Midterm 2 Flashcards by Gemma Dimarzo

what is bounded rationality?

taking into consideration of decision making with limited knowledge

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What is a zero-sum game?

“I win, you lose”

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what is non-zero sum?

overlapping interests, absolute gains ‘win,win’ all parties come out ahead

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what is the staghunt analogy?

conditions of anarchy make it hard to tell if you can trust the other party

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what is the first image of power? Define it.

Individual level or human nature.
Centered on personality, perceptions, choices, or activities of individual leaders

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what is the second image of power?

Domestic, National or state level.
centered on characteristics of the state, government, economic system, intrest group politics, national interests

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What is the third image of power?

Systemic Level
Centered on the characteristics of international systems, interactions among states, role of international organizations, distributions of power and alliance politics

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What are the components of a good theory?

Empirical and based in facts.
Normative and value based

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What is the security dilemma?

once a state increases its security and power, another state will do the same out of fear. leading to infinite amounts of increasing.

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Define Relative Gains

States will cooperate with each other as long as it benefits relative to other states

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What is Realism based on?

Realism is based on the view that competitive self-intrest, given the preeminent goal of survival drives global politics.
- Power is coercive
- states compete for power and security
- humans are inherently divided

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Explain Classical Realism. What is more important interests or values? What do they believe our behaviour is in uncertain times? What is the Level of Analysis? Who are the key philosophers?

interests should be placed over values and ethics
force should be used if needed to enforce the rules
emphasizes violent behaviour in uncertain times
pessimistic about human nature
Hobbes and Machiavelli
Individual, First level of analysis

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Explain Neo-Realism. What is the level of analysis?

Neo-Realism argues conflict is NOT because of human nature but due to chaotic / anarchic nature of international systems
- no central authority to guide states action
- states are rational actors who seek security first
- Systemic, third level of analysis

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What is Defensive (Neo) Realism?

states do not want to promote violences and only act to protect themselves (enough defensive power, deterrence or some level of absolute power is sufficient)

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What is Offensive Realism?

states may be more aggressive and violent to gain relative power advantages / resources (focus on relative power: can never be secure without maintaining relative power advantages)

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What is the liberal theory?

states are central but not the only actors
anarchy is mitigated by international institutions and interdependence
states interests can change these conditions, less emphasis on politics
belief in human progress

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What are the main elements liberalism focuses on?

morality, Emotion, cooperation

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Define Cosmopolitanism

An understanding and appreciation of the shared human experience and the ties that bind people together across nations, borders, and cultures.

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What is the classical liberalist view? define the democratic peace theory

optimistic about human interaction due to cooperation
DEMOCRATIC PEACE THEORY: democratic countries don’t go to war against each other

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What is Neo-Liberal Institutionalism

focuses more on the ability of international global institutions to facilitate cooperation between organizations at all levels

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What is structural marxism? or world systems theory?

divides the world into the “haves and have nots”
world system theory argues that the traditional nation-state is replaced by a world system of grouping countries
global north: developed, richer nations
global south: underdeveloped, poorer nations
in this situation the state is secondary to the underlying class conflict which focuses on who control the means of production

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Define the Peripheral, Core and Semi-Peripheral

peripheral: Peripheral countries are dependent on core countries for capital and have underdeveloped industry.
core: Describes dominant capitalist countries which exploit the peripheral countries for labor and raw materials.
semi-peripheral: Countries that share characteristics of both core and periphery countries.

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What is Constructivism?

World politics is a social system
The nature of world politics is socially constructed
Social structures shape state interests, ideas and behaviours
importance of knowledge and legitimacy of the social system
Importance of state and non-state actors

Unlike earlier theories, constructivism centers on values, ideas, and norms as a way to think about global politics.

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What is Feminist Theory?

Feminism considers gender and gender roles as key concepts in understanding power in global politics.

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What is a War of Aggression

an unprovoked military attack by one state on another

what is a war of preemption?

use of force against a threat that has not completely formed

What is a preventative war?

Destroying of a potential threat

what is a war of self-defense?

involves defending oneself or property from harm

Clausewitsizan Trinity or the Paradoxical Trinity. Identify his role for Government, Citizens and Commanders in Classic war

Government - Reason Citizens - Passion Commander - skill

Clausewitsizan Trinity or the Paradoxical Trinity. Identify his role for ideologies, global sympathizers and non-state threat groups in todays war

Ideologies- truth Global sympathizers - passion non-state threat groups - passion and charisma and skill

what is an old war?

- fought primarily between states by professional armies

what is a new war?

are focused on questions of identity and belonging between a rapidly changing number of combatants - globalization brings on new wars

what is the crisis of the state?

- Increasing inability to maintain control over domestic affairs - Struggling to contend with the effects of globalization and transnationalism - Difficulty to cope with the disruptive and seemingly haphazard processes of globalization - The crisis of identity: particulates identify politics

Define the treaty of Westphalia

sovereign independent nation-state emerging as key actors

why are alliances used commonly?

are a primary tool that states can use in their pursuit of security, and they are frequent response to potential aggression or threats from adversaries and provide opportunities for enhancing a states power position in the system Alliances form not only through the efforts of weaker states working together in a balancing strategy But also as a product of weaker states joining stronger actors in a strategy of bandwagoning

Explain the three main categories of Weapons of mass destruction: Biological Weapons, Chemical Weapons, Nuclear Weapons

Biological Weapons Use of pathogens, viruses, etc. as weapons Chemical Weapons Continued use by state despite international agreements Nuclear Weapons Significance of mutually assured destruction (MAD) and the containment doctrine (and nuclear non-proliferation)

How has society controlled the spread of arms?

