Cisalpetia
22-09-2005, 01:03
I'm going to post some things people should keep in mind when addressing issues related to international relations and politics. More to follow. Comments?
International Relations: (IR) A branch of political science that deals with foreign affairs and relations between states. This includes non-state actors like corporations and international organizations.
Note that IR draws on a huge range of disciplines, including philosophy, sociology, law, history, economics, and anthropology
Nation: A people who share common customs, origins, history, and language. Note that a nation is not necessarily a state. Nations have no specific population limit or geographical requirement (San Marino) See Kurds, Palestinians.
State: To be considered a country, a state must have territory, government, and population and also must have international recogntion of its borders. A state necessarily has a nation.
Realism: School of thought that states that states are independent actors in an anarchical system, and must do all they can to assure their survival. The abilities of the state determine how it should act. Note that realists place survival of the state above most else. Realism can be associated with realpolitik. Note that realist thinkers dominate the USA executive branch, while most of Europe can be called liberal (See Liberalism).
Liberalism: School of thought that states that states are interdependent actors in a mostly unregulated system, and thus have greater opportunities for cooperation. Liberalism also acknowledges that states have political interaction (high politics) and economic and social interaction (low politics)
Legal Positivism: Idea that law is created by a sovereign regardless of previously existing norms and customs. Ergo, a law is a law because the ruler says so.
Natural Law/Naturalism: Idea that law is rooted in norms and customs. This is derived from the observation that certain laws are found everywhere (eg, don't murder). Essentially, naturalism states that there are certain laws regardless of governments and rulers.
International Organization: An organization that is created by a treaty or two or more governments to address an international issue. The first multilateral treaty organization was the Rhine River Commission, which regulated traffic on that river, eliminating that as a source of conflict.
Non-Governmental Organization. An international organization not created by a government. There are tens of thousands of these.
Recognition: Accession to the state system. Recognition is the process by which existing states acknowledge new states as actual states. Recognition itself imposes responsibilities on the recogniser, such as protection of property and rights. It is in this way that states with no historical nationhood (eg, Namibia) have become states.
Security dillemma: The idea that a state's security is assured by its ability to deflect the threats of others. If State A's army is bigger than State B's, A considers itself secure. However, B notices the difference, and so increases the size of its army so that it might be secure. Now A notices the larger B army, and feels insecure, and reacts by adding more troops. Now the absolute number of troops is much larger, and relative gains in security are constantly shifting.
Westphalian State System: This is the current international scene, which is composed of individual sovereign states which are bound by mutually-agreed-upon treaties. It was established in 1648 at the Peace of Westphalia (a city) to prevent Europe from returning to vicious religious conflict. In it, certain rights and responsibilities were granted to countries, like the notion of internal affairs, sovereignty of the state, etc.
Sovereignty: Term to summarize how a state is an independent entity. A state is independent in that it can make its own laws, change judicial codes, interact with whom it wishes, stimulate certain businesses, etc. Since sovereignty is a Westphalian concept (see Westphalian State System), there are limits to state sovereignty. If something violates a natural law (see Natural Law) then it is not something over which a state has jurisdiction. For example, a state cannot prescribe a state religion without giving the citizenry a chance to leave or convert. Furthermore, a treaty does compromise a state's sovereignty according to the provisions of the treaty. State sovereignty was one of the major reasons that the US of A did not join the League of Nations.
International Law: International law stems from pre-existing norms and customs, and from treaties. International customs (customary laws) are binding on ALL states, while treaty laws are binding on only the members. Customs become law when enough agree, and begin citing those customs in cases. When states violate international law, reprisals and retorsions can be effected by the wronged party.
Embargo: The unilateral prevention of trade between two countries. They are designed as coercive measures, to force the embargoed state to conform with the state implementing the embargo. Embargoes are refusals to buy.
