International Relations Key Concepts

• Study notes are as follows:

Audience Cost

• In international relations theory, domestic political cost occurs when leaders deviate from their constituency's expectations during a foreign policy crisis.
• Escalating a foreign policy crisis and then backing down can incur significant domestic political costs for leaders.

Bargaining Range

• Refers to the space where two or more parties can agree on a decision or policy, also known as "middle ground."

Brinkmanship

• Involves a person or country pushing a situation to the edge of disaster or conflict, hoping the other side will back down first.
• It entails taking calculated risks to force someone to agree, while aiming to avoid catastrophic outcomes.

Capabilities

• Refer to the resources, power, or abilities that a person, group, or country possesses to influence decisions, shape outcomes, or achieve goals.
• Shapes outcomes because capabilities are the tools that enable actors to get things done in politics.

Civil War

• Conflict within a country where different groups, political factions, regions, or ethnic groups fight each other for control or to change how the country is governed.

Coercive Diplomacy

• Uses threats or pressure to make another country do something or change its behavior without resorting to war.

Commitment Problem

• Occurs when one side in a conflict or negotiation doesn't trust the other side to keep its promises.
• Occurs when an actor makes a promise, but there are concerns about whether they will uphold their commitment.

Compellence

• Involves one country or group forcing another to do something by using threats or pressure.

Credible Threat

• A threat that others believe is real and likely to happen if certain conditions are met, demonstrates the threat-maker's power and willingness to act on it.

Crisis Bargaining

• Occurs when countries or groups negotiate during a time of crisis or conflict, aiming to avoid worse outcomes.
• Often involves arguing over something important and trying to strike a deal quickly to prevent a bigger fight.

Democratic Peace Theory

• Posits that democratic countries are less likely to go to war with each other due to shared values and a preference for peaceful relations.

Deterrence

• Prevents someone from doing something by threatening them with a harsh response.

Diversionary War

• A war started by a country to distract its people from domestic problems like economic issues or political unrest.

Extended Deterrence

• Involves promising to protect an ally by threatening to use force if the ally is attacked as a form of protection for involved parties.

First Strike Advantage

• Occurs when a country may have an upper hand if it strikes first in a conflict, especially in situations like war.
• Getting the first hit in a fight gives a better chance to win before the other person can react.

Incomplete Information

• Occurs when one or both sides in a conflict or negotiation do not know enough about the other side's intentions, strengths, or plans.

Invisible Good

• Refers to something that cannot be divided or shared easily between two sides, often creating a sense of deprivation for the party left out.

Interstate War

• A conflict between two or more countries.

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

• Also known as the Iran nuclear deal, an agreement made in 2015 between Iran and major world powers (U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, Germany).
• Placed limits on Iran's nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions, aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons while allowing them to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Limited War

• A conflict where the fighting is restricted in some way, such as in terms of goals, weapons, or the area of fighting.

Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD)

• Involves two or more countries having enough nuclear weapons to completely destroy each other.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

• An international agreement designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

Nuclear Umbrella

• Involves a country offering protection to its allies by promising to use nuclear weapons in their defense if needed.

Preemptive War

• Attacks first because it believes that an attack from the other side is imminent or about to happen.

Preventive War

• Attacks another, not because an attack is imminent, but because it believes that the other country could become a future threat.

Prisoner's Dilemma

• A situation in politics where two parties have to make a decision without knowing what the other will do, where both have a choice to cooperate or act in their self-interest.
• Cooperation benefits both, betrayal benefits the betrayer at the other's expense, and mutual betrayal leaves both worse off.

Rally Effect

• Occurs when a country's people unite and show more support for their leaders, usually during a time of crisis or conflict.
• Often involves people putting aside differences to support their government in a national emergency.

Resolve

• Involves addressing an issue and coming to an agreement or decision that ends the disagreement or dispute.

Total War

• Uses all its resources, including its entire population, economy, and military, to fight the enemy.
• The goal is not just to defeat the enemy's army, but to completely break their ability to resist, often targeting civilian areas and industries.

Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs)

• Includes nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, can cause huge destruction and kill large numbers of people, and are dangerous due to their potential impact on entire cities or regions.