Study Guide for Midterm | International Relations | INR 2002, Exams of International Relations

Download Study Guide for Midterm | International Relations | INR 2002 and more Exams International Relations in PDF only on Docsity! 1 Study guide for the midterm Preface/Chapter 2 1) The definition of cooperation and bargaining. Cooperation: An interaction in which two or more actors adopt policies that make at least one actor better off relative to the status quo without making others worse off. Bargaining: an interaction in which actors must choose outcomes that make one better off at the expense of another. Bargaining is redistributive: it involves allocating a fixed sum of value between different actors. 2) The conditions under which cooperation is promoted (even without institution) --Number of members? Size of privilege groups? and so on… Smaller numbers of actors and groups makes for better cooperation 3) The concepts of institutions and actors Institutions: sets of rules, known and shared by the community, that structure political interactions in specific ways. Actors: the basic unit for the analysis of international politics; can be individuals or groups of people with common interests. 4) Definitions of the coordination/collaboration problems and examples Prisoner’s Dilemma: Coordination-Gain by making the same choices and subsequently have no incentive to not comply. Collaboration-Gain from working together but nonetheless have incentives to not comply with any agreement. 5) Definition of public good and the example of collective action problem Public Good: individually and socially desirable goods that are non-excludable and non- rival in consumption, such as national defense. Collective Action Problem: Obstacles to cooperation that occur when actors have incentives to collaborate but each acts in anticipation that others will pay the costs of cooperation. (Working in groups/if others are working why should you when you benefit from their work?) 6) The condition under which actors have an advantage from bargaining -- The concept of reversion outcome and how is it related to the advantage? -----Reversion outcome is what happens when no bargain is reached. Interests on reversion outcome affect the bargaining and the one more satisfied with the reversion outcome has less incentive to make concession. 7) The definition of anarchy and how is it related to international cooperation? With international cooperation there is lack of centralization, therefore there is nobody to enforce the actions of others. 8) The function and nature of international institutions Facilitate cooperation 2 Chapter 3 1) The cause of war? War happens from bargaining failures. -incomplete information -commitment problems -indivisible goods 2) Why do people bargain? To resolve disputes over the allocation of a good. 3) What make bargaining fail? How can we decrease the probability of war? - more information or less information? o Less information=bargaining failure. o More information=decreased probability - costly signal or cheap signal? o Cheap signal=bargaining fail o Costly signal=decrease probability - future power shift or stable power distribution? o Future power shift=bargaining fail o Stable power distribution=decrease probability - preventive war? o A war fought with the intention of preventing an adversary from becoming stronger in the future. Preventive wars arise because states whose power is increasing cannot commit not to exploit that power in future bargaining interactions. Chapter 4 1) Types of domestic actors? 1) Leaders who make foreign policy decisions: have the authority to make decisions. 2) Organized groups a. Bureaucracies b. Interest groups 3) General Public: matters when political leaders depend on public’s support. 2) Why would some domestic actors be willing to risk conflicts? -take the people’s minds off of economic hardship -secure their hold of power -re-election into office 3) General vs. narrow interests General: Something most actors within a country desire -security, economic well being