Ch1
a) State one of the definitions of politics that we used in class.
b) Why is politics an inevitable part of human life?
who gets what, when, where, and how
group decision making about insitutions that govern our lives; decides what is implemented and how it is interpreted
inevitable because we are social creatures who care about advancing varying interests
What are the five core principles of international relations, according to Professor Souva?
1. A leader's primary goal is to retain office
2. (Domestic) Institutions influence behavior
3. Expectations of others significantly affect behavior
4. Relative power significantly affects behavior
5. Cognitive biases are common
What is another name for the credible commitment problem?
time inconsistency problem
What is the democratic peace?
democracies rarely, if ever, go to war with each other
Who are the P5 (permanent five members of the UN Security Council)? How many members are on the Security Council? How long are the terms of the non-permanent members?
USA, Russia, China, UK, France +
10 members, 2 years
What are institutions? How do they affect behavior?
humanly devised contrainsts; laws and norms
affect behavior by creating incentives
What is the most common issue in dispute in war?
territorial disputes
Based on the textbook and lecture, do poor domestic political conditions (e.g. a poor economy) cause bargaining failure (i.e. interstate war)? Explain why or why not?
no, diversionary theory
a leader will start a cinflict or war with another country to distract their domestic population from domestic problems by creating a common enemy
flawed because assumes the public are fools
Provide an explanation for why democracies, and only democracies, rarely fight each other.
democracies are more willing to compromise because the compromise should be less harmful to them retaining office
more costly conflict, not very good for retaining office
citizens of a democracy think a war with another democracy is morally unjust/wrong
Which is more common over the last thirty years, civil war or interstate war?
civil war
What are institutions? How do they affect behavior?
what people want/their goals
primary interest is retaining office
Given that war is costly, why does it occur?
Bargaining failure
Based on insights from the bargaining model, what are three ways to make war less likely? Connect each solution for peace to a cause of bargaining failure.
making war more costly reduces commitment and information problems
costly signals reduce information problems
creative solutions to divide things that seem indivisible
Given that there is no organization to enforce an alliance contract, why form an alliance? What do strong states get from an alliance with a weak state?
costly signal of one's resolve/commitment
increased influence, possible improvement in security
Where do civil wars tend to occur?
poor countries, poor neighborhoods
How does interaction affect behavior?
through expectations of how others will behave or respond will influence one's choice
What is another name for the information problem?
risk-return trade-off
What are the two primary causes of bargaining failure from Chapter 3? Explain how each leads to bargaining failure.
credible commitment problems: time inconsistency problem, relative power changes, actor does not have an incentive to abide by their word
information problems: incomplete, incentive to misrepresent, the bargaining ranges for two actors do not overlap because of incomplete information about resolve
Why are alliances (either bilateral or multilateral) difficult to make credible? How do you make an alliance credible? Provide an example.
costly to fulfill an alliance
joint military exercises, unified defense structure/command
Which source of bargaining failure is most commonly present in the outbreak of civil war? Explain how this often operates in a civil war context.
credible commitment problems
?: minority ruling over a majority, minority fears change of power because they would lose control of weapons; creates concerns about the other
?: whoever controls government has most power, rebel group trying to take over governemnt, if they succeed they have control over weapons; changes incentives to abide over any agreements
Why is it often difficult to solve political problems? (Hint: Why is it often difficult to achieve cooperation, reach a bargaining agreement, or address a delegation problem?)
different interests, different/competing incentives, structure of many situations, different information
Why is the information problem so difficult to resolve?
bargaining ranges do not overlap due to incomplete information about resolve with the incentive to misrepresent a full capacity of capabilities
What are the five causes of a credible commitment problem affecting choices for war or peace?
preemtive war
preventive war
strategic territory
expected change in domestic politics
long term cost of peace is greater than the immediate cost of war today
Why is collective security difficult to realize, or why can't the UN keep the peace? What two problems make it difficult to achieve collective security?
collective action problem
joint decision making problem, they do not agree
How does trade increase aggregate wealth?
new markets
more efficency
specialization
division of labor
less expensive and better products