Term
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Definition
¨an organized political unit that has a geographic territory, stable population and a capacity to govern and that is legally recognized by other states.
¨a large social system that are enforced by the government, highest source of decision within its borders and the ultimate representative of this social system outside its borders (sovereignty)
¨Monopoly on legitimate violence (Weber)
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Term
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Definition
¨Nation- an imagined community (Anderson)-horizontal bond of a large group people based on common culture, language, history, ancestry etc…. (subjective)
¨Nation-State-overlap of the political entity with the national entity, political unit inhabited by people that share sense of common nationality |
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Term
| International Organizations |
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Definition
¨IGOs-International organizations composed of member states
¨NGOs-International organizations with private membership |
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Term
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Definition
Descriptive/Positive-factual statements about the world
(US and Russia have about 7800 nuclear warheads)
Normative/Prescriptive-value based statements, that suggest how things SHOULD be (while using facts)
(US and Russia have enough nuclear weapons to destroy the whole world. Nukes should be abolished.) |
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Term
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Definition
Key question in IR is: what are the causes of war?
Human nature: selfish, immoral, pursuit of self-interest (other passions do exist but not that important)
International relations are mostly about power
Domestic society is hierarchical while
International system: anarchy (absence of world orderer, no higher power above the state)
Thus:
Within the state human nature is tamed by the domestic hierarchy
In International realm; the law of the jungle prevails
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Term
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Definition
—States are the principal actors in IR (sovereignty)
—States’ main interest is to survive
—Survival is achieved through increase in power
—Relations among states are determined by their capabilities (power)
—Power is defined in purely materialistic terms (military and economy)
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Term
| Change to Neo/Structural realism |
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Definition
—Kenneth Waltz Theory of International Politics (1979):
Individual and state levels are gone
Focus solely on structure
Two forms of structure: hierarchy and anarchy
Anarchy is the international structure-no supreme authority above the state
Security dilemma: one state cannot be sure about what are the intentions and actions of other states, thus to survive states maximize their security
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Term
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Definition
States are monolithic: international relations are like a billiard table
States are rational actors: they want to survive and maximize their utilities
Difference in states behavior: only because of different power capabilities
Balance of power: no one state has more power than other states or coalition of states
Balance of power: peace
Failure in the balance of power: war
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