo Round. See also World Trade Organization (WTO). Significance: to reduce agricultural subsidies. to lift restrictions on foreign investment. to begin the process of opening trade in services like banking and insurance. Example: The 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Doha Round
Definition: A series of negotiations under the World Trade Organization that began in Doha, Qatar, in 2001. It followed the Uruguay Round Significance: The issues under negotiation included agriculture, services, industrial products, intellectual property, WTO rules (including how to handle antidumping cases), dispute settlement, and some trade and environmental questions. Example: the latest round of trade negotiations among the WTO membership
Global Warming
Definition: A slow, long-term rise in the average world temperature caused by the emission of greenhouse gases produced by burning fossil fuels—oil, coal, and natural gas. See also greenhouse gases. Significance: The issue of _______ has risen high on the political agenda in the past decade because of massive melt-offs of Arctic ice; freakish weather; and devastating storms Example: melt-offs of arctic ice and weather
Balance of Payments
Definition: A summary of all the flows of money into and out of a country. It includes three types of international transactions: the current account (including the merchandise trade balance), flows of capital, and changes in reserves Significance: can be used as an indicator to determine whether the country's currency value is appreciating or depreciating. The ___ statement helps the Government to decide on fiscal and trade policies. Example: Say Japan exports 100 cars to the U.S. Japan books the export of the 100 cars as a debit in the ____, while the U.S. books the imports as a credit in the _____.
Gold Standard
Definition: A system in international monetary relations, prominent for a century before the 1970s, in which the value of national currencies was pegged to the value of gold or other precious metals Significance: The advantages of the _____ are that it limits the power of governments or banks to cause price inflation by excessive issue of paper currency, although there is evidence that even before World War I monetary authorities did not contract the supply of money when the country incurred a gold outflow. Example: if the U.S. sets the price of gold at $500 an ounce, the value of the dollar would be 1/500th of an ounce of gold. The gold standard is not currently used by any government.
Managed Float
Definition: A system of occasional multinational interventions in currency markets to manage otherwise free-floating currency rates Significance: the exchange rate is allowed to fluctuate on the open market, but the central bank can intervene to keep it within a certain range, or prevent it from trending in an unfavorable direction. Example: example of a regime
Cultural Imperialism
Definition: A term critical of U.S. dominance of the emerging global culture. Significance: The emerging global culture is primarily the culture of white Europeans and their descendants in rich areas of the world Example: the emerging global culture is dominated by the world's superpower, the United States; U.S. cultural influence is at least as strong as U.S. military influence.
Neofunctionalism
Definition: A theory that holds that economic integration (functionalism) generates a "spillover" effect, resulting in increased political integration. Significance: (modification to functionalism) Neo Functionalists argue that economic integration (functionalism) generates a political dynamic that drives integration further. Example: Growing economic interdependence between nations.
Maastricht Treaty
Definition: A treaty signed in the Dutch city of Maastricht and ratified in 1992; it commits the European Union to monetary union (a single currency and European Central Bank) and to a common foreign policy. See also the European Union (EU). Significance: The first was monetary union (discussed shortly), in which the existing national currencies were abolished and replaced by a single European currency. The Treaty commits European states to work toward a common foreign policy with a goal of eventually establishing a joint military force. Example:
SDR (Special Drawing Right.)
Definition: A world currency created by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to replace gold as a world standard. Valued by a "basket" of national currencies, has been called "paper gold" Significance: used by the IMF to make emergency loans and are used by developing nations to shore up their currency reserves without the need to borrow at high-interest rates or run current account surpluses at the detriment of economic growth. Example: units of account for the IMF, and not a currency per se. They represent a claim to currency held by IMF member countries for which they may be exchanged.
GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade)
Definition: A world organization established in 1947 to work for freer trade on a multilateral basis; It became the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995. Significance: more of a negotiating framework than an administrative institution. Example: an example of an IGO
UNCLOS (UN Convention on the Law of the Sea)
Definition: A world treaty (1982) governing use of the oceans. The _____ treaty established rules on territorial waters and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). See also territorial waters. Significance: established rules on territorial waters—12 miles for shipping and a 200-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for economic activities, such as fishing and mining. The 200-mile limit placed a substantial share of the economically profitable ocean resources in the control of about a dozen states Example:
Security Community
Definition: A. region in which large scale violence (war) becomes unlikely due to political cooperation. situation in which low expectations of interstate violence permit a high degree of political cooperation—as, for example, among NATO members. Significance: this is an example of the identity principle. Example: seen amongst NATO members.
