Concours IRIC Cameroon study materials
Concours IRIC Cameroon study resources

Concours IRIC Cameroon key terms

Concours IRIC Cameroon · Get comfortable with the vocabulary.

Anarchy

In structural international-relations theory, the absence of one overarching central authority above states, not a claim that all interaction lacks rules.

Balance of power

A theoretical description of how capabilities and responses to concentrations of power can shape international behavior under specified assumptions.

Constructivism

An approach emphasizing how identities, norms and shared meanings can help constitute interests and behavior, rather than treating every preference as fixed.

National interest

A concept used to describe state priorities within particular theoretical and policy arguments, whose meaning should not be assumed identical in every context.

Treaty

An international agreement governed by international law under the relevant instrument and conditions, distinguished from every political announcement or private contract.

Customary international law

A legal category involving relevant general practice accepted as law, requiring more than a repeated habit with no legal belief.

Opinio juris

Acceptance of a practice as legally required or permitted in the relevant custom analysis, distinguished from convenience or courtesy alone.

Subsidiary means

Material such as judicial decisions and qualified scholarship used to assist determination of legal rules, distinguished from the primary categories listed in the ICJ Statute.

Jurisdiction

The legal authority of an institution to consider a matter under its actual basis and limits, not established merely by the seriousness of a dispute.

Sovereignty

The authority and independence associated with a state within the relevant legal framework, which does not imply freedom from every international obligation.

Agrement

The receiving state agreement to a proposed head of diplomatic mission, distinguished from an internal promotion or a consular exequatur.

Exequatur

The receiving state authorization associated with the exercise of consular functions under the applicable framework, distinguished from diplomatic agrement.

Diplomatic immunity

A protection applying to specified persons or acts under the governing conditions, which is not permission to assume every embassy-associated person has identical immunity.

Comparative advantage

A lower opportunity cost of producing a good relative to another producer in the specified model, distinguished from greater absolute productivity.

Opportunity cost

The value or quantity of the next relevant alternative forgone when resources are used for one choice rather than another.

Terms of trade

The relationship between export and import prices under the stated index or model, distinguished from the volume of trade alone.

Exchange-rate convention

The stated way one currency is quoted in terms of another, which must be identified before interpreting appreciation or depreciation.

Balance of payments

A framework recording relevant transactions between residents and nonresidents over a period, with the actual accounting conventions preserved.

Institutional mandate

The powers and responsibilities assigned to an organization by the relevant legal instruments, distinguished from an assumption that influence creates unlimited authority.

Policy evaluation

Assessment of actual policy effects using a suitable question, evidence and method, distinguished from assuming that an intended objective proves a successful outcome.