IB Global Politics HL flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Hard power

The ability to influence others through coercion or payment, using military force, economic sanctions, or inducements rather than attraction or persuasion.

Soft power

The ability to shape others' preferences through attraction, arising from culture, political values, and legitimate or admired foreign policies.

Internal sovereignty

The supreme authority of a state within its own territory, entailing the ability to make and enforce laws over its population without internal rivals.

External sovereignty

The formal equality and independence of a state in relation to other states, meaning no higher external authority may legitimately dictate its domestic affairs.

Anarchy (international system)

The absence of a central world government above states; it does not mean chaos but describes a self-help system where states must provide for their own security.

Complex interdependence

Keohane and Nye's concept describing multiple channels connecting societies, absence of hierarchy among issues, and reduced usefulness of military force in some relationships.

Security Council veto

The power of any of the five permanent members to block a substantive Security Council resolution, a privilege held by China, France, Russia, the UK and the US.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

A 1948 UN General Assembly declaration of thirty articles setting out civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights; it is non-binding but foundational.

ICCPR

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966), a binding treaty obliging states to respect rights such as life, expression and fair trial immediately.

ICESCR

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966), a binding treaty requiring progressive realisation of rights subject to maximum available resources.

Universal Periodic Review

A Human Rights Council mechanism reviewing the human rights records of all UN member states roughly every four to five years, based on peer review.

Cultural relativism (rights)

The position that human rights should be interpreted through local cultural and historical context, challenging claims that a single universal standard applies everywhere.

Responsibility to Protect

A 2005 norm holding that states protect their populations from atrocity crimes, and that the international community may act if a state manifestly fails.

Non-derogable rights

Rights that cannot be suspended even during declared public emergencies, including freedom from torture, slavery, and retrospective criminal punishment.

Human Development Index

A composite index from 0 to 1 combining life expectancy, mean and expected years of schooling, and GNI per capita to measure development beyond income.

Gini coefficient

A measure of inequality from 0 (perfect equality) to 1 (perfect inequality), derived from the Lorenz curve of cumulative income shares.

Dependency theory

The argument that the global periphery is kept underdeveloped because core economies extract surplus through trade, finance and technology, reproducing structural inequality.

Sustainable Development Goals

Seventeen goals adopted by the UN in 2015 for achievement by 2030, covering poverty, inequality, climate, institutions and partnerships.

Official Development Assistance

Government aid promoting economic development and welfare, with a UN target of 0.7 percent of donor gross national income.

Structural adjustment programme

A set of IMF or World Bank loan conditions requiring liberalisation, privatisation and fiscal austerity, often criticised for social costs in recipient states.

Multidimensional Poverty Index

A measure counting overlapping deprivations in health, education and living standards, identifying people as poor when deprived across several indicators.

Positive peace

Galtung's concept of peace beyond the absence of war, requiring the absence of structural violence and the presence of social justice.

Structural violence

Harm embedded in social institutions and arrangements that prevents people from meeting basic needs, operating indirectly rather than through direct acts.

Jus ad bellum

The criteria for justly resorting to war: just cause, legitimate authority, right intention, proportionality, last resort and reasonable chance of success.

Jus in bello

The principles governing conduct during war, chiefly distinction between combatants and civilians, proportionality of force, and military necessity.

Peacekeeping principles

The traditional triad of consent of the parties, impartiality, and minimum use of force, distinguishing peacekeeping from peace enforcement operations.

Democratic peace thesis

The claim that liberal democracies rarely or never fight one another, used to argue that democracy promotion enhances international peace.

Spoiler (peace process)

An actor who uses violence or obstruction to undermine a peace agreement or negotiation because the settlement threatens its interests.

Transitional justice

Measures after conflict or repression, including trials, truth commissions, reparations and institutional reform, to address past abuses and rebuild legitimacy.

Conventional political participation

Institutionally accepted forms of engagement such as voting, joining parties, contacting representatives, and standing for elected office.

Unconventional political participation

Extra-institutional action such as protests, strikes, boycotts, occupations and online campaigns, often used when institutional channels are seen as closed.

Political efficacy

A citizen's belief that their action can influence political outcomes; low efficacy is associated with lower turnout and disengagement.