Geographic restrictions Transfer Restrictions Monitoring and reporting Numerical Restrictions Categorical Restrictions Development/Testing/Deployment Restrictions

What is a transfer restiriction?

International sanctions, domestic regulations/export licensing ("end user permits")

What START?

the strategic arms reduction treaty between the US and Russia

List the three core UN principles

- consent of the parties - impartiality - non-use of force accept in self- defence and defence of the mandate

What is functionalism and what does it stress?

The notion of functionalism states that IGOS serve the needs of peoples - Arbitrate international disagreements / concerns - Help bolster mutual cooperation, solve transnational technical problems Functionalism stresses that over time, individuals and countries will trust IOs if given proper resource

What is the role of the UN general assembly? how many members?

- 193 - main policy making and representative organ

What is the role of the International court of justice? how many members?

- 15 judges, 9 year terms - seated in the Hague - settles disputes submitted by individual states according to non-compulsory jurisdiction - gives advisory opinions on questions referred by other UN bodies

What is the role of the trusteeship council?

- govern the UN trust territories during decolonization - task completed, suspended in 1994

What is the role of the economic and social council? how many members?

- 54 members, serving 3 year terms - coordinates activities of 14 specialized agencies, functional commissions and regional commissions - examines and recommends economic and social policies

Define the Regime Theory

cooperation lead to increased interdependence within an international regime

what is terrorism?

the deliberate use of violence or threat of violence with the purpose of instilling fear and terror within the civilian population, but extending beyond the immediate victims, for the achievement of political, religious, or ideological aims.

define domestic terrorism

terrorism in which the venue, target(s), and perpetrator(s) are all from the same country.

Define transnationalism/international terrorism

terrorism carried out either across national borders or by perpetrator(s) that operate in more than one country.

Define state sponsored terrorism

when an established state’s government specifically encouraged, funded, trained, equipped, and/or granted sanctuary to individuals who carry out terrorist activities or operations.

Explaining that the end of the Cold War was mostly caused by dysfunction within the USSR and Eastern European economies is an example of which level of analysis? A. Individual B. Domestic C. Anarchic D. Systemic

B - domestic

The argument that democracies do not fight one another resides in which paradigm of international relations? A. Realism B. Constructivism C. Liberalism D. Marxism

C - Liberalism

_____ is a making alliances against a threat; ____ is allying with the threat A. Free riding ; Linkage B. Balancing; Bandwagoning C. Reification; Ratification D. Hegemony; Securitization

B - Balancing and Bandwagoning

When we seek to identify the minimum number of independent variables to explain a phenomena in world politics, we are searching for the most _____ explanation. A. truthful B. Parsimonious C. Complete D. Objective

B. Parsimonious

Explaining North Korea's drive for nuclear weapons as a rational response to anarchy and the relative power of other states would reflect which framework of analysis? a. Constructivism b. Neoliberal institutionalism c. Neoclassical realism d. Neorealism

d. Neorealism

A theoretical framework for understanding world politics applying a Marxist lens would utilize which of the following concepts? A. Relative gains and great powers B. Absolute gains and interdependence C. Regimes and institutions D. Core and periphery

D. Core and periphery

The Prisoner’s Dilemma and the Stag Hunt Analogy are examples of game theory that help us to understand the concepts of ___________ in international relations. A. Nationalism & Sovereignty B. Security & Cooperation C. Nature & Nurture D. Rationality & Anarchy

D. Rationality & Anarchy

“States understand themselves to be members of an international community, illustrating the changing nature of states’ social identities and interests beyond that of narrow self-interests.” A. A realist perspective B. A liberal perspective C. A neomarxist perspective D. A constructivist perspective

D. A constructivist perspective

Referencing the last slide (so far) of the Weeks 8-9 PPT, was Luke Skywalker involved in a terrorist attack on the Death Star in the first "Star Wars" movie from 1977?

According to [BLANK], “war is the continuation of political intercourse, with the addition of other means.”

Clausewitz

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of “new wars”? A. Intra-state and/or transnational conflict B. NSAGs C. Caused and sustained by global and transnational forces D. State versus state conflict E. Intra-societal, identity conflicts

D. State versus state conflict

[BLANK] is an organized use of violence by a weaker actor against a stronger one. A. Psychological warfare B. Combined operations C. Asymmetric warfare D. Terrorist operations E. Cyber operations

C. Asymmetric warfare

Thinking theoretically about security, realist and liberal conceptions of security differ most fundamentally about what? A. Military power B. Possibilities of non-zero-sum approaches to security C. The relevance of deterrence D. Securitization of threats

b - Possibilities of non-zero-sum approaches to security

National security in its traditional sense has become synonymous with attaining and amassing A. Political power B. Economic power C. Diplomatic power D. Military power

d. Military power

Which of the following is NOT a feature of security dilemmas? A. absence of reliable information flow between states B. economic interdependence C. arms races D. more concerns about capabilities than intentions

B. economic interdependence

Securitization can best be defined as... A. A concept that any state's attempt to become more secure will result in a security dilemma given that other states will always react, given assumptions about relative power within an anarchic system. B. A concept that tries to understand how a particular threat becomes articulated by leaders as a threat, requiring attention, resources, and action. C. A concept that captures the three variants of defensive, offensive, and aggressive realism. D. A concept that shifts the focus of security from national security to human security.

b - A concept that tries to understand how a particular threat becomes articulated by leaders as a threat, requiring attention, resources, and action.

In Chapter 8, this scholar is cited as calling for the need to rethink the concept of security as a global development that includes resource, environmental, and demographic issues.

Jessica Tuchman Mathews