PO 171: Exam 2 Terms

Institutions that help their members cooperate militarily in the event of a war

a situation in which the military capabilities of two states or groups of states are roughly equal

a strategy in which states join forces with the stronger side in a conflict

The condition of being dragged into an unwanted war because of the opportunistic actions of an ally.

An alliance formed in 1949 among the United States, Canada, and most of the states of Western Europe in response to the threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance requires the members to consider an attack on any one of them as an attack on all.

A military alliance formed in 1955 to bring together the Soviet Union and its Cold War allies in Eastern Europe and elsewhere; dissolved on March 31, 1991, as the Cold War ended.

A collective security organization founded in 1919 after World War I. The League ended in 1946 and was replaced by the United Nations.

A collective security organization founded in 1945 after World War II. With over 190 members, the UN includes all recognized states.

Broad-based institutions that promote peace and security among their members. Examples include the League of Nations and the UN.

intentional and systematic killing aimed at eliminating an identifiable group of people, such as an ethnic or religious group.

interventions designed to relieve humanitarian crises stemming from civil conflicts or large-scale human rights abuses, including genocide.

the main governing body of the UN, which has the authority to identify threats to international peace and security and to prescribe the organization's response, including military and/or economic sanctions

the five permanent members of the UN Security Council; the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia (formerly the USSR) and China

the ability to prevent the passage of a measure through a unilateral act, such as a single negative vote

a military operation in which force is used to make and/or enforce peace among warring parties that have not agreed to end their fighting

an operation in which troops and observers are deployed to monitor a cease-fire or peace agreement

A war in which the main participants are within the same state, such as the government and a rebel group

The use or threatened use of violence against noncombatant tarfets by individuals or nonstate groups for political ends

Armed conflict between actors with highly unequal military capabilities, such as when rebel groups or terrorists fighting strong states

An actor that seeks to create an independent state on territory carved from an existing state

An actor that seeks to detatch a region from one country and attatch it to another, usually because of shared ethnic or religious ties

Conflicts in which two opposing states "fight" by supporting opposite sides in war, such as the government and rebels in a third state

a military strategy in which small, often lightly armed units engage in hit-and-run attacks against the military government, and civilian targets

a strategy of imposing or threatening to impose costs on other actors in order to induce a change in their behavior

a strategy of terrorist attacks intended to provoke the target government into making a disproportionate response that alienates moderates in the terrorist's home society or in other sympathetic audiences

a strategy of terrorist attacks intended to sabotage a prospective peace between the target and moderate leadership from the terrorist's home society

a strategy of terrorist attacks designed to demonstrate superior capability and commitment relative to other groups devoted to the same cause

A body of rules that binds states and other agents in world politics and is considered to have the status of law

A body of rules that seeks to limit the effects of armed conflict. protect noncombatants, and restrict means and methods of warfare for humanitarian reasons

International law that usually develops slowley. over time, as states come to recognize practices as appropriate and correct

The degree to which states are legally bound by an international rule. High obligation ryles must be performed in good faith, and if breached, require reparations to the injured party

The degree to which international legal obligations are fully specified. More precise rules narrow the scope for reasonable interpretation

The degree to which third parties, such as courts, arbitrators, or mediators are given authoruty to implemement, interpret, and apply international legal rules; to resolve disputes over the rules; and to make additional rules

Standards of behavior for actors with a given identity; norms define what actions are "right" or appropriate under particular circumstances

Individuals or groups that seek to advance principled standards of behavior for states and other actors

A set of individuals and nongovernmental organizations acting in pursuit of a normative objective

A three-stage model of how norms diffuse within a population and achieve a taken for granted status

An expression of legitinate rulemaking by nonstate actors in international affairs, including the establishment of norms governing the behavior of pribate global actors such as multinational corporations and international NGOs

A process through which NGOs in one state are able to activate transnational linkages to bring pressure from other states on their own governments.

The rights posesesed by all individuals by virtue of being human, regardless of their status as citizens of particular states or members of a group or organization

A declaration, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, that is defined as a "common standard of achievement for all peoples" and forms the foundation of modern human rights law

The agreement, completed in 1966 and in force from 1976, that details the basic civil, and political rights of individuals and nations. The ICCPR and ICESCR together are known as the twin covenants

The agreement, completed in 1966 and in force from 1976, that details the basic civil, and political rights of individuals and nations. The ICCPR and ICESCR together are known as the twin covenants

The UDHR, ICCPR, and ICESCR collectively. Together, these three agreements form the core of the international human rights regime

rights that cannot be suspended for any reason including in cases of social or public emergency

indivdiuals imprisoned solely for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. The term was coined by the human rights organization Amnesty International.

A right that permits individuals to petition appropriate international legal bodies directly if they believe a state has violated their rights

A court of last resort for human rights cases that possess jurisdiction only if the accused is a national of a state party, the crime took place on the territory of a state party, or the UN security council has referred the case to the prosecutor

An alliance among several states (ex: NATO)

A powerful state commits to defending a weaker state

A group of aggressors banded together by their common military interests

A group banded together by their common defense via an aggresor party (ex: the US and South Korea)

actions taken by states ir groups of states to counter a percieved threat or imbalance of power, aiming to make it harder for a more powerful state to exert its dominance

One state's desire to annex the territory of another state; can be motivated by political or ethnic reasons (i.e. the population of the territory is ethnically similar to or the same as the population of the parent state)

the most common strategy in civil wat; assymetric warfare conducted by rebel groups or terrorists fighting strong states. Small units of lightly armed rebels targeting governmnet, civilian, or military sites in hit and run style attacks. They do not seek to capture and hold territory, but rather to send a message.

Use of military force against insurgencies focusing on winning public favor and undermining the legitimacy of the insurgent rebel group.

Coercion, provocation, spoiling, and outbidding

induces policy change by imposing costs on the target, uses fear to get people to preassure the target government to change

attacking to provoke a response from the government, state action can play into the terrorist strategy of provocation, a disproportionate response from the state may cause sympathetic audiences to radicalize and increase support for terrorists over time, terrorists are thereby able to increase their political power and base of support

Sabotaging/spoiling a peace deal by terrorists which creates credibility issues on the end of the negotiating state (how can we trust you to realistically hold up your end of the deal when you can barely control your own people)

A competitive dynamic, when two terrorist groups compete for power they may simply attack a target just to increase their own group's hold on power (Ex: Al Qaeda vs. Isis)

In the context of counter-terrorist efforts, the anticipatory use of force in the face of an imminent threat (ex: use of drone strikes to attack a target before they attack us)

negative and positive rules against regulating behavior, "dont do x", "you must do y"

Like constitutional rules, secondary rules structure the making of other rules, secondary rules are rules about how the law is made

Customs and treaties

develops slowly over time as states recognize practices as appropriate and correct (ex: diplomatic immunity, if embassy personnel break a host country's law they are usually sent home rather than prosecuted by the host country)

Obligation, precision, delegation, hard & soft laws