Concept Test Flashcards
State
A political entity with territorial borders and political authorities who enjoy sovereignty
Sovereignty
The capacity to govern residents who live within a given territory to establish relationships with governments that control other states
Nation
Collection of people who share a common culture, history or language
Anarchy
The fact in IR there is no government of the whole world to adjudicate disputes among states and protect weak ones from strong ones
Imperialism
A state strategy in which one country conquers foreign lands to turn them into colonies
Levels of analysis
Different places to look for answers to questions in international relations, generally grouped into the individual, state and international level
Democratic peace
The theory that democracies are almost always peaceful to each other
Globalisation
The ongoing process of international economic and technological integration, made possible by advances in transport and communication
Security dilemma
A situation in international politics in which one state takes steps to become more secure, yet ends up less secure due to the reactions it prompts in other states
Deterrence
The use of power resources to discourage a state from acting aggressively
Power transitions
When the relative power of two (or more) states changes, often due to technological innovations and uneven economic growth
Commercial liberalism
The idea that market society and economic independence tend to have a pacifying impact on relations among states
Strategic culture
Refers to assumptions about the nature of the global system e.g which states are friends or enemies, and strategies of action that are shared by government elites
Diplomacy
The process by which representatives of two or more governments meet and discuss matters of common concern
International institutions
Sets of rules, principles and expectations that govern interstate interaction
Norm
A standard of appropriate behaviour for actors with a given identity
War
Large scale organised violence between political groups
