Individual Level
A term describing the idea that humans are taught and conditioned to behave in certain ways - such as to engage in or avoid conflict.
What is nurture?
A war that occurs between parties within a sovereign state.
What is Civil War?
A term that describes the loyalty and identity involved with belonging to a state or state-like group.
What is nationalism?
The state that has the most power and influence in a political system.
What is a Hegemon?
A fancier term for "country" or "nation" in the international system.
What is a state?
A term that captures the idea that it is the biology of humans that explains conflict.
What is nature?
A premeditated violent act, driven by a cause, and meant to instill fear.
What is terrorism?
When an individual either gives up or loses their independent thinking to a group or mass of people.
What is groupthink or de-individuating?
The theory that states in the international system either seek or naturally desire to maintain an equilibrium in the distribution of strength.
What is balance of power?
What we call a system that has no higher authority at all.
When any one individual has an extraordinary influence over history - possibly their actions are even an explanation for war.
What is the Great Man Theory?
A term we could use for a conflict that has drawn the involvement of international organizations, multinational corporations, and/or other states.
The struggle for a peoples without statehood to attain it. (Could be violent or non-violent.)
What is self-determination?
The idea that equilibrium shifts may give us clues as to the likelihood of conflict occurring, particularly when a hegemon is challenged.
What is hegemonic (or power) transition theory?
The autonomy of states that is characterized by an alignment of territory and political authority.
What is sovereignty?
The idea that an individual leader may decide to engage in conflict to turn attention away from negative economic or political developments at home.
What is the Wag the Dog Theory?
A protracted (ongoing) conflict in which participants are benefiting to the degree such that it is in their interest for the conflict not to end.
What is a "New War"?
What Balkan country disintegrated in the 1990s into separate states - with nationalism as a driving force?
What is Yugoslavia?
The concept that the more states are bound together via trade, organizations, immigration, etc., the less likely they will be to go to war.
A set of ideas that is meant to explain and possibly predict something.
What is a theory?
An academic term for when a scholar puts forward an idea as legitimate just for the purpose of defeating it - all for the purpose of giving credibility to their idea.
What is a straw man?
An aspirational term that describes individuals or societies taking affirmative steps to uphold justice, equality, mutual respect.
What is positive peace?
The two sects of Islam; which provide an example of religious conflict.
What are Sunnis and Shiites or Shia
The idea that defensive moves are perceived as offensive, thus establishing a self-sustaining cycle of militarization.
Post 1648 the modern state system was established. This is also sometimes referred to as the ______ system.
What is the Wesphalian system?