Frameworks of analysis
Sovereignty
Supreme authority over a defined territory
An analysis of international relations that focuses on the individual, human level.
Anarchy
A state where each person struggles to survive. It is characterized by extreme competition and the lack of higher authority.
International regime
A set of inplicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and procedures that international actors agree and respect.
Norm
Behaviors that are considered normal and appropriate within a particular society
Peace of Westphalia
Peace treaties signed at the end of the Thirty Years' War. It created a modern state system, where each country has sovereignty over a defined territory.
A situation which actions taken by a state to increase its own security causes reactions from other states.
Hegemonic stability
Complex interdependence
Kantian World Society
The shared interests and values linking all parts of the human community, which sometimes has moral concerns outside the scope of international society.
Collective action problem
Bureaucratic politics
Each organization attempts to maximize the interests of its organization. Where you stand depends on where you sit.
Buck-passing
Transfer the burden to balance to others who might be closer to the threat
Democratic peace
A theory that posits that democracies do not fight each other
Social construction
The meaning placed that has been created and accepted by the people in a society
Institution
Set of rules, known and shared by the relevant community. They can be either formal or informal.
Hedging
When weaker states avoid taking sides between great powers, so that they can some sorts of insurance in an uncertain competition
Revisionist states
States that desire to change the current power distribution to its favor
Iteration
Repeated interactions that make actors less likely to defect because they can learn about other's preferences
Mutual constitution
Actors are shaped and shapers of the environment. The international system is not static, but being shaped by actors who have agency to change things.
Outside option
Whether or not a state has supplies from other places that it is not in conflict with
Reflectivism
A study that is based on the interpretation of norms and beliefs, rather than assuming that individuals always use cost and benefit analysis.
Melian dialogue
A dialogue between Melos and Athenian, which represents a conversation between the strong and the weak. "The strong do what they can, the weak suffer what they must."
Principle-agent theory
The ability of international organizations to pursue and shape multilateral agendas independently, instead of serving the interests of the member states.
Intersubjectivity
The subjective meaning of something that is shared by people in the society.