Montreal Protocol
Definition: An agreement on protection of the ozone layer in which states pledged to reduce and then eliminate use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). It is the most successful environmental treaty to date. Significance: The signatories agreed in principle to establish a fund to help developing countries pay for alternative refrigeration technologies not based on CFCs. Example: an international agreement
Mercantilism
Definition: An economic theory and a political ideology opposed to free trade; it shares with realism the belief that each state must protect its own interests Significance: the most important goal is to create the most favorable possible distribution of wealth Example: the importance of economic transactions lies in their implications for the military.
Export-led Growth
Definition: An export-led growth strategy is one where a country seeks economic development by opening itself up to international trade An economic development strategy that seeks to develop industries capable of competing in specific niches in the world economy. Significance: These industries may receive special treatment such as subsidies and protected access to local markets. Exports from these industries generate hard currency and create a favorable trade balance. Example: The state can then spend part of its money on imports of commodities produced more cheaply elsewhere
Central Bank
Definition: An institution common in industrialized countries whose major tasks are to maintain the value of the state's currency and to control inflation Significance: To enforce self-discipline and enhance public trust in the value of money, decisions about printing money are turned over to a ______. seek to maintain the value of the state's currency by limiting the amount of money printed and not allowing high inflation. Example: The United State's Federal Reserve
IMF (International Monetary Fund)
Definition: An intergovernmental organization (IGO) that coordinates international currency exchange, the balance of international payments, and national accounts. Along with the World Bank, it is a pillar of the international financial system. Significance: promotes international financial stability and monetary cooperation. It also facilitates international trade, promotes employment and sustainable economic growth, and helps to reduce global poverty. Example: of an international organization
WHO (World Health Organization)
Definition: An organization based in Geneva that provides technical assistance to improve health conditions in the third world and conducts major immunization campaigns. Significance: plays an essential role in the global governance of health and disease Example: of a UN agency
Euratom
Definition: An organization created by the 1957 Treaty of Rome to coordinate nuclear power development by pooling research, investment, and management. Significance: extended the coal-and-steel idea into a new realm, atomic energy. Example: The original members were Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands.
Peace Corps
Definition: An organization that provides U.S. volunteers for technical development assistance in third world states. Significance: they work at the request and under the direction of the host state but are paid an allowance by the U.S. government. Example: Started by President Kennedy in 1961, the ____ now sends over 7,000 volunteers to nearly 70 countries, where they participate in projects affecting about a million people
World Bank
Definition: Formally the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), an organization that was established in 1944 as a source of loans to help reconstruct the European economies. Later, the main borrowers were third world countries and, in the 1990s, Eastern European ones. Significance: promotes long-term economic development and poverty reduction by providing technical and financial support to help countries reform certain sectors or implement specific projects—such as building schools and health centers, providing water and electricity, fighting disease, and protecting the environment Example: an international organization that provides financing, advice, and research to developing nations to help advance their economies
Non Tariff Barriers
Definition: Forms of restricting imports other than tariffs, such as quotas (ceilings on how many goods of a certain kind can be imported). Significance: means to discourage imports Example: The two nontariff barriers that are the most fought about in the WTO are subsidies and regulation.
Reserves
Definition: Hard-currency stockpiles kept by states Significance: foreign currency reserves to keep a fixed rate value, maintain competitively priced exports, remain liquid in case of crisis, and provide confidence for investors. They also need ____ to pay external debts, afford capital to fund sectors of the economy, and profit from diversified portfolios. Example: Countries with the highest foreign _____ China, Japan, Switzerland. US is #14 in the world
IOs (international Organizations)
Definition: Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). Significance: helping to set the international agenda, mediating political bargaining, providing a place for political initiatives and acting as catalysts for the coalition- formation. They facilitate cooperation and coordination among member nations. Example: United Nations and International Committee of the Red Cross
Economic Liberalism
Definition: It emphasizes absolute over relative gains and, in practice, a commitment to free trade, free capital flows, and an "open" world economy. See also mercantilism and neoliberal. Significance: For liberals, the most important goal of economic policy is to create a maximum of total wealth by achieving optimal efficiency Example: U.S. sanctions on Iran, a major oil exporter, invited Indian companies to fill the void in recent years. In IPE, then, power is more diffuse and involves more actors at once than in international security.
