Poli 260 - Global politics 9 - SECTION A QUESTIONS

The concept that all countries are equal under international law and that they are protected from outside interference; this is the basis on which the UN and other international and regional organizations operate.

The combination of material and ideal goals that comprise the goals of the government of a state.

Sets of implicit or explicit principles, norms, rules, and decision-making procedures around which actors expectations converge in a given area of international relations. Often simply defined as governing arrangements in a regional or global policy area.

In an anarchic international system, one with no common central power, when one state seeks to improve its security it creates insecurities in other states.

• 1. The security dilemma helps us to understand why arms races occur
• A) Nuclear buildup during the cold war
• B) Iran's pursuit of nuclear power to defend against Israel's nuclear arsenal. Pivitol state
• C) India and Pakistan
• 2. The security dilemma is a key component in the Realist theory of International Relations.
• A) Self-help: In an anarchical international system, a state cannot rely on or trust any other state and therefore depends upon its own capabilities.
• B) There is no world police that a state can call when it is attacked by another state, so it must build up is military in order to prevent attacks.
• C) North Korea is a prime example. They feel threatened by a possible invasion from the United States, so they developed a large army and nuclear weapons to make the US think twice about invading them as they did to Iraq in 2003.

1. How state sovereignty has shaped IR.

A) State-sovereignty has underpinned the international system since the treaty of Westphalia in 1648 and can help us to understand state behavior. .

B) Despite the indictment of Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir on genocide charges by the ICC, no country has been willing to violate the sovereignty of Sian in order to bring him to trial.

2. How the weakening of state-sovereignty is changing IR.

The principle of non-intervention is a key element of state sovereignty and is being challenged today.

A) Shifting focus on human security :R2P has challenged state sovereignty. Example Libya in 2011.

B) State sovereignty is being weakened by the emerging prevalece of MNC's who operate across borders and in the case of NAFTA, can sue the state. Walmart earns more money than the GDP of Norway, so these MNCs have alot of influence, especially in developing countries.

C) Global terrorist networks operate across borders and challenge state sovereignty. Monopoly on the legitimate use of force is being challenged by sub-state actors.

• 1. International regimes are important because they help states manage insecurity in an anarchic international system.
• A) Security regimes
• Nuclear Non proliferation treaty: provides states with some assurance that nuclear weapons will not fall into the wrong hands.
• B) Economic regimes
• C) Environmental
• Vienna Convention on the protection of the ozone layer
• 2. International regimes provide a framework for states to work together to solve common problems.
• A) NAFTA is an economic regime which helps C, US and M gain leverage in the global economy.
• B) Vienna Convention on the protection of the ozone layer has been extremely successful at drastically reducing HFCs from the atmosphere.

• 1. National interests shape foreign policy and how states interact with eachother
• A) National interests can change over time and with changing governments. For example, Canadian foreign policy used to be devoted to promoting and participating in peacekeeping based on the values of Canadians as a peaceful people. This gave them a degree of prestige and soft power which helped Canada get elected to the Security Council. Now under the Harper government, this has changed.

B) Canada used to be s leader on the environment, but has now pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol because it is not in the countries national interests.

2. Helps us to understand state behavior and why they do what they do.

A) Material factors - includes trade, investments, natural resources, control over strategic territory

Russia felt as if it was in their national interest to annex Crimea as it gives them a strategic advantage in the region.

B). Ideational factors: - includes the promotion of norms, ideas, and values to enhance state security and prosperity.

Under George Bush, the United States states wanted to spread democracy because it would increase their influence.