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World Politics 150 Final Exam Preparation
Vocabulary and Concepts
33
Political Studies
Undergraduate 1
11/18/2013

Additional Political Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

 

 

 

 

UN General Assembly

Definition

 

 

This body is where representatives of all states sit together in a huge room, listen to speeches, and pass resolutions. This body coordinates a variety of development programs and other autonomous agencies through the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Term

 

 

 

UN Security Council

Definition

 

 

In this body five great powers and ten rotating member states make decisions about international peace and security. It dispatches peacekeeping forces to trouble spots.

Term

 

 

 

 

UN Secretariat

Definition

 

 

 

The administration of the UN takes place through this branch, led by the secretary-general of the UN.

Term

 

 

 

 

Peacebuilding

Definition
As UN peacekeeping has become more intensive in recent years, new missions have expanded the range of what are now called broadly peace operations. These peace operations include not only traditional peacekeeping but also the use of force to protect civilians (as in DRC), the supervision of elections (as in Liberia), and even running the government while a society gets back on its feet (as in Cambodia, East Timor, and Kosovo). In an effort to provide longer-term support after wars, in 2005 the UN created a Peacebuilding Commission to coordinate reconstruction, institution building, and economic recovery efforts after peacekeeping missions end.
Term

 

 

 

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Definition


Many poor countries depend on export revenues to finance economic development, making them vulnerable to fluctuations in commodity prices and other international trade problems. This body negotiates international trade agreements to stabilize commodity prices and promote development. Because countries of the global South do not have much power in the international economy, however, this body has little leverage to promote their interests in trade.

Term

 

 

 

 

World Health Organization (WHO)

Definition

 

 

In the area of health care, this Geneva-based organization provides technical assistance to improve conditions and conduct major immunization campaigns in poor countries.

Term

 

 

 

 

World Court

Definition

 

As international law has developed, a general world framework in which states can pursue grievances against each other has begun to take shape. The rudiments of such a system now exist in this body (formally called the International Court of Justice), although its jurisdicition is limited and its caseload light.

Term

 

 

 

 

Immigration law

Definition

 

When people cross a border into a new country, the decision about whether they can remain there, and under what conditions, is up to the new state. The state of origin cannot compel their return. National laws establish conditions for foreigners to travel and visit on a state's territory, to work there, and sometimes become citizens.

Term

 

 

 

 

Diplomatic recognition

Definition
The status of embassies and of an ambassador as an official state representative is explicitly defined in the process of diplomatic recognition. Diplomats are accredited to each other's governments (they present "credentials"), and thereafter the individuals so defined enjoy certain rights and protection as foreign diplomats in the host country.
Term

 

 

 

 

Diplomatic immunity

Definition

 

Alone among all foreign nationals, diplomats are beyond enforcement of the host country's national courts. If they commit crimes, from jaywalking to murder, they may be shielded from arrest. All the host country can do is take away a diplomat's accreditation and expel the person from the host country.

Term

 

 

 

 

Human rights

Definition

 

 

 

 

The rights of human beings against certain abuses of their own governments.

Term

 

 

 

 

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)

Definition
In 1948, the UN General Assembly adopted what is considered the core international document concerning human rights. This document does not have the force of international law, but it sets forth (hoped-for) international norms regarding behavior by governments toward their own citizens and foreigners alike. This document roots itself in the principle that violations of human rights upset international order (causing outrage, sparking rebellion, etc.) and in the fact that the UN Charter commits states to respect fundamental freedoms. The declaration proclaims that "all human beings are born free and equal."
Term

 

 

 

 

Amnesty International

Definition

 

 

This is an NGO that operates globally to monitor and try to rectify glaring abuses of human rights. This organization has a reputation for impartiality and has criticized abuses in many countries, including the United States.

Term

 

 

 

 

Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Definition

 

 

 

This norm holds that governments worldwide must act to save civilians from genocide or crimes against humanity perpetrated or allowed by their own governments.

Term

 

 

 

 

War crimes

Definition

 

These are large-scale abuses of human rights that often occur during war. In wartime, international law is especially difficult to enforce, but extensive norms of legal conduct in war as well as international treaties are widely followed.