Refugees
Definition: People fleeing their countries to find refuge from war, natural disaster, or political persecution. International law distinguishes them from migrants. Significance: International norms obligate countries to accept refugees who arrive at their borders. Example: 5 million Palestinian refugees fall under the responsibility of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).
Brain Drain
Definition: Poor countries' loss of skilled workers to rich countries. Significance: Example: has impeded economic development in states such as India, Pakistan, and the Philippines (where more nurses emigrated than graduated nursing school in 2000-2004).
R2P(responsibility to protect)
Definition: Principle adopted by world leaders in 2005 holding governments responsible for protecting civilians from genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated within a sovereign state. Significance: ensure that the international community never again fails to halt the mass atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. Example: example of an international norm
the POWs (prisoners-of-war)
Definition: Soldiers who have surrendered and who thereby receive special status under the laws of war. Significance: is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. Example: of a non-combatant
UN Secretariat
Definition: The UN's executive branch, led by the Secretary General. Significance: carries out the substantive and administrative work of the United Nations as directed by the General Assembly, the Security Council and the other organs. Example: comprises the Secretary-General and tens of thousands of international UN staff members who carry out the day-to-day work of the UN as mandated by the General Assembly and the Organization's other principal bodies.
Imperialism
Definition: The acquisition of colonies by conquest or otherwise. Lenin's theory of i______ argued that European capitalists were investing in colonies where they could earn big profits and then using part of those profits to buy off portions of the working class at home. Significance: the main effect of _____ in our world today is the lack of economic development in formerly colonized nations. For centuries, countries in the developing world were exploited by their imperial overlords. Example: most notable examples of American ______ in this age was the annexation of Hawaii in 1898, which allowed the United States to gain possession and control of all ports, buildings, harbors, military equipment, and public property that had formerly belonged to the Government of the Hawaiian Islands.
UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights)
Definition: The core UN document on human rights; although it lacks the force of international law, it sets forth international norms regarding behavior by governments toward their own citizens and foreigners alike. Significance: It was the first international agreement on the basic principles of human rights. Example: right to equality, Right to Life, Liberty, Personal Security, Freedom from Slavery,Freedom from Torture and Degrading Treatment
Resource Curse
Definition: The difficulties faced by resource-rich developing countries, including dependence on exporting one or a few commodities whose prices fluctuate, as well as potential for corruption and inequality. Significance: Many oil-, gas- and mineral-rich countries have failed to reach their full potential as a result of their natural resource wealth. Example: Angola's economy is extremely vulnerable to any large or sustained decline in the price of oil, since virtually all of the nation's wealth is reliant on this one sector. In this sense, Angola may have been "cursed" by its large oil reserves.
Treaty of Rome
Definition: The founding document of the European Economic Community (EEC) or Common Market, now subsumed by the European Union. Significance: created Eurotom and European Community (EC) Example: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, luxembourg.
UN Charter
Definition: The founding document of the United Nations; Significance: it is based on the principles that states are equal, have sovereignty over their own affairs, enjoy independence and territorial integrity, and must fulfill international obligations. also lays out the structure and methods of the UN. Example: considered an international treaty
Basic Human Needs
Definition: The fundamental needs of people for adequate food, shelter, health care, sanitation, and education. Meeting such needs may be thought of as both a moral imperative and a form of investment in "human capital" essential for economic growth. Significance: these basic physiological needs must be addressed before humans move on to the next level of fulfillment. Example: lack of leads to extreme poverty, living on less than $1.5o a day
Convertible Currency
Definition: The guarantee that the holder of a particular currency can exchange it for another currency. Some states' currencies are nonconvertible Significance: It is a reliable store of value, meaning an investor will have no trouble buying and selling the currency. Example: Fully ______: U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, and the British pound.