Sanctions: The unilateral prevention of interaction between countries. They are designed as coercive measurs, to force the sanctioned state to conform with the sanctioning state. Sanctions, economically, are refusals to sell. (eg, Cuba-US). Sanctions are not limited to purely economic affairs. Note that "sanction" is a contronym; it can mean approval or disapproval depending on context.
Acts of Retorsion: An act of retorsion is a retaliatory act against a country that is unkind, but legal. These include trade barriers, economic sanctions, or discriminatory visa denials. Note that this is retaliatory, not instigative. Retorsions against retorsions are illegal.
Acts of Reprisal: An act of reprisal is a retaliatory act against a country that would be illegal if the reprising country had not already been wronged. Legal reprisals do not violate the laws of war, and are not considered atrocities. Eg, if A sinks B's merchantman, B can blockade A. A blockade is illegal, but not since A wronged B. Note that this is retaliatory, not instigative. Reprisals against reprisals are illegal.
Law of the Sea: The UN Law of the Sea of 1985(?) is the law that governs how states are to move ships, where, and the safety standards. Currently, states have a 12-mile exclusive zone (moving warships here can be considered an act of war See "Act of Reprisal") and a 188-mile exclusive economic zone (no-one else can fish/mine/drill/etc.) There are also "continental shelf" claims that may extend the economic zone to the edge of the undersea continental shelf. Outside of these zones are the high seas, where any state can move any ship without repercussion.
Law of the Air: Stemming from the Law of Sea is the Law of the Air. This law governs the airspace above a state. The air above a state theoretically is the jurisdiction of the state, but in practice, no-one knows exactly where the atmosphere ends and space begins. Thus, the custom is now one of ability; if a state can reach the higher parts of the atmosphere, eg with a missile, then it exercises jurisdiction. This stems from the US sending spy planes and "doomsday flights" over the USSR during the Cold War.
Betterment of All Mankind: The idea that all nations should help preserve the environment. Advanced by former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, it states that, although states exercise exclusive jurisdiction over their air, sea, and land, states should not ruin the environment because every state needs the Earth. Thus, state A complaining about State B's air pollution has a strong arguement. Note that this is a custom evolving into an international law that does limit sovereignty (see Sovereignty). Also, the Betterment of All Mankind idea is the backing behind preventing the militarization of space.
Functionalism: The idea that there are certain underlying causes of war that are not despots or dictators. These causes include social injustice, poverty, fear, economic and political insecurity (see security dillemma) hunger, jealousy, and so on. Functionalism also includes the idea that war can be avoided, not only be eliminating the above as causes of war, but by sabotaging the state system by shifting allegiances away from states and toward international organizations dedicated to the causes.
Collective Security: A theory to guarantee international peace. It works on two principles:1) Members of a collective security treaty (eg NATO) promise not to attack each other. 2) If such a breach occurs, every other nation will come to the defence of the attacked, overwhelming the aggressor.
Problems with this theory include: Not all states may care about the violation, states might favour the aggressor over the victim, consensus over who is the aggressor may be in doubt. See the 1934 Italy-Ethiopia war, or even the two modern US-Iraq wars. Note that the UN is in part a collective security treaty.
First World: The countries in the world that have industrialized successfully. They have large populations increasing involved in the service area of economic activity (See Economic Sectors), capitalist/market economies, democratic governments, and slow or negative growth rates.
Second World: During the Cold War, the Second World was the USSR and its satellites; the countries with planned economies. Now it refers to the same territories, just that the states' infrastructures have changed. Second World countries are nearing the end of the industrialization process, have capitalist/semi-capitalist economies, somewhat democratic institutions, and higher growth rates. Note that this category includes China.
Third World: Nearly every other country. Third world states lack industrial capacity, or are just beginning to industrialize. The governments are hodgepodge, the economies are mostly market-based, and growth rates are very high. This category is most of Africa.
Fourth World: This category includes states that are even farther behind in industrialization. The are the least developed states in the world, and often have imploded economies, very high growth rates, and frequently have oppressive regimes. Note that the Fourth World designation can also refer to marginalized population within a larger nation-state.
