Summary of Introduction to International Relations
Introduction to International Relations: A Student's Guide
Introduction
This glossary collects key terms and short explanations commonly used in International Relations (IR) scholarship. It is designed to help university students navigate terminology, compare related concepts, and apply definitions to real-world cases.
How to use this material
- Read definitions to build core vocabulary.
- Use comparison tables to see nuances between related ideas.
- Review key points to prepare for tests or essays.
Core Terms and Short Explanations
Feminism
Feminism: Emphasizes that women are a disadvantaged group in the world in material terms and within value systems that favor men; examines how IR thinking disguises and reproduces gender hierarchies.
- Focus: gendered power, systemic inequality, and how international structures affect women.
- Application: analyzing refugee flows, labor markets, and political representation.
Gender issues
Gender issues: The study of inequalities between men and women and consequences for world politics, including economic, political, and educational disparities.
- Key statistics often cited: women perform ~60% of working hours but receive ~10% of income; women account for ~60% of illiterates.
- Application: designing gender-aware development programs and legal reforms.
Foreign policy
Foreign policy: The manner in which a state interacts with other states, international organizations, and foreign non-state actors; includes goals, strategies, agreements, and instruments used to conduct international relations.
- Actors: presidents, prime ministers, foreign ministers, defence ministers, and senior officials.
- Processes: means–end analyses, cost–benefit trade-offs, and operational planning (e.g., trade regulation, alliances, military action).
Foreign policy analysis
Foreign policy analysis: The study of how foreign policies are made and why states choose particular courses of action; includes sociological, psychological, historical, and instrumental approaches.
- Methods: case studies, process tracing, and decision-making analysis.
- Use: policy recommendation, explanation of state behavior.
Functionalist theory of integration
Functionalist theory of integration: David Mitrany’s idea that technical and economic cooperation in functional sectors (transport, communications, finance) leads to transnational ties that reduce conflict and build loyalty to international organizations.
- Mechanism: experts engineer cooperation; citizens shift loyalty to organizations as benefits accumulate.
- Application: origins of sectoral international organizations and some arguments for technocratic governance.
Globalization
Globalization: The spread and intensification of economic, social, and cultural relations across international borders.
- Dimensions: trade, communications, migration, cultural exchange.
- Application: analyzing supply chains, transnational movements, and cultural diffusion.
Hegemonic stability theory
Hegemonic stability theory: The claim that a dominant military and economic power (a hegemon) is necessary to create and sustain a liberal world market because it enforces rules and provides public goods that enable global economic order.
- Example: arguments that the United States served this role in the late 20th century.
- Critique: questions about costs to hegemon and alternatives when hegemony declines.
Hegemony
Hegemony: A state’s relative power compared with other states; can be regional or global when its economic and military weight strongly shapes other states’ policies.
- Regional example: Germany’s role in Europe before and during WWII is often cited.
- Global example: the United States in late 20th and early 21st centuries.
Ideational view
Ideational view: The constructivist claim that ideas, beliefs, and social meanings shape international o
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IR Terms Glossary
Klíčové pojmy: Feminism analyzes how IR reproduces gender hierarchies and the material disadvantages women face., Gender issues highlight disparities: women do ~60% of work but receive ~10% of income and hold ~1% of property., Foreign policy covers state strategies, actors, and cost–benefit decision-making in external relations., Foreign policy analysis uses sociological, psychological, historical, and instrumental lenses to explain state choices., Functionalist integration argues technical cooperation by experts fosters transnational ties and peace., Hegemonic stability theory claims a dominant power is needed to enforce liberal global economic rules., Security dilemma: defensive measures by one state can unintentionally threaten others and spur arms races., Social constructivism centers ideas, identities, and discourse as primary drivers of international outcomes., Soft power is influence through attraction and persuasion rather than coercion., Responsibility to Protect (R2P) prioritizes protecting populations from mass atrocities over absolute non-intervention., Sovereignty combines internal authority and external recognition