Theory
A logically consistent set of statements that explains a phenomenon of interest.
Interests
What actors want to achieve through political action; their preferences over the outcomes that might result from their political choices.
Interactions
The ways in which the choices of two or more actors combine to produce political outcomes.
Institutions
A set of rules, known and shared by the community, that structure political interactions in particular ways.
Bargaining
An interaction in which actors must choose outcomes that make one better off at the expense of another. ___ is redistributive; it involves allocating a fixed sum of value between different actors.
Cooperation
An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making the others worse off.
Anarchy
The absence of a central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws that bind all actors.
Mercantilism
An economic doctrine base on a belief that military power and economic influence were complements; applied especially to colonial empires in the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. ___ policies favored the mother country over its colonies and over its
Peace of Westphalia
The settlement that ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648; often said to have created the modern state system because it included a general recognition of the principles of sovereignty and nonintervention.
Sovereignty
The expectation that states have legal and poltical supremacy--or ultimate authority--within their territorial boundaries.
Hegemony
The predominance of one nation-state over others.
Pax Britannica
British Peace," a century-long period beginning with Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo in 1815 and ending with the outbreak of World War I in 1914 during which Britain's economic and diplomatic influence contributed to economic openness and relative peace.
Gold standard
The monetary system that prevails between about 1870 and 1914, in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price.
Treaty of Versailles
A peace treaty between the Allies and Germany that formally ended World War I on June 28, 1919.
League of Nations
A permanent international security organization formed in the aftermath of World War I. The ___ was supplanted by the United Nations after World War II and was dissolved in 1946.
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
A military alliance created in 1949 to bring together many Western European nations, the United States, and Canada, forming the foundations of the American-led military bloc during the Cold War. Today ___'s role includes handling regional problems and dev
Bretton Woods System
The economic order negotiated among allied nations at ___, New Hampshire, in 1944, which led to a series of cooperative arrangements involving a commitment to relatively low barriers to international trade and investment.
Warsaw Pact
A military alliance formed in 1955 to bring together the Soviet Union and its Cold War allies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. It dissolved on March 31, 1991, as the Cold War ended.
Decolonization
The process of shedding colonial possessions, especially that rapid end of the European empires in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean between the 1940's and the 1960's.
Actors
The basic unit for the analysis of international politics; can be individuals or groups of people with common interests.
State
A central authority with the ability to make and enforce laws, rules, and decisions within a specified territory.
National interests
Interests attributed to the state itself, usually security and power.
Coordination
A type of cooperative interaction in which actors benefit from all making the same choice and subsequently have no incentive to not comply.
Collaboration
A type of cooperative interaction in which actors gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives to not comply with any agreement.
Public goods
Individually and socially desirable goods that are nonexcludable and nonrival in consumption, such as national defense.
Collective action problems
Obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts in anticipation that others will pay the costs of cooperation.
Free ride
To fail to contribute to a public good while benefiting from the contributions of others.
Iteration
Repeated interactions with the same partners.
Linkage
The linking of cooperation to one issue to interactions on a second issue.
Power
The ability of Actor A to get Actor B to do something that B would otherwise not do; the ability to get the other side to make concessions and to avoid having to make concessions oneself.
Coercion
The threat of imposition of costs on other actors in order to change their behavior. Means of international ___ include military force, economic sanctions, and embargos.
Outside options
The alternatives to bargaining with a specific actor.
Agenda-setting power
A "first mover" advantage that helps to secure a more favorable bargain.
War
An event involving the organized use of military force by at least two parties that satisfies some minimum threshold of severity.
Interstate war
A war in which the main participants are states.
Civil war
A war in which the main participants are within the same state, such as the government and a rebel group.
Crisis bargaining
A bargaining interaction in which at least one actor threatens to use force in the event that its demands are not met.
Coercive diplomacy
The use of threats to influence the outcome of a bargaining interaction.
Bargaining range
The set of deals that both parties in a bargaining interaction prefer to the reversion outcome. When the reversion outcome is war, the ___ is the set of deals that both sides prefer to war.
Compellence
An effort to change the status quo through threat of force.
Deterrence
An effort to preserve status quo through the threat of force.
Incomplete information
A situation in which parties in a strategic interaction lack information about other parties' interests and/or capabilities.
Resolve
The willingness of an actor to endure the costs in order to acquire some good.
Risk-return tradeoff
In crisis bargaining, the tradeoff between trying to get a better deal and trying to avoid a war.
Credibility
Believability. A ___ threat is a threat that the recipient believes will be carried out. A ___ commitment is a commitment or promise that the recipient believes will be honored.