ICJ (International Court of Justice)
Definition: The judicial arm of the UN; located in The Hague, Significance: . a civil court that is charged with settling legal disputes submitted to it by states and giving advisory opinions on legal questions from U.N. bodies and agencies Example: The 15-member ____ or World Court, is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations
Paris Climate Agreement
Definition: The main international agreement on global warming signed in 2015. Calls for keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre industrial levels. Nearly all countries of the world are participants. Significance: It does so by calling on states to set their own emissions targets and self-reporting their compliance with those targets. The agreement contains no enforcement mechanism that would punish states for not meeting their goals. Example: a legally binding international treaty on climate change
OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries)
Definition: The most prominent cartel in the international economy Significance: its members control about half the world's total oil exports, enough to affect the world price of oil significantly. Example: this is an example of an international cartel
Fixed Exchange Rates
Definition: The official rates of exchange for currencies set by governments; not a dominant mechanism in the international monetary system since 1973. Significance: purpose of a _______ system is to keep a currency's value within a narrow band. provide greater certainty for exporters and importers and help the government maintain low inflation. Example: The Danish krone (DKK) is pegged to the euro at a central rate of 746.038 kroner per 100 euro
EU (European Union)
Definition: The official term for the European Community (formerly the European Economic Community) and associated treaty organizations. At the beginning of 2018, the EU had 28 member states, although Great Britain voted in 2016 to exit the EU. See also the Maastricht Treaty. Significance: the EU has gone through several waves of expansion in its scope, membership, and mission over the past 60 years. Example: an example of an IGO
Demographic Transition
Definition: The pattern of falling death rates, followed by falling birthrates, that generally accompanies industrialization and economic development. Significance: First, death rates fall as food supplies increase and access to health care expands. Later, birth rates fall as people become educated, more secure, and more urbanized, and as the status of women in society rises. At the end of the transition, as at the beginning, birthrates and death rates are fairly close to each other, and population growth is limited. But during the transition, when death rates have fallen more than birth rates, the population grows rapidly. Example: Examples of Stage 3 countries are Botswana, Colombia, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Mexico, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates, just to name a few.
comparative advantage
Definition: The principle that says states should specialize in trading goods that they produce with the greatest relative efficiency and at the lowest relative cost (relative, that is, to other goods produced by the same state). Significance: To maximize the overall creation of wealth, each state should specialize in producing the goods for which it has a ________ and then trade for goods that another state produces best. Example: China's ________ with the United States is in the form of cheap labor. Chinese workers produce simple consumer goods at a much lower opportunity cost.
International Integration
Definition: The process by which supranational institutions come to replace national ones; the gradual shifting upward of some sovereignty from the state to regional or global structures. Significance: the adoption of policies by separate countries as if they were a single political unit. explains why states choose supranationalism, which challenges once again the foundations of realism Example: The ultimate expression of integration would be the merger of several (or many) states into a single state—or ultimately into a single world government.
Protectionism
Definition: The protection of domestic industries against international competition, by trade tariffs and other means. Significance: Protection of infant industry is considered a relatively legitimate reason for (temporary) _______. Another motivation for protection is to give a domestic industry breathing room when market conditions shift or new competitors arrive on the scene. Example: When gas prices jumped in the 1970s, U.S. auto producers were slow to shift to smaller cars, and smaller Japanese cars gained a great advantage in the U.S. market. The U.S. government used a variety of measures, including import quotas and loan guarantees, to help the U.S. industry through this transition.
Exchange Rate
Definition: The rate at which one state's currency can be exchanged for the currency of another state. Since 1973, the international monetary system has depended mainly on floating rather than fixed exchange rates Significance: Example: The ______ between the US dollar to the Japanese Yen is about 115 yen= $1
Floating Exchange Rates
Definition: The rates determined by global currency markets in which private investors and governments alike buy and sell currencies Significance: The main economic advantages of _______ are that they leave the monetary and fiscal authorities free to pursue internal goals—such as full employment, stable growth, and price stability—and exchange rate adjustment often works as an automatic stabilizer to promote those goals. Example: For example, one U.S. dollar might buy one British Pound today, but it might only buy 0.95 British Pounds tomorrow. The value "floats."
Dumping
Definition: The sale of products in foreign markets at prices below the minimum level necessary to make a profit (or below cost). Significance: ______complaints are usually lodged by particular industries that feel they have been harmed by foreign competitors Example: In 2007, the WTO ruled against the United States in a _____ complaint brought by Japanese manufacturers who claimed they had been unfairly accused of dumping industrial goods on the American market.