International Relations: (IR) A branch of political science that deals with foreign affairs and relations between states. This includes non-state actors like corporations and international organizations.
Note that IR draws on a huge range of disciplines, including philosophy, sociology, law, history, economics, and anthropology
Nation: A people who share common customs, origins, history, and language. Note that a nation is not necessarily a state. Nations have no specific population limit or geographical requirement (San Marino) See Kurds, Palestinians.
State: To be considered a country, a state must have territory, government, and population and also must have international recogntion of its borders. A state necessarily has a nation.
Realism: School of thought that states that states are independent actors in an anarchical system, and must do all they can to assure their survival. The abilities of the state determine how it should act. Note that realists place survival of the state above most else. Realism can be associated with realpolitik. Note that realist thinkers dominate the USA executive branch, while most of Europe can be called liberal (See Liberalism).
Liberalism: School of thought that states that states are interdependent actors in a mostly unregulated system, and thus have greater opportunities for cooperation. Liberalism also acknowledges that states have political interaction (high politics) and economic and social interaction (low politics)
Legal Positivism: Idea that law is created by a sovereign regardless of previously existing norms and customs. Ergo, a law is a law because the ruler says so.
Natural Law/Naturalism: Idea that law is rooted in norms and customs. This is derived from the observation that certain laws are found everywhere (eg, don't murder). Essentially, naturalism states that there are certain laws regardless of governments and rulers.
International Organization: An organization that is created by a treaty or two or more governments to address an international issue. The first multilateral treaty organization was the Rhine River Commission, which regulated traffic on that river, eliminating that as a source of conflict.
Non-Governmental Organization. An international organization not created by a government. There are tens of thousands of these.
Recognition: Accession to the state system. Recognition is the process by which existing states acknowledge new states as actual states. Recognition itself imposes responsibilities on the recogniser, such as protection of property and rights. It is in this way that states with no historical nationhood (eg, Namibia) have become states.
Security dillemma: The idea that a state's security is assured by its ability to deflect the threats of others. If State A's army is bigger than State B's, A considers itself secure. However, B notices the difference, and so increases the size of its army so that it might be secure. Now A notices the larger B army, and feels insecure, and reacts by adding more troops. Now the absolute number of troops is much larger, and relative gains in security are constantly shifting.
Westphalian State System: This is the current international scene, which is composed of individual sovereign states which are bound by mutually-agreed-upon treaties. It was established in 1648 at the Peace of Westphalia (a city) to prevent Europe from returning to vicious religious conflict. In it, certain rights and responsibilities were granted to countries, like the notion of internal affairs, sovereignty of the state, etc.
Sovereignty: Term to summarize how a state is an independent entity. A state is independent in that it can make its own laws, change judicial codes, interact with whom it wishes, stimulate certain businesses, etc. Since sovereignty is a Westphalian concept (see Westphalian State System), there are limits to state sovereignty. If something violates a natural law (see Natural Law) then it is not something over which a state has jurisdiction. For example, a state cannot prescribe a state religion without giving the citizenry a chance to leave or convert. Furthermore, a treaty does compromise a state's sovereignty according to the provisions of the treaty. State sovereignty was one of the major reasons that the US of A did not join the League of Nations.
International Law: International law stems from pre-existing norms and customs, and from treaties. International customs (customary laws) are binding on ALL states, while treaty laws are binding on only the members. Customs become law when enough agree, and begin citing those customs in cases. When states violate international law, reprisals and retorsions can be effected by the wronged party.
Embargo: The unilateral prevention of trade between two countries. They are designed as coercive measures, to force the embargoed state to conform with the state implementing the embargo. Embargoes are refusals to buy.
Sanctions: The unilateral prevention of interaction between countries. They are designed as coercive measurs, to force the sanctioned state to conform with the sanctioning state. Sanctions, economically, are refusals to sell. (eg, Cuba-US). Sanctions are not limited to purely economic affairs. Note that "sanction" is a contronym; it can mean approval or disapproval depending on context.
