Sect 1-5
Shifting baselines syndrome
Shifting baselines syndrome happens when people measure change against the conditions
they first encountered, rather than in the context of a deepeer past. It exaggerates the
stability of the current situation and obscures the influence of long-term structural forces.
Levels of analysis
A way of organizing variables in international relations. The levels range from the international
system, to the state, to subnational organizations, to individuals.
Balancing, Bandwagoning, Buckpassing
Three types of strategies states adopt in response to rising powers. Balancing involves trying to
counter it. Bandwagoning means trying to side with it (if you can’t beat them, join them).
Buckpassing means trying to avoid the cost of balancing by letting others do it.
Product technology/process technology
Innovation can occur through new products or through new ways of producing them. Product
technology refers to the creation of entirely new goods or services, while process technology
refers to more efficient or cost-effective ways of making existing goods.
ECSC/EEC/EU
The European Coal and Steel Community was the first major step in postwar European
integration, pooling key industries to prevent renewed conflict. It evolved into the European
Economic Community, which created a common market, and ultimately into today’s European
Union, a political-economic union with supranational institutions, free movement, and shared
policies across many domains.
Huntington, Clash of Civilizations
Samuel Huntington argued that in the post-Cold War World, conflicts would be driven
less by political ideology, economics, or material power than by cultural divisions.
Differences among civilizations—large cultural groupings—would be the main source of
global conflict.
Ricardo, Comparative Advantage
David Ricardo’s notion of “comparative advantage” shows how nations gain from specializing in
what they are most efficient at producing, even if others are more efficient still. It remains
fundamental to arguments for free trade.
Nordic Model
A contemporary form of social democracy practiced in countries such as Sweden, Norway, and
Denmark, characterized by robust welfare states, high unionization, progressive taxation, and
open, competitive markets.
1947 Partition
The division of British India into the independent states of India and Pakistan. The partition of
the subcontinent was accompanied by one of history’s largest and bloodiest mass migrations,
with millions displaced and hundreds of thousands killed amid communal violence
Zeitenwende
Zeitenwende (“historical turning point”) is the term Chancellor Olaf Scholz used after Russia’s
2022 invasion of Ukraine to signal a dramatic shift in German security policy. It entails major
increases in defense spending, rethinking energy dependence on Russia, and a broader
acceptance of geopolitical competition.
Band, tribe, chiefdom, state, empire
Terms used by anthropologists to describe political evolution in stages, reflecting
increasing complexity and hierarchy. Bands are small kin groups, tribes are larger kin-
based groups, chiefdoms have organized hierarchies, states have centralized governments
and administrative bureaucracies, and empires are multi-state dominions.
Zakaria, Illiberal democracy
Fareed Zakaria coined the term illiberal democracy to refer to political systems that had
democratic procedures and elections but lacked the safeguards of constitutional liberalism—
checks and balances on executive power, protections of individual rights, and the rule of law. It
has since been embraced by some regimes, such as Victor Orban’s Hungary
Tannenwald, nuclear taboo
Nina Tannenwald argues that the non-use of nuclear weapons since 1945 cannot be explained by
deterrence alone. She identifies a powerful normative prohibition—the “nuclear taboo”—that
delegitimizes nuclear use and constrains decision-makers.
BRICS AND +
An acronym for a grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China, later joined by South Africa. It refers
to a bloc of large emerging economies seeking greater influence in global governance,
development financing, and alternatives to Western-dominated institutions.
No First Use
A no-first-use pledge is a commitment never to initiate nuclear use. Advocates argue it could
reduce crisis instability; critics warn it could weaken deterrence by casting doubt on retaliatory
resolve.
Peace of Westphalia AND Balance of Power, Concert of Europe
The Peace of Westphalia (1648) ended the Thirty Years’ War in Europe. It recognized
state authority over religion and borders and is considered the origin of the modern state
system based on sovereignty and non-interference.The balance of power is a system in which no single state dominates, with order
maintained through shifting alliances to counter aspiring hegemons. The Concert of
Europe was its institutional form in Europe after the Napoleonic Wars, set up at the
Congress of Vienna (1814-1815).
Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a global think tank; its 1972 report The Limits to Growth warned of
ecological and economic collapse if exponential growth continued unchecked. It helped shape
discourse and spark environmental activism, but its alarmism about resource constraints did not
age well.
Lukes, three faces of power
In Power: A Radical View (1974), Steven Lukes proposed that power operates on three levels:
visible decision-making (who wins in disputes), agenda-setting (what issues are considered at
all), and preference-shaping (how desires and beliefs are formed).
Strategic ambiguity
The U.S. policy approach toward the Taiwan Strait, adopted after the 1979 normalization of
relations with Beijing. It leaves uncertain what the U.S. response to a Chinese attack on Taiwan
would be, to deter both Chinese aggression and a unilateral Taiwanese declaration of
independence.
Offshoring/onshoring/nearshoring/friendshoring
Offshoring shifts production to lower-cost or specialized foreign locations; onshoring brings it
back home for security or resilience; nearshoring moves it to geographically closer countries;
and friendshoring relocates supply chains to political allies. Together they describe a spectrum of
corporate and state strategies for balancing efficiency, risk, and geopolitics in a fracturing global
economy.
Communism AND Fascism AND Social Democracy
Communism is a political and economic system advocating collective ownership of the
means of production, the abolition of private property, and the eventual creation of a
classless society. Inspired by the writings of Marx and Engels in the 19th century, it was
implemented in the USSR, PRC, and other states during the 20th century.
Fascism refers to a group of modern mass political movements that opposed liberalism
and democracy, glorified violence and the state, and sought to install a new type of
political order featuring a unified and purified nation guided by a powerful authoritarian
leader.
Social democracy is a political ideology that seeks to reconcile capitalism with
democracy and social justice, preserving private property and a market-based economy
but subjecting them to democratic political control aimed at promoting both public and
private goods.
Carlyle, Great man theory of history
Thomas Carlyle’s notion that history is shaped by the deeds of extraordinary individuals, whose
vision and character drive events more than broad structural forces. It emphasizes leadership and
contingency.
Dubois, color line
In The Souls of Black Folk (1903), W. E. B. Du Bois declared that the central problem of the
20th century was the “problem of the color line.” He meant both the U.S. racial divide under Jim
Crow and the global structures of white supremacy in colonialism.
Camp David Accords
The 1978 Camp David Accords was an agreement between Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and
Israeli Prime minister Menachem Begin, brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter, that led to
Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in exchange for Egyptian recognition. It marked the
first Arab Israeli peace treaty and dramatically reshaped regional alignments. Although frosty,
the peace between Egypt and Israel has held ever since.
Weaponized interdependence
The use of a state’s privileged position in global networks — financial, digital, logistical — to
coerce others by exploiting chokepoints. Coined by Farrell and Newman, it explains how
globalization created asymmetric vulnerabilities that the U.S., China, and EU increasingly
leverage for sanctions, surveillance, and strategic pressure.