Biodiversity
Definition: The tremendous diversity of plant and animal species making up the earth's (global, regional, and local) ecosystems. Significance: Because of humans' destruction of ecosystems, large numbers of species are already extinct. Because ecosystems are so complex, it is usually impossible to predict the consequences of a species' extinction or of the loss of a habitat or ecosystem. Example: Extinction results from overhunting, overfishing, and introducing non-native species that crowd out previous inhabitants. But the most important cause is loss of habitat-the destruction of rainforests, pollution of lakes and streams, and loss of agricultural lands to urban sprawl.
Balance of Trade
Definition: The value of a state's exports relative to its imports. Significance: A state that exports more than it imports has a positive ______ (trade surplus). Example: China has run a large trade surplus for years, over $440 billion in 2017. It gets more money for the many goods it exports than it pays for raw materials and other imported goods
LDCs (less developed countries)
Definition: The world's poorest regions—the global South—where most people live. Also called underdeveloped countries or developing countries. Significance: highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks and have low levels of human assets. Example: 46 on UN's list including Afghanistan, Sudan, Haiti, Bangladesh
NIC (Newly Industrializing countries)
Definition: Third world states that have achieved self-sustaining capital accumulation, with impressive economic growth. Significance: These semi periphery states, which export light manufactured goods, posted strong economic growth in the 1980s and early 1990s Example: The most successful are the "four tigers" or "four dragons" of East Asia: South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Technology Transfer
Definition: Third world states' acquisition of technology (knowledge, skills, methods, designs, specialized equipment, etc.) from foreign sources, usually in conjunction with direct foreign investment or similar business operations. Significance: A developing country may allow an MNC to produce certain goods in the country under favorable conditions, provided the MNC shares knowledge of the technology and design behind the product. The state may try to get its own citizens into the management and professional workforce of factories or facilities created by foreign investment. Example: Not only can physical capital accumulate in the country but so can the related technological base for further development. But MNCs may be reluctant to share proprietary technology.
FDI (Foreign Direct Investment)
Definition: a category of cross-border investment The acquisition by residents of one country of control over a new or existing business in another country. Significance: allows the transfer of technology—particularly in the form of new varieties of capital inputs—that cannot be achieved through financial investments or trade in goods and services. can also promote competition in the domestic input market. Example: involve mergers, acquisitions, or partnerships in retail, services, logistics, or manufacturing.
Customs Union
Definition: a group of countries that have agreed to charge the same tariffs and usually to allow free trade between themselves. A common external tariff adopted by members of a free trade area; that is, participating states adopt a unified set of tariffs with regard to goods coming in from outside. Significance: creates free and open trade within its member states, bringing great economic benefits. Example: The Treaty of Rome committed the six states to creating a customs union by 1969.
ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights)
Definition: a multilateral treaty adopted by United Nations General Assembly Resolution Significance: key international human rights treaty, providing a range of protections for civil and political rights. Example: considered part of the International Bill of Human Rights.
ICESCR (International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights)
Definition: a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly Significance: recognizing and protecting economic, social and cultural human rights. It also recognizes the equal right of men and women to these rights and prohibits gender-based discrimination. Example: multilateral treaty
Bargaining Space
Definition: the difference between the lowest price a seller would accept and the highest price a buyer would pay Significance: Example: Saudi Arabia would be willing to sell a barrel of oil (if it had no better option) for as little as, say, $10 a barrel, and industrialized countries are willing to pay more than $100 a barrel for the oil.
CAP (Common Agricultural Policy)
Definition: a system of subsidies paid to EU farmers. Its main purposes are to guarantee minimum levels of production, so that Europeans have enough food to eat, and to ensure a fair standard of living for those dependent on agriculture. Significance: has led to recurrent conflicts among member states and tensions between nationalism and regionalism. Example: Nationally, France is the country that benefits the most from the ___ funding, followed by Germany and Spain.
Centrally Planned Economy
Definition: an economic system in which a central authority, such as a government, makes economic decisions regarding the manufacturing and the distribution of products. Significance: The proponents of central planning claimed that it would make economies both more rational and more just. By controlling the economy, governments could guarantee the basic needs of citizens and could mobilize the state fully for war if necessary. Example: The Soviet Union launched the world's first satellite (Sputnik) in 1957, and in the early 1960s, its leaders boasted that communist economies would outperform capitalist ones within decades. Instead, the Soviet bloc economies stagnated under the weight of bureaucracy, ideological rigidity, environmental destruction, corruption, and high military spending.