Acts of Retorsion: An act of retorsion is a retaliatory act against a country that is unkind, but legal. These include trade barriers, economic sanctions, or discriminatory visa denials. Note that this is retaliatory, not instigative. Retorsions against retorsions are illegal.
Acts of Reprisal: An act of reprisal is a retaliatory act against a country that would be illegal if the reprising country had not already been wronged. Legal reprisals do not violate the laws of war, and are not considered atrocities. Eg, if A sinks B's merchantman, B can blockade A. A blockade is illegal, but not since A wronged B. Note that this is retaliatory, not instigative. Reprisals against reprisals are illegal.
Law of the Sea: The UN Law of the Sea of 1985(?) is the law that governs how states are to move ships, where, and the safety standards. Currently, states have a 12-mile exclusive zone (moving warships here can be considered an act of war See "Act of Reprisal") and a 188-mile exclusive economic zone (no-one else can fish/mine/drill/etc.) There are also "continental shelf" claims that may extend the economic zone to the edge of the undersea continental shelf. Outside of these zones are the high seas, where any state can move any ship without repercussion.
Law of the Air: Stemming from the Law of Sea is the Law of the Air. This law governs the airspace above a state. The air above a state theoretically is the jurisdiction of the state, but in practice, no-one knows exactly where the atmosphere ends and space begins. Thus, the custom is now one of ability; if a state can reach the higher parts of the atmosphere, eg with a missile, then it exercises jurisdiction. This stems from the US sending spy planes and "doomsday flights" over the USSR during the Cold War.
Betterment of All Mankind: The idea that all nations should help preserve the environment. Advanced by former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld, it states that, although states exercise exclusive jurisdiction over their air, sea, and land, states should not ruin the environment because every state needs the Earth. Thus, state A complaining about State B's air pollution has a strong arguement. Note that this is a custom evolving into an international law that does limit sovereignty (see Sovereignty). Also, the Betterment of All Mankind idea is the backing behind preventing the militarization of space.
Functionalism: The idea that there are certain underlying causes of war that are not despots or dictators. These causes include social injustice, poverty, fear, economic and political insecurity (see security dillemma) hunger, jealousy, and so on. Functionalism also includes the idea that war can be avoided, not only be eliminating the above as causes of war, but by sabotaging the state system by shifting allegiances away from states and toward international organizations dedicated to the causes.
Collective Security: A theory to guarantee international peace. It works on two principles:1) Members of a collective security treaty (eg NATO) promise not to attack each other. 2) If such a breach occurs, every other nation will come to the defence of the attacked, overwhelming the aggressor.
Problems with this theory include: Not all states may care about the violation, states might favour the aggressor over the victim, consensus over who is the aggressor may be in doubt. See the 1934 Italy-Ethiopia war, or even the two modern US-Iraq wars. Note that the UN is in part a collective security treaty.
First World: The countries in the world that have industrialized successfully. They have large populations increasing involved in the service area of economic activity (See Economic Sectors), capitalist/market economies, democratic governments, and slow or negative growth rates.
Second World: During the Cold War, the Second World was the USSR and its satellites; the countries with planned economies. Now it refers to the same territories, just that the states' infrastructures have changed. Second World countries are nearing the end of the industrialization process, have capitalist/semi-capitalist economies, somewhat democratic institutions, and higher growth rates. Note that this category includes China.
Third World: Nearly every other country. Third world states lack industrial capacity, or are just beginning to industrialize. The governments are hodgepodge, the economies are mostly market-based, and growth rates are very high. This category is most of Africa.
Fourth World: This category includes states that are even farther behind in industrialization. The are the least developed states in the world, and often have imploded economies, very high growth rates, and frequently have oppressive regimes. Note that the Fourth World designation can also refer to marginalized population within a larger nation-state.