Brinksmanship
A strategy in which adversaries take actions that increase the risk of accidental war, with the hope that the other will "blink," or loss its nerve, first and make concessions.
Audience costs
Negative repercussions for failing to follow through on a threat or to honor a commitment.
Preventive war
A war fought with the intention of preventing an adversary from becoming stronger in the future. ___ arise because states whose power is increasing cannot commit not to exploit that power in future bargaining interactions.
First-strike advantage
The situation that arises when military technology, military strategies, and/or geography give a significant advantage to whichever state attacks first in a war.
Preemptive war
A war fought with the anticipation that an attack by the other side is imminent.
Indivisible good
A good that cannot be divided without diminishing its value.
Bureaucracy
The collection of organizations--including the military, the diplomatic corps, and the intelligence agencies--that carry out most tasks of governance within the state.
Interest groups
Groups of individuals with common interests that organize to influence public policy in a manner that benefits their members.
Rally effect
The tendency for people to become more supportive of their country's government in response to dramatic international events, such as crises or wars.
Diversionary incentive
The incentive that state leaders have to state international crises in order to rally public support at home.
Military-industrial complex
An alliance between military leaders and the industries that benefit from international conflict, such as arms manufacturers.
Democratic peace
The observations that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature democratic states.
Democracy
A political system in which candidates compete for political office through frequent, fair elections in which a sizable portion of the adult population can vote.
Accountability
The ability to punish or reward leaders for the decisions they make, as when frequent fair elections enable voters to hold elected officials responsible for their actions by granting or withholding access for political office.
Alliances
Institutions that help their members cooperate militarily in the event of a war.
Balance of power
A situation in which the military capabilities of two states or groups of states are roughly equal.
Bandwagoning
A strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict.
United Nations (UN)
A collective security organization founded in 1945 after World War II. With over 190 members, the ___ includes all recognized states.
Collective security organizations
Broad-based institutions that promote peace and security among their members. Examples include the League of Nations and the the United Nations.
Genocide
Intentional and systematic killing aimed at eliminating an identifiable group of people, such as an ethnic or religious group.
Security Council
The main governing body of the United Nations; it has the authority to identify threats to international peace and security and to prescribe the organization's response, including military and/or economic sanctions.
Permanent five (P5)
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, Great Britain, France, and Soviet Union (now Russia) and China.
Veto power
The ability to prevent the passage of a measure through the unilateral act, such as a single negative vote.
Peacekeeping operation
An operation in which troops and observers are deployed to monitor a ceasefire or peace agreement.
Peace-enforcement operation
A military operation in which force is used to make and/or enforce peace among warring parties that have not agreed to end their fighting.
Comparative advantage
The ability of a country or firm to produce a particular good or service more efficiently than other goods or services, such that its resources are most efficiently employed in this activity. The comparison is to the efficiency of other economic activitie
Absolute advantage
The ability of a country or firm to produce more of a particular good or service than other countries or firms using the same amount of effort and resources.
Heckscher-Ohlin trade theory
The theory that a country will export goods that make intensive use of the factors of production in which it is well endowed. Thus, a labor-rich country will export goods that make intensive use of labor.
Protectionism
The imposition of barriers to restrict imports. Commonly used ___ devices include tariffs, quantitative restrictions (quotas), and other nontariff barriers.
Trade barrier
Any government limitation on the international exchange of goods. Examples include tariffs, quantitative restrictions (quotas), import licenses, requirements that governments can only buy domestically produced goods, and health and safety standards that d
Tariff
A tax imposed on imports; this raises the domestic price of the imported good and may be applied for the purpose of protecting domestic producers from foreign competition.
Quantitative restrictions (quotas)
Quantitative limits placed on the the import of particular goods.
Nontariff barriers to trade
Obstacles to imports other than tariffs (trade taxes). Examples include restrictions on the number of products that can be imported (quantitative restriction, or quotas); regulations that favor domestic over imported products and other measures that discr
Stolper-Samuelson theorem
The theory that protection benefits the scarce factor of production. This view flows from the Heckscher-Ohlin approach; if a country imports goods that make intensive use of its scarce factor, then limiting imports will help that factor. So in a labor-sca
Ricardo-Viner (specific factors) model
A model of trade relations that emphasizes the sector in which factors of production are employed, rather than the nature of the factor itself. This differentiates it from the Heckscher-Ohlin approach, for which the nature of the factor--labor, land, capi
Reciprocity
In international trade relations, a mutual agreement to lower tariffs and other barriers to trade. ___ involves an implicit or explicit arrangement for one government to exchange trade policy concessions with another.
Most favored nation (MFN) status
A status established by most modern trade agreements guaranteeing that the signatories will extend to each other any favorable trading terms offered in agreements with third parties.
