History & Theories
What are the implications of the anarchic system?
“Self-help” system where states must pursue power and compete against each other to survive. Makes conflict in international system unavoidable.
What is interstate vs. intrastate war?
Interstate - Sustained, organized violence between two international recognized groups
Intrastate (civil war) - War between factions within a state trying to create, or prevent, a new government for the entire state or some territorial part of it
What are the benefits of IOs (what can they do)?
Reduce “transaction costs” of cooperation – share information, facilitate negotiations
Set standards of behavior – formal rules and informal norms
Monitoring and enforcement to verify compliance and punish “cheating”
Resolve disputes
What are the types of foreign aid?
Bilateral; multilateral; private
Medium of exchange
Unit of account
Store of value
What "games" can be applied to collective action problems?
BoS; PD; Chicken
How does "bad nationalism" lead to civil war?
Democratization, weak institutions, past atrocities, social factors/cleavages, diaspora politics, power balance
5 permanent members (P5) – China, US, Russia, UK, France
10 rotating members who serve strict two-year terms
Resolutions must pass with a majority of at least 9 and have no vetoes by any of the P5
How does comparative advantage relate to free trade?
Comparative advantage: What you make should depend on efficiency AND the costs of making it
Free trade is all about specialization based on comparative advantage! States make what they are best (or least worst) at, then goods/services flow across state boundaries unimpeded by restrictions.
What are the types of exchange rate regimes, and how do they work?
Floating/flexible: Classic laissez-faire - government stays out and lets the market determine the value of the currency.
Fixed: Government guarantees a rate and maintains this “peg” against another currency.
What are the rationality and unitary actor assumptions?
Rationality: an actor can identify and prioritize interests and acts according to those interests/preferences.
Unitary: an actor (state) is a single entity that thinks coherently and makes choices accordingly.
How do natural resources cause conflict?
Opportunity for conflict
Easily lootable (funding)
Fight for secession over who has control
Terrain/population
What is the "catch" of IMF lending, and what forms does it come in?
Conditionality!
Types of conditions: fiscal austerity (budget cuts), tight monetary policy (higher interest rates), "structural adjustment" (privatization, liberalization)
What factors contribute to underdevelopment?
History (e.g. colonialism)
Geography (e.g. resource curse)
Government policies (e.g. corruption)
IPE (e.g. bias)
What are the pros/cons of FDI?
Pros:
Cons:
What is "relative power"? Who cares about it?
The ratio of the power that two states can bring to bear against each other.
Realists! Don't care if state's power is increasing overall - only if it is increasing relative to other states.
Use the three theories to explain if a world where more states possess nuclear weapons is a more peaceful world.
Realism: Yes! MAD and BoP.
Liberalism: Amount/presence of nuclear weapons doesn’t matter. Have cooperation via institutions and domestic constraints to facilitate peace regardless of how many/who nukes.
Constructivism/social theories: Depends on who has control of the button to launch the nukes. But with more nuclear actors, the risk of miscalculation or accident or terrorism could lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
What are some of the issues with trying to enforce human rights?
Gains from cooperation with enforcement are small while costs of enforcement are high
Double standards – states don’t want the law applied against themselves
Naming/shaming and sanctions – could provoke retaliation
What is the demographic transition? Why does IR care?
Demographic transition: poor countries, middle-income countries, and rich countries have different issues that arise due to population.
Population influences…
Explain financial crises using the two theories discussed in lecture.
Theory 1: “bad” government policies
Theory 2: market/investor “panic”
What are the three types of feminist theories?
Difference feminism: real differences between men & women, which result in real differences in outcomes.
Liberal feminism: no real differences between men & women, so there won't be different outcomes.
Postmodern feminism: gender roles are entirely socially constructed and flexible, so there's no inherent meaning in "man" or "woman" to apply to outcomes in the first place.
What are the three counterproliferation strategies for WMDs?
Prevention, persuasion, pre-emption
What are the five key institutions of the EU?
European Parliament
European Council
European Commission
European Court of Justice
European Central Bank
What is the relationship between the Heckscher-Olin (HO) and Stolper-Samuelson (SS) theorems?
HO answers how to determine comparative advantage - abundant factor(s) of production
SS builds on HO to answer who likes/opposes free trade - abundant factor benefits from and support free trade, whereas the scarce factor is hurt by/opposes free trade
How does the level of exchange rate interact with the exchange rate regime to determine who benefits from the economy?
Appreciation/Fixed Exchange Rate: people really tied to international economy (international bankers and investors)
Appreciation/Floating Exchange Rate: people who want cheap imports and strong purchasing power (domestic consumers)
Depreciation/Fixed Exchange Rate: export oriented producers
Depreciation/Floating Exchange Rate: import competing producers