EFTA (European Free Trade Association)
Definition: an extended free trade area associated with the European Union; its members are Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland. Significance: set up for the promotion of free trade and economic integration to the benefit of its four Member States Example: is an intergovernmental organization
WTO (World Trade Organization)
Definition: an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade between nations. Significance: Its main function is to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible. framework rests on the principle of reciprocity—matching states' lowering of trade barriers to one another. Example: It is an example of an international trade regime
IMF conditionality
Definition: certain standard a country meets to get IMF. a country has to adjust its policies. An agreement to loan IMF funds on the condition that certain government policies are adopted. Significance: The terms insisted on by the IMF are usually painful for the citizens (and hence for national politicians). The IMF demands that inflation be brought under control, which requires reducing state spending and closing budget deficits Example: Dozens of third world states have entered into such agreements with the IMF in the past 30 years
Neocolonialism
Definition: colonialism the og taking over of the country, the affect after. (reliance of the country that colonized them) The continuation, in a former colony, of colonial exploitation without formal political control. Significance: liberation from colonial control did not change underlying economic realities. The main trading partners of newly independent countries were usually their former colonial masters. The main products were usually those developed under colonialism. The administrative units and territorial borders were those created by Europeans. The state continued to occupy the same peripheral position in the world-system after independence as it had before. And in some cases, it continued to rely on its former colonizer for security. Example: European neocolonialism is Françafrique, the "French Africa" constituted by the continued close relationships between France and its former African colonies. ... It was later applied by neocolonialism critics to describe an imbalanced international relation.
Hard Currency
Definition: currency that is not likely to depreciate suddenly or to fluctuate greatly in value. Significance: seen as politically and economically stable. widely accepted around the world as a form of payment for goods and services and may be preferred over the domestic currency. Example: U.S. dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, and the British pound.
MDG (Millennium Development Goals)
Definition: eight goals with measurable targets and clear deadlines for improving the lives of the world's poorest people. In 2000, the UN adopted ____, which set targets for basic needs measures to be achieved by 2015. The first of the eight goals was to cut in half the proportion of the world's population living in "extreme poverty," defined as income of less than $1.25 per day. Significance: goal was met ahead of schedule in 2010, although Africa lagged far behind Asia in cutting poverty. Since 1990, 2 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water, but over 800 million remain hungry around the world. Based on the experience with the ____ the UN announced new goals in 2015, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Example: -Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. -Achieve universal primary education. -Promote gender equality and empower women. -Reduce child mortality. -Improve maternal health. -Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases. -Ensure environmental sustainability. -Develop a global partnership for development.
Functionalism
Definition: growth of specialized technical organizations that cross national borders (emphasizing cooperation between states) Significance: According to functionalists, technological and economic development lead to more and more supranational structures as states seek practical means to fulfill necessary functions such as delivering mail from one country to another or coordinating the use of rivers that cross borders. Example:
Supranational
Definition: having power or influence that transcends national boundaries or governments. Significance: they subsume a number of states and their functions within a larger whole. Example: The European Union
Import Substitution
Definition: newly industrialized countries that try to produce items they previously had imported. A strategy of developing local industries, often conducted behind protectionist barriers, to produce items that a country had been importing. Significance: These industries may receive state subsidies or tariff protection. This might seem to be a good policy for reducing dependency—especially on the former colonial master—while shrinking a trade deficit or building a trade surplus Example: Some scholars think that import substitution is a useful policy only at a very early phase of economic development, after which it becomes counterproductive.
diplomatic recognition
Definition: refers to the formal recognition of states and their governments Significance: The objective is the establishment of effective relations between two countries. Example: The most notable examples of this include Taiwan, which the United States recognizes but China does not
Lisbon treaty
Definition: updated regulations for the European Union, establishing a more centralized leadership and foreign policy. A European Union agreement that replaces a failed attempt at an EU constitution with a similar set of reforms strengthening central EU authority and modifying voting procedures among the EU's expanded membership. Significance: The Treaty created numerous changes in both the structure and the day-to-day operations of the EU. Some of those changes promote more supranational decision making. Example: For example, a charter of human rights was made legally binding on all member states. A new position called the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy was created to better coordinate foreign policy among member states.
equilibrium price
Definition: when supply and demand are balanced. Significance: maximizes profit Example:
Subsidies
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. Government gives subsidies to dairy farm so they can keep price of milk low. usually used with common goods
UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.
