Term
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Definition
| international wars or conflicts between states |
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Term
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Definition
| internal conflict, or civil wars within states |
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Term
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Definition
| concerned with where the focus lies in an explanation: whether it is on components [such as individuals or states] or on systems [such as international structures] |
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Term
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Definition
| explanation focusing on characteristics of relationships between two states; structuralists think the blame for war should be placed not on the internal structure of some states or on relationships between certain types of states, but on the structure of the international system in which all states and dyads must operate |
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Term
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Definition
| the idea that when one state enhances its power for security, this leads other states to do the same, thereby undermining security for all |
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Term
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Definition
| number of independent power centers, or poles, in the international system, which can be unipolar, bipolar, or multipolar |
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Term
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Definition
| term for unipolar system with one predominantly powerful state |
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Term
| Classical balance of power |
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Definition
| multipolar system in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe in which states balanced power with fluid alliances |
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Term
| Hegemonic stability theory |
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Definition
| idea that preeminent power of a hegemon allows it to enforce rules and deters others from initiating conflict |
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Term
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Definition
| idea that conflict is likely when rising states challenge weakening hegemons |
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Term
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Definition
| proposition that democratic states will not war against each other |
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Term
| Weapons of mass destruction (WMD) |
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Definition
| nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons |
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Term
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Definition
| preventing another actor from doing something they would otherwise do |
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Term
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Definition
| forcing another actor to do something they would not otherwise do |
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Term
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Definition
| formal associations in which states pledge to militarily protect each other in specified circumstances |
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Term
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Definition
| joining an alliance against states or coalitions whose superior resources could pose a threat |
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Term
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Definition
| joining an alliance with the superior power to share in the benefits of the alliance |
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Term
| Minimum winning coalitions |
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Definition
| alliances only as large as they must be to win |
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Term
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Definition
| how costs of alliance are distributed among member states |
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Term
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Definition
| efforts to limit or ban weapons in states’ military arsenals |
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Term
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Definition
| sales or gifts of military weapons |
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Term
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Definition
| typically inexpensive light weapons that an individual can carry |
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Term
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Definition
| competitive increase in armaments by two states or coalitions of states |
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Term
| Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty |
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Definition
| agreement creating military balance of conventional weapons between NATO and the Warsaw Pact at the end of the Cold War |
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Term
| International arms embargoes |
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Definition
| agreements to cease arms transfers to threatening or unstable states |
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Term
| Anti-Personnel Landmines Treaty |
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Definition
| agreements to ban production and export of land mines designed to harm or kill people |
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Term
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Definition
| the ability of a state to deliver a devastating counterattack after being attacked by nuclear weapons |
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Term
| Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) |
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Definition
| strategic doctrine based on the idea that war between the superpowers was deterred when they both were vulnerable to each other’s second-strike capability |
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Term
| Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) |
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Definition
| program to use a space-based technology to strike down incoming missiles |
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Term
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Definition
| scenario in which actors following individually rational strategies produce the least-desired outcome |
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Term
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Definition
| mathematical approach for predicting outcomes of actors’ interactions in various scenarios |
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Term
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Definition
| the spread of nuclear weapons into the hands of more actors |
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Term
| Nuclear Nonproliferation Theory (NPT) |
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Definition
| agreement in effect since the 1970s to prevent further nuclear proliferation and promote nuclear disarmament |
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Term
| Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) |
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Definition
| proposed agreement to ban nuclear weapons testing |
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Term
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Definition
| U.S.-Russian agreement to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear warheads by the year 2012 |
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Term
| Ballistic missile defense system (BMD) |
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Definition
| defense system designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles |
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Term
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Definition
| weapons that contain chemical elements, such as chlorine gas and mustard gas |
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Term
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Definition
| weapons that contain biological agents such as anthrax or plague bacteria |
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Term
| Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) |
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Definition
| voluntary agreement that seeks to control export and production of missile technology capable of carrying weapons of mass destruction |
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Term
| Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) |
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Definition
| agreement whereby signature states pledge to destroy their chemical weapons |
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Term
| Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention (BTWC) |
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Definition
| agreement banning production, stockpiling, and use of biological agents |
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Term
| Bargaining and negotiation |
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Definition
| formal and informal communication between actors |
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Term
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Definition
| bargaining strategy relying heavily on force and threats of force |
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Term
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Definition
| flexible bargaining strategy in which one side imitates or duplicates the kind of diplomatic moves made by the other actor |
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Term
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Definition
| government officials engaged in negotiations and bargaining |
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Term
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Definition
| assumptions that states are monolithic (speaking as one voice), with no divisions or opinions differences within the government or the larger society |
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Term
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Definition
| the approach to understanding international politics that focuses on how domestic actors seek to influence states actions and the ways in which foreign policy is made |
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Term
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Definition
| the idea that individuals make decisions through a process that includes clarification of goals, weighting of alternatives and consequences, and selection of optimal course of action |
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Term
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Definition
| focuses of leaders beliefs, personalities, and styles, and how individuals and groups process information and make decisions |
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Term
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Definition
| the attitudes that people have regarding their state’s goals and practices |
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Term
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Definition
| the people who attend to and are knowledgeable about foreign policy issues and international politics |
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Term
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Definition
| the underlying beliefs that the public holds and uses to judge foreign policy |
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Term
| Rally-round-the-flag effect |
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Definition
| an increase in a leader’s popularity following the use of force |
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Term
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Definition
| the negative relationship between high levels of troop causalities and public opinion |
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Term
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Definition
| an important power that can be used by the U.S president to speed up the process and decrease congressional influence on key trade legislation |
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Term
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Definition
| the final step necessary for a state to approve international agreements |
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Term
| Military-industrial complex |
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Definition
| network of defense contractors, the military, and government agencies that may work together to promote military and spending and other polices from which they benefit |
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Term
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Definition
| a freeing up of government revenue to be spent on other programs or returned to taxpayers rather than spending it on military |
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Term
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Definition
| the idea that political leaders attempt to divert attention away from internal conflict by initiating foreign conflict. Also referred to as the scapegoat hypothesis and the wag-the-dog effect |
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Term
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Definition
| dual pressure on leaders whereby international agreements can be forged only when they meet the concerns of both domestic and international audiences |
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Term
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Definition
| the mission of each bureaucratic agency, which may influence how it views the world and the foreign policies it prefers |
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Term
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Definition
| compromises caused by bureaucratic conflict that are not necessarily in the best interests of the state’s foreign policy |
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Term
| Standard operating procedures |
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Definition
| prearranged responses or routines used frequently by bureaucracies |
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Term
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Definition
| an approach to leaders that traces individuals’ beliefs back to early childhood experiences |
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Term
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Definition
| the beliefs of political leaders about the nature of the political universe and the means for dealing with other in politics |
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Term
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Definition
| set of beliefs or perceptions that leaders have about another country regarding its’ capabilities, motivations, political system, and culture |
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Term
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Definition
| the belief that another country is inherently threatening and immoral |
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Term
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Definition
| beliefs that a current situation, event, or leader is very similar to something or someone from the past |
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Term
| Cognitive consistency theories |
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Definition
| psychology theories that suggest humans seek out and attend to information that is consistent with the beliefs that they already hold |
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Term
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Definition
| leaders’ work habits, how they relate to those around them, and how they like to receive information, and how they make up their minds |
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Term
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Definition
| excessive concurrence seeking that can occur in small, highly cohesive groups |
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