Intro to American Politics Rhoomberg Ch 18 – Flashcards

groups other than nation-states that attempt to play a tour in the international system, Terrorist groups are one type go non-state actor.

avoidance of involvement in the affairs of other nations

a policy designed to curtail the political and military expansion of a hostile power

the effort to forestall war by giving in to the demands of a hostile power

political entities consisting of a people with some common cultural experience (nation) who also share a common politic authority (state), recognized by other sovereignties (nation-states).

international organization promoting free trade that grew out of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

international trade organization, in a existence from 1947-1995, that set many of the rules governing international trade

trade treaty among the United States, Canada, and Mexico to lower and eliminate tariffs among the three countries.

an institution established in 1944 that proved loans and facilitates international monetary exchange

treaties made between two nations

tax on imports

describes security measures that are designed to deny unauthorized access to facilities, equipment and resources, and to protect personnel and property from damage or harm (such as espionage, theft, or terrorist attacks

a tree branch of computer security specifically related to the Internet, often involving browser security but also network security on a more general level as it applies to other applications or operating systems on a whole.

The concept of deterrence has two key assumptions: the first is that specific punishments imposed on offenders will "deter" or prevent them from committing further crimes; the second is that fear of punishment will prevent others from committing similar crimes.

NATO's essential purpose is to safeguard the freedom and security of its members through political and military means. POLITICAL - NATO promotes democratic values and encourages consultation and cooperation on defence and security issues to build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict. MILITARY - NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military capacity needed to undertake crisis-management operations. These are carried out under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - NATO's founding treaty - or under a UN mandate, alone or in cooperation with other countries and international organizations.

a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war shortly before that attack materializes. It is a war which preemptively 'breaks the peace'.

one type of coalition building strategy in which a group of nations agree not to attack each other and to defend each other against an attack from one of the others, if such an attack is made.

the amount by which the cost of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.

The goal of the World Bank is to reduce poverty and to improve the living standards of the people in low and middle-income countries.The World Bank is one of the world's largest sources of funding and knowledge to support governments of member countries in their efforts to invest in schools and health centers, provide water and electricity, fight disease and protect the environment. This support is provided through project or policy-based loans and grants as well as technical assistance such as advice and studies.

In international economic relations and international politics, "most favoured nation" (MFN) is a status or level of treatment accorded by one state to another in international trade.

Foreign policy- refers to the programs and policies that determine America's relations with other nations and foreign entitles. It includes diplomacy, military, and security policy, international human rights policies and various forms of economic policy such as trade policy and international energy policy.

PRESIDENT - The constitution assigns the President very clear powers in the realm of foreign and security policy. The president is given the power to make treaties (with the advice and consent of the senate), appoint ambassadors, and serve as commander in chief of the army and navy of the United States. Most presidents have expanded on their power claiming that their inherent power is to defend the nation serves as the basis for presidential primacy in all matters affecting America's international interests. CONGRESS - Although the Constitution gives Congress the power to declare war, Congress has exercised this power only five occasions, war of 1812, Mexican war (1846), Spanish-American war (1898) World war I (1917) and world war II (1941). For 150 years, Congress's foreign policy role was limited because the United States' role in world affairs was limited. During this time the Senate was the only important congressional foreign policy player because of its constitutional role in reviewing and approving treaties. THE BUREAUCRACY - Major actors in the Bureaucracy are the secretaries of the department of State, Defense, and the Treasury; the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) especially the chair of the CJS; and the director of the CIA. Also, since 1947, a separate unit in the White House has overseen the vast foreign policy establishment for the purpose to synthesizing all the messages arising out to eh bureaucracy and helping the president make his own foreign policy. This is the National Security council, it is the 'subcabinet" made up of the President, the vice president, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, plus other appointed by the president

Military force is one tool of foreign policy that countries use to secure their territory and interests. In 2013 countries around the world spent approximately $1.7 trillion on military expenditures. To put this number in perspective, the total size of the world economy was about $74 trillion in 2013, according to the International Monetary Fund, a so military expenditures make up about 2.3 percent of the global economy. Countries vary significantly in how much they spend on their militaries. The United States is notable for spending far more than other countries: at $640 billion, U.S. military spending represents about 38 percent of the world's total. Among democracies, France spends the second highest, at $61 billion, or just 4 percent of the world's total.

SECURITY- the chief goal of the nations foreign policy is protection of American security in an often-hostile world. American Security policy is concerned not only with the action of nations but also with the activities of terrorist groups and other hostile non-state actors. To protect the nation's security form foreign threats the United States has built an enormous military apparatus and a complex array of intelligence-gathering institutions such as the CIA. Physical, Online, and Collective security are PROSPERITY- American's international economic policies are intended to expand employment opportunities in the United States, to maintain access to foreign energy supplies at a reasonable cost, to promote foreign investment in the United States, and to lower the prices Americans pay for goods and services. The most visible and important element of economic policy is trade policy. WOT, NAFTO, and GATT are the main and most important trade organizations THE CREATION OF A BETTER WORLD- International Humanitarian Policies, the main forms of policy that address this goal are international environmental policy, international human rights policy, and international peacekeeping. The United States also contributes to international organizations that work for global health and against hunger, such as the World Health Organization. This goal is also has the least amount of money going into it to help it out.

