Concepts
What is anarchy?
The idea that there is no world government or overarching authority.
What treaty formalized the entities we call states within global politics?
The Peace of Westphalia (1648)
What does it mean when a state has "tied its hands" while bargaining?
It means that a state has made a visible threat that it cannot back down from.
What are the three primary causes of war?
1) Incomplete Information
2) Commitment Problems
3) Indivisibility
What is "irredentism" in civil wars?
The desire to detach a region from one country and attach it to another, usually because of shared ethnic or religious ties
What is sovereignty?
The expectation that states have legal and political supremacy—or ultimate authority—within their territorial boundaries.
What is the era defined by British hegemony and relative peace between major powers?
Pax Britannica
What is zero-sum bargaining?
Bargaining where whatever actor A gains, actor B loses.
What is democratic peace theory?
The observation that there are few, if any, clear cases of war between mature democratic states
What is an insurgency?
A military strategy in which small, often lightly armed units engage in hit-and-run attacks against military, government, and civilian targets
What is Max Weber's definition of a state?
A central authority with a monopoly on the legitimate use of physical force within a specified territory
The "third world" refers to?
State outside of the US-allied capitalist bloc ("first world") and the Soviet-allied communist bloc ("second world")?
What two factors can encourage cooperation between states?
Iteration and Information
What is the rally effect?
The tendency for people to become more supportive of a country’s government in response to dramatic international events, such as crises or war
What is a proxy war?
A conflict in which two opposing states “fight” by supporting opposite sides in a war, such as the government and rebels in a third state
What is the collective action problem?
The collective action problem is posed by disincentives that tend to discourage joint action by individuals in the pursuit of a common goal. (Free riding)
What is a collective security organization?
Broad-based institutions that promote peace and security among their members.
Explain the prisoners dilemma.
Answers Vary (Actors choose suboptimal outcome due to lack of trust)
What is the military-industrial complex?
An alliance between military leaders and the industries that benefit from international conflict, such as arms manufacturers
It means that the actors are pursuing their interests through strategic behaviors
What is an institution?
A sets of rule (formal or informal), known and shared by the community, that structure political interactions in specific ways.
What is the P5?
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council (US, France, U.K., Russia, and China)
How do institutions help states resolve conflicts in bargaining (4 Answers)?
1. Institutions set standards of behavior
2. Institutions help actors verify compliance
3. Institutions reduce costs of join decision-making
4. Institutions help resolve disputes
How can states make war less likely (4 Answers)?
1) Raise the costs of war
2) Increase transparency
3) Have outside enforcement
4) Divide indivisible goods
What is the best method of preventing civil war according to the lecture?
Economic development and Democracy