Term

 

 

 

 

Crimes against humanity

Definition

 

 

 

These are inhuman acts and persecutions against civilians on a vast scale in the pursuit of unjust ends.

Term

 

 

 

 

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Definition

 

Following up on the UN tribunals for former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, in 1998 most of the world's states signed a treaty o create a permanent court. This court hears cases of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity from anywhere in the world. America has refused to ratify the agreement creating this court.

Term

 

 

 

 

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Definition

 

This committee provides practical support––such as medical care, food, and letters from home–– to civilians caught in wars and to POWs. Exchanges of POWs are usually negotiated through this committee. Armed forces must respect the neutrality of this committee, and usually do so.

Term

 

 

 

 

Balance of trade

Definition

 

 

 

This commercial principle is the value of a state's imports relative to its exports. A state that exports more than it importa has a trade surplus.

Term

 

 

 

 

Comparative advantage

Definition


The overall success of liberal economics is due to the substantial gains that can be realized through trade. The gains result from this commercial principle that different states enjoy in producing different goods (a concept pioneered by economists Adam Smith and David Ricardo 200 years ago). States differ in their abilities to produce certain goods because of differences in natural resources, labor force characteristics, technology, and other such factors.

Term

 

 

 

 

Autarky

Definition

 

 

One obvious way to avoid becoming dependent on other states, especially for a weak state whose trading partners would tend to be more powerful, is to avoid trading and instead to try to produce everything it needs by itself.

Term

 

 

 

 

Protectionism

Definition

 

 

Although few states pursue strategies of autarky, many states try to manipulate international trade to strengthen one or more domestic industries and shelter them from world markets.

Term

 

 

 

 

World Trade Organization (WTO)

Definition

 

This organization is a global, multilateral IGO that promotes, monitors, and adjudicates international trade. Together with the regional and bilateral arrangements described shortly, this organization shapes the overall expectations and practices of states regarding international trade.

Term

 

 

 

 

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Definition

 

 

This treaty was created in 1947 to facilitate freer trade on a multilateral basis. This treaty was more of a negotiating framework than an administrative institution. It did not actually regulate trade.

Term

 

 

 

 

Most-favored nation (MFN)

Definition

 

This is a concept, which says that trade restrictions imposed by a WTO member on its most-favored trading partner must be applied equally to all WTO members. If Australia applies a 20 percent tariff on auto parts imported from France, it must not apply a 40 percent tariff on auto parts imported from the United States.

Term

 

 

 

 

Generalized System of Preferences (GSP)

Definition

 

 

An exception to the MFN system is this system, dating from the 1970s, by which rich states give trade concessions to poor ones to help their economic development.

Term

 

 

 

 

Centrally planned economy

Definition

 

 

In this type of economy, political authorities set prices and decide on quotas for production and consumption of each commodity according to a long-term plan, and international trade occurs at government-controlled prices.

Term

 

 

 

 

Transitional economies

Definition

 

 

These are economies that are now shifting from the former Soviet centrally-planned economies to market-based economies connected to the world capitalist economies.

Term

 

 

 

 

Multinational corporations (MNCs)

Definition
These are companies based in one state with affiliated branches or subsidiaries operating in other states. Most important are industrial corporations, which make goods in factories in various countries and sell them to businesses and consumers in various countries. Financial corporations (the most important being banks) also operate multinationally––although often with more restrictions than industrial corporations. These types of companies also include service corporations such as fast-food chains, telephone companies, and international airline companies.
Term

 

 

 

 

Foreign direct investment

Definition

 

Unlike portfolio investment (on paper), this type of investment involves tangible goods such as factories and office buildings (including ownership of a sizable fraction of a company's stock, as opposed to a portfolio with little bits of many companies).

Term

 

 

 

 

Millenium Development Goals

Definition

 

In UN in 2000 adopted these goals, which set targets for basic needs measures to be achieved by 2015 and measured against 1990 data. The first of the eight goals is to cut in half the proportion of the world's population living in "extreme poverty," defined as income of less than $1 per day (in 1990 dollars, or about $1.25 today).

Term

 

 

 

 

Infant mortality rate

Definition

 

 

This rate is the proportion of babies who die within their first year. This rate is an excellent indicator of overall health because it reflects a population's access to nutrition, water, shelter, and health care.

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