Poli Econ Chapter 1
Terms
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- international political economy (IPE)
- The interdisciplinary social science that studies questions raised by the political and economic interactions of nations. IPE studies complex interdependent webs created by international trade, migration, finance, and technology flows and the international security arrangements that condition them.
- globalization
- The process by which all of the structures of IPE have become less strictly associated with the boundaries of the nation-state. Globalization also connotes increasing economic interdependence as well as the spread of Western (US) cultural influence all over the world.
- interdependence
- Usually thought of as interconnectedness between nations and other actors in the international political economy conditioned by trade, aid, finance, and investment. Reactions to interdependence include the need to cooperate but also negative reactions related to the vulnerability and sensitivity in engenders.
- nation-state
- Synonymous with the term "country," since the 17th century the nation-state has been the major political (sovereign) unit of the international system. The nation-state joins the nation- a group of people with a shared sense of cultural identity and territoriality- with the state- a legal concept describing a social group that occupies a territory and is organized under common political institutions and an effective government. As sovereign entities, nation-states have the right to determine their own national objectives and to decide how they will achieve them.
- state
- A legal concept describing a social group that occupies a defined territory and is organized under common political institutions and en effective government. A state has some degree of interdependence and autonomy. States are the primary units of the international political and legal community. As sovereign entities, states have the right to determine their own national objectives and the techniques (including the use of force) for their achievement.
- sovereignty
- Interdependence from sovereign control.
- relational power
- Power of one actor vis-a-vis (face to face) another based on the hard and soft power that each possesses.
- structural power
- The power that an actor possesses because of its position in the international system and its ability to "shape the rules of the game."
- hard power
- Military and in some cases economic power. Hard power refers to state tools to influence, persuade, or coerce through the direct application of power and wealth.
- soft power
- The power to influence the environment of international affairs through such intangible factors as culture, values, and ideals. Soft power is less direct than hard power but sometimes more effective.
- market
- A form of social organization based on individual action and self-interest. Individuals exchange goods and services through market institutions. Markets are sometimes distinct physical places, but the term market generally refers to the broader market forces of profit and self-interest.
- market system
- The basic political, social, and economic elements that comprise the exchange of goods and services either locally or the world over. In an age of increasing globalization, the exchange of goods and services for most specific items cannot be thought of as discreet and interdependent. Rather, local markets have become part of a wider market network that links people and economies around the world.
- mercantilism
- A 17th century idea that won't go away, mercantilism was an ideology that put accumulation of national treasure as the main goal of society. Today, it is an economic philosophy and practice of government regulation of a nation's economic life to increase state power and security. Policies of import restriction and export promotion (to accumulate treasure at the expense of other countries) follow from this goal.
- liberalism
- The IPE perspective that focusses on the individual and the primacy of freedom or liberty. There are many varieties of liberalism today, which reflect different points of view regarding the proper role of the state in private activities.
- structuralism
- A theory that accounts for the political-economic interconnectedness (structural relationship) between any number of entities. A number of ties bind these entities to one another, including trade, foreign aid, and direct investment. Much debate exists as to whether and how structural conditions can be changed and reformed.
- levels of analysis
- The three levels of analysis are the individual, the state, and the international system. The levels-of-analysis approach was originally developed by political scientist Kenneth Waltz to help in understanding difference of opinion regarding the fundamental sources of international conflict and war.
- IPE structures
- security structure, production and trade structure, finance and monetary structure, knowledge and technology structure
- security structure
- The sets of institutions, practices, and beliefs that condition international behavior as it relates to international security issues.
- production and trade structure
- The institutions and practices that condition the production, exchange, and distribution of goods and services in the international political economy. International trade is a key component of the production structure. Essentially, the factors that determine what is produced, where, how, by whom, for whom, and on what terms.
- finance and monetary structure
- The system of institutions, practices, and arrangements that condition the use and exchange of financial resources. The international monetary system and the institutions that condition the distribution and payment of international debts are parts of the finance structure.
- knowledge and technology structure
- The set of institutions and practices that condition the production, exchange, and distribution of information and intellectual and technological goods and services, property rights, and their associated benefits.