Pol. 7 Midterm

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Theory: A principle or body of principles offered to explain cause and effect. The importance is that theories help us reduce the world down to the smaller level
Cognitive Dissonance: A state of imbalance between cognitions (i.e. attitudes, emotions, beliefs, or values)
The importance is that cognitive dissodence keeps many from opening up to the truth even when they have proof.
Security Dilemma: One personâ€™s increases in weaponry is anotherâ€™s security dilemma. The security dilemma is important for it helps to understand why states go to war or keeps them from war.
Anarchy: The international system is anarchic in that there isn't a centralization of power. States make decisions based upon what will be to their best interest. They can focus on relative gains, absolute gains, or a mix of both.
Power: The amount of influence astates yield in their own state and in relation to other states. Power can have a relative focus, absolute focus, or a mix of both. The importance of power is that it can be the deciding factor many times whether or not a state acts a certain way or even wages war.
Fungibility of force: Whether or not miltary force transfers into economic and/or political power. Military power is not fungible. Liberals believe military power does not translate in other powers, while realists contend it does.
State sovereignty: States are sovereign in that they are unitary actors, acting on what is in their own best interest. The significance is that there is a tension between soveigrnty an collective actions.
Treaty of Westphalia: Marked the end to the Thirty Years War and the end to the Suppremacy of the Holy Roman Empire. The significance was it ended the hegemonic ruel of the Holy Roman Empire and began a new multi-state involvement.
Unipolarity: Where there is one hegemonic state controls the power over resources. Importance to the Relist explanation of peace.
Great Power: A great power is one who yields a large sphere of influence. Great powers are important in keeping small states under control.
Balanace of terror: When two sides have weapons of mass destruction in which it is mutually assured destruction if one attacks. It is important in deterring states away from war by making the costs of war too high.
MAD: Stands for mutually assured destruction in which if one attacks attacks the destruction of both is assured. MAD is important in Nuclear deterrance by making the cost too high for both sides.
Colletive security: An attack against one is an attack against all. The main thing it does it help keep peace with the countries who are internally involved in the collective security.
Humanitarian Intervention: Consist of negative rights (civil rights), positive rights (food, clothing, shelter) and solidarity rights. Humanitarian Intervention is important to helping in the Darfur region of Sudan today.
Ethnic Cleansing: Forced expulsion of an â€œundesirableâ€ population from a given territory due to religious or ethnic discrimination, political, strategic or ideological considerations, or a combination of these. Ethnic cleansing is important when understanding WWII and understanding the Sudanese crisis.
Preemption v. prevention.: Preemption is anticipating an attack and so you attack first before being hit. It is merited in 2 cases the first being an immediate threat. Second is there are no alternatives.
Prevention is not knowing that it is imminent and there are other alternatives.

Important in understanding the reaon behind the Iraq War.
Collective Goods: The two qualities of collective goods are that they are non-excludable and nin-rivalrous. They are neccessary in international political economy and have the implication of causing free riders.
International Regimes: Norms, rules, and institutions around which actors converge around in IR. They are important in helping to promote trade and complex interdependance.
Hegemonic Stability Theory: Hegemonic Stability Theory was devloped by Kindleberger and holds that in order for the international syatem to run smoothly there has to be a hegemon. It is important in understanding the problem with collective action and understanding the importance U.S. role at Bretton Woods.
Preemption v. Prevention: Preemption is anticipating an attack and so you attack first before being hit. It is merited in 2 cases the first being an immediate threat. Second is there are no alternatives.
Prevention is not knowing that it is imminent and there are other alternatives.
They are important to understanding the Iraq War and the possible political implications behind action.
Neo-Marxism: Trade is a zero-sum game.
The IPE is best thought of as an international division of labor between core (developed states) and the periphery (underdeveloped states).
Rich states become rich by exploiting poor states.
Free trade theory is a ideology propagated by developed countless to justify and perpetuate the exploitation of the periphery.
Economic Nationalism: National security is the most important goal of states and wealth is a means to power, and vice versa.
Relative gains matter; one states relative gains can be used for political and military advantage against other states.
It is important to maintain surpluses.
Economic Liberalism: Trade allows for absolute gains
Markets are the most efficient way of allocating resources and expanding production
Capitalism and free trade are the best way to improve individual welfare
Comparative advantage means that everyone gains
There is a tradeoff between guns and butter; opportunity costs.
Human Rights: Human rights consist of first generation negative rights, second genration positiove rights and third generation solidarity rights. Human rights are important to sustain a democratic society.
GATT: The General agreement on tariffs and Trade regulates trade and tariffs world wide. GATT is important to supporting economic liberal trade between states.
Prisoner's Dilemma: Gilpin, The major point to the prisoner's dileemma is that ration, well informed individuals who are trying to avoid a bad outcome, will worki in order to avoid that bad outcome.
IMF: The International Monitary Fund (IMF) is an ITO established at Bretton Woods after WWII. The sigificance of it is that monitors exchange rates and balance of payments in order to promote stability in the international system.
WTO: The World Trade Organization (WTO) was created during the Uruguay Round and contains 149 members. The significance of it is supports liberalsm by using international tools in order to regulate goods, services and IP.
EU: The European Union (EU) is an intergovernmental union between 25 democratic nation-states from the European continent. The significance of the EU is in promoting liebral free trade and promoting a single currency in order to eliminate the costs associated with currency exchange.
Fixed vs. variable exchange rates: Fixed exchange rates only fluctuate when the government increase or devalues the currency, while variable exchange rates fluctuate based upon market demand and supply. Today the comparison is important in understandind the trade surplus that China has due to the manipulation of exchange rates in their fixed exchange rate system.
MFN: Most Favored-Nation (MFN) is accorded form one nation to another in the World Trade Organization (WTO). It is significant because it means that if one nation receives an economic advantage such as low tariffs, then all receive that advantage.
NAFTA: The Northern American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is a liberal free trade agreement amongst Canada, the United States, and Mexico. It is important in breaking down economic barriers between the countries allowing companies to trade with less restrictions and costs.
Sustainable development: A process that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future and mainly consists of environmental degredation. It is important in setting policy agenda for the United Nations in relation to economics and the environment.
IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)was established under the United Nations and is supposed to assess the risk of human induced climate change. The importance of it are the reports that they develop and their impact on policy in the UN and individual nation-states.
Global Warming: The theory that the the temperature in the Earth's atmosphere and the ocens is rising and that it is caused by the increase of carbons put into the atmosphere by humanity's actions. It is important because if true it affects states' economic and environmental policies.
Kyoto Protocol: The kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that deals with climate change in relation to emmissions of carbon dioxide. It is significant because if accepted it will affect economically many states, especially the U.S., as they try to crack down on industries that pollute large amounts of "Green House" gases.
Byrd-Hagel Amendment: A resolution passed in the 105th Congress expressint hat the United States has a desire to contribute to the international agreement in relation to global climate change and carbon dioxide emmsions. It is not significant because it was a resolution, not a Bill, so it does not hold the U.S. to any standards as the Kyoto Protocol would have.
Clash of civilizations: Clash of Civilizations is a theory in IR developed primarily by Huntigton, which holds that culture and religion will be the primary agents of conflict after the Cold War. It is significant in hypothesizing the possible reason there is a conflict today between Islamic states and the West.
End of History: End of History is a theory developed by Fukayama that holds liberal democratic societies to be the final place in which societies are progressing. It is significant because the implication of the theory is that liberal economics will lead the world into a more peaceful states and that history has shown its triumph over Marxism.
NICs: The NAtional Intelligence Council is a U.S. council that has the goal of strategic thinking within the United Staes Intelligence Community.
Soft Power: Soft Power was a term coined by Nye and is the third level of power in which a country uses cultural or ideological power in order to get a country to do what they desire. IT is important because it shows there can be ways to influence other countries without having to resort to force.
NPT: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is an international treaty signed by 188 nation-states limiting the spread of nuclear weapons. The significance today is that Iran has talked about withdrawing from it, which gives rise to their desire to develop nucear weaponry.
Disarmerment: Disarmerment is the reduction or elimination of a nation's weaponry done volluntarily or forcefully. It is significant because it was the original argument for the Iraw war and is the current desire with Iran.
United Nations: The United Nations (UN) is an internaitonal organization (IO) that facilitates cooperation in international law, international cooperation, international security,social equity, and economic development. It has been significant in humanitarian intervention.
Peacekeeping: Peacekeeping is a key UN responsibility, which has the goal of helping countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. It is significant today in dealing with conflict like the Darfur region of Sudan.
A Problem from Hell: "A Problem from Hell" was a book by Samantha Power that dealt with the issue of genocide. It is important in understanding historical genocides like Rwanda or Bosnia and in understanding modern Genocides like Rwanda.
NSC: The National Security Council (NSC) is supposed to be the main area for deciding foreign policy. The significance is understanding why the U.S. decides whether or not to go to war.
DHS: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was devloped after the 9/11 attacks in order to combat domestic terrorism. It is significant because its goal is to bring the different factions of intelligence under one authority and make it easier to share information to combat terrorism.
DOD: The Deaprtment of Defense controls U.S. military and is headed at the Pentagon. The significance of it is it works to coordinate military action and is basis of military action.
LDCs: Less Developed Countries (LDCs), also known as third world countries, are characterized by a lack of economic stability, agriculture as opposed to industrialized, and an overall poor quality of living. They are significant in the desire to help these countries progress towards developing countries, giving them a higher quality of life.
NGOs: Non-governmental organizations are social, cultural, legal and evnvironmental advocacy groups that act outside a institutionalized political structure. They are significant in helping to further the political or social goals for which their organization stands for.
MNCs: Multinational Corporations (MNCs) is a corporation that acts in at least two different countries simultaneously. They are important in the development of the idea of globalization and in support of liberal economics.
FDI: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is a movement of capital across national borders in which the investor ha scontrol over the aquired assets. It is significant in supporting liberal economics, and inter-state relations.
Dependency Theory: Dependency Theory is a world view that there are states in the first, second and third periphery and the ones in the first need the third in order to remain wealthy. Dependancy Theory is important to the marxist theory in IR.
Retreat from Doomsday: "Retreat from Doomsday" is a book by John Mueller that says wars are falling out of fashion. It is significant in that if it is true then states will fight less and less between each other as war continues grow out of fashion.
NATO: The Northern Atlantic Treat Organisation (NATO) is an international organisation that works towards collective security. The siginificance of it is to the throry of collective security in that an attack against one is an attack against all.
Terrorism: Terrorism is the deliberate use or threatened use of violence by a person or an organized group against civilians or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments in order to attain political goals. The significance is it stands as the number one concern in America today and the most dangerous thing to the stability of our society.
IOs: International Organizations (IOs) are intergovernmental organizations (IGO) who are based around the collective security, which holds that an attack against one is an attack against all. The significance is understanding the role of the United Nations.
1. Explain the argument/logic behind each of the following claims, then critically evaluate each claim by subjecting it to analytic and empirical scrutiny. Cite readings whenever possible. i. War is becoming obsolete because of international tr: Kantian Tripod-Cost and ties
Fukayama-war is going out of fashion
Mueller-changing beliefs and norms
Waltz-nucear deterrance
â€œAt minimum, national governments are increasingly constrained. Over time, they may even become irrelevant or obsolete.â€ Do you agree with the quote? In what ways are national governments being undermined?: Bull
Gilpin

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