World Trade Organization (WTO)
An institution created in 1995 to succeed the GATT and to govern international trade relations. The ___ encourages the polices the multilateral reductions of barriers to trade, and it oversees the resolution of trade disputes.
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
In international institution created in 1948 in which members countries committed to reduce barriers to trade and to provide similar trading conditions to all other members. In 1995, the ___ was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Portfolio investment
Investment in a foreign country via the purchase of stocks (equities), bonds, or other financial instruments. ___ do not exercise management control of the foreign operation.
Sovereign lending
Loans from private financial institutions in one country to sovereign governments in others countries.
Foreign direct investment (FDI)
Investment in a foreign country via the acquisition of a local variety of the establishment of a new facility. Direct investors maintain managerial control of the foreign operation.
World Bank
An important international institution that provides loans at below-market interest rates to developing countries, typically to enable them to carry out development projects.
Recession
A sharp slow down in the rate of economic growth and economic activity.
Depression
A severe downturn in the business cycle, typically associated with a major decline in economic activity, production, and investment; a severe contraction of credit; and sustained high unemployment.
Default
To fail to make payments on a debt.
Bank for International Settlements (BIS)
One of the oldest international financial organizations, created in 1930. Its members include the world's principal central banks, and under its auspices they attempt to cooperate in the financial realm.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
A major international economic institution that was established in 1944 to manage international monetary relations and that has gradually reoriented itself to focus on the international financial system, especially the debt and currency crises.
Multinational corporation (MNC)
An enterprise that operates in a number of countries, with production or services facilities outside its country of origin.
Bilateral investment treaty (BIT)
An agreement between two countries about the conditions for private investment across borders. Most ___ include provisions to protect an investment from government discrimination or expropriation without compensation, as well as establishing mechanisms to
Exchange rate
The price at which one currency is exchanged for another.
Appreciate
In terms of a currency, to increase in value in terms of other currencies.
Depreciate
In terms of a currency, to decrease in value in terms of other currencies.
Devalue
To reduce the value of one currency in terms of other currencies.
Monetary policy
An important tool of national governments to influence broad macroeconomic conditions, such as unemployment, inflation, and economic growth. Typically, governments alter their ___ by changing national interest rates or exchange rates.
Fixed exchange rate
An exchange rate policy under which a government permits itself to keep its currency at or around a specific value in terms of another currency or a commodity, such as gold.
Gold standard
The monetary system that prevailed between about 1870 and 1914, in which countries tied their currencies to gold at a legally fixed price.
Floating exchange rate
An exchange rate policy under which a government permits its currency to be traded on the open market without direct government control or intervention.
Bretton Woods monetary system
A monetary order negotiated among the World War II allies in 1944, which lasted until the 1970s and which was based on the U.S. dollar tied to gold. Other currencies were fixed to the dollar, but were permitted to adjust their exchange rates.
Adjustable peg
A monetary system of fixed but adjustable rates. Governments are expected to keep their currencies fixed for extensive periods, but are permitted to adjust the exchange rate from time to time as economic conditions change.
International monetary regime
A formal or informal arrangement among governments to govern themselves among their currencies, and which is shared by most countries in the world economy.
Less developed countries (LDCs)
Countries at a relatively low level of economic development.
Infrastructure
Basic structures necessary for social activity, such as transportation and telecommunications networks, and power and water supply.
Primary products
Raw materials and agricultural products, typically unprocessed or only slightly processed. The primary sectors are distinguished from secondary sectors (industry) and tertiary sectors (services).
Oligopolistic
Characterizing an industry whose markets are dominated by a few firms.
Terms of trade
The relationship between a country's export prices and its import prices.
Import substitution industrialization (ISI)
A set of policies pursued by most developing countries from the 1930s through the 9180s, to reduce imports and encourage domestic manufacturing, often through trade barriers, subsidies to manufacturing, and state ownership of basic industries.
Export-oriented industrialization (EOI)
A set of policies, originally pursued starting in the late 1960s by several East Asian countries, to spur manufacturing for export, often through subsidies and incentives for export production.
Washington Consensus
An array of policy recommendations generally advocated by developed-country economists and policymakers starting in the 1980s, including trade liberalizations, privatization, and openness to foreign investment, and restrictive monetary and fiscal policies
Group of 77
A coalition of developing countries in the United Nations, formed in 1964 with 77 members; it has grown to over 130 members but maintains the original name.
New International Economic Order
A reorganizations of the management of the international economy demanded by LDCs in the 1970s in order to make it more favorable to developing nations.
Commodity cartels
Associations of producers of commodities (raw materials and agricultural products) that restrict world supply and thereby cause the price of the goods to rise.