The United States foreign policy moved away from isolation in the ninetieth century because in 1823 when James Monroe became president, he warned that foreign powers not to meddle in the Western Hemisphere, came to be called the Monroe doctrine and in 1796, in Washington's Farewell Address after he stated to avoid permanent alliances with foreign powers, were the cornerstones of the U.S. foreign policy isolation ending. The U.S saw itself as a dominant power in the Western Hemisphere and indeed believed that its "manifest destiny" was to expand from sea to sea. In the twentieth century, technology made oceans less of a barrier to foreign threats and the worlds growing economic interdependence meant that the United States should no longer avoid event abroad, due to World War 1. COLD WAR- was when the United States went through the era of confrontation with the Soviet Union. The U.S had no intention to attack the Soviet, at the same time the United States build a huge military force, including a vast arsenal of over 1,500 nuclear warheads and frequently asserted that in the event of a Soviet attack. This became the period of struggle between the United States and the former Soviet Union lasing from late 1940s to 1990.

A policy of deterrence assumes certainty and rationality. Certainty means that a potential adversary must know for sure that the United States will reply with force if attacked. Rationality means that, to be deterred, a potential adversary must be capable of rationally assessing the risks and costs of aggression against the United States. These two assumptions, which were valid when we sought to counter the Soviet Union, may not be valid in the context of contemporary security threats.

The promotion and advertising of American goods and services abroad is a long-standing goal of U.S. trade policy, and it is one of the major obligations of the Department of Commerce. Yet modern trade policy involves a complex arrangement of treaties, tariffs, and other mechanisms of policy formation. Trade policy is always complicated because most Americans benefit from a policy of free trade, which tends to reduce the cost of goods and services.

One of the most controversial areas of trade liberalization is agriculture. Since 2001 the WTO trade talks—called the Doha Round because they began in Doha, Qatar, in 2001—have focused particularly on reducing trade barriers in agriculture. Since the formation of the WTO, the United States has pressured the developing world to reduce trade barriers. At the same time, however, the United States and Europe have offered heavy subsidies to their own agricultural industries. Such subsidies keep the prices high of commodities like wheat and corn, helping to ensure that farmers make a profit. Developing countries have long imposed tariffs on agricultural products to limit the entry of these artificially cheap products, which would otherwise destroy their agricultural sector.

It is designed to "make the world a better place for all its inhabitants". International environmental policy- The Untied States supports a number of international efforts to protect the environment. These include the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and international agreement to study and ameliorate harmful changes in the global environment and the Montreal Protocol, an agreement signed by more than 150 countries to limit the production of substances potentially harmful to the world's ozone layer. International human rights policy- this commitment has a lower priotity in American foreign policy than the nation's security concerns and economic interests. The United States is likely to over-remain silent in the face of human rights violations by such allies as Saudi Arabia. Nevertheless, human rights concerns do play a role in American Foreign policy. International peacekeeping- at any point in time, a dumber of boarder wars, civil wars and guerrilla conflicts flare somewhere in the world, usually of casualties, disease, and refugees. In cooperation with international agencies and other nations, the United States funds a number of efforts to keep the peace in volatile regions and to deal with the health care and refugee problems associated with conflict. The United States also contributes to international organizations that work for global health and against hunger, such as the World Health Organization

1)an organization of nations founded in 1945 to be a channel for negotiation and a means of settling international disputes peaceably; the UN has had frequent successes in providing a forum for negotiation and, on some occasions, a means of preventing international conflicts from spreading; on a number of occasions, the UN has been a convenient cover for U.S. foreign policy goals 2)Its supreme body is the UN General Assembly, comprising one representative of each of the 192 member states; each member representative has one vote, regardless of the size of the country. Important issues require a two-thirds-majority vote, and the annual session of the General Assembly runs only from September to December (although it can call extra sessions). It has little organization that can make it an effective decision-making body, with only six standing committees, few tight rules of procedure, and no political parties to provide priorities and discipline. Its defenders are quick to add that although it lacks armed forces, it relies on the power of world opinion—and this is not to be taken lightly. 3) The 5 permanent members are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States 4) Each of the 15 members has only one vote, and a 9-vote majority of the 15 is required on all substantive matters. But each of the five permanent members also has a negative vote, a "veto," and one veto is sufficient to reject any substantive proposal.

Aid is an economic carrot. Sanctions are an economic stick. Economic sanctions that the United States employs against other nations include trade embargoes, bans on investment, and efforts to prevent the World Bank or other international institutions from extending credit to a nation against which the United States has a grievance. Sanctions are most often employed when the United States seeks to weaken what it considers a hostile regime or when it is attempting to compel some particular action by another regime A good deal of American aid, however, is designed to promote American security interests or economic concerns. The two largest recipients of American military assistance are Israel and Egypt, American allies that fought two wars against each other. The United States believes that its military assistance allows both countries to feel sufficiently secure to remain at peace with each other.

1)The first collective security agreement was the Rio Treaty (ratified by the Senate in September 1947), which created the Organization of American States (OAS). This was the model treaty, anticipating all succeeding collective security treaties by providing that an armed attack against any of its members "shall be considered as an attack against all the American States," including the United States. A more significant break with U.S. tradition against peacetime entanglements came with the North Atlantic Treaty (signed in April 1949), which created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The Australian, New Zealand, United States Security (ANZUS) Treaty, which tied Australia and New Zealand to the United States, was signed in September 1951. Three years later, the Southeast Asia Treaty created the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO). 2) In addition to these multilateral treaties, the United States entered into a number of bilateral treaties (treaties between two countries), such as the treaty with Vietnam that resulted in ultimately unsuccessful American military action to protect that nation's government. As one author has observed, the United States has been a producer of security, whereas most of its allies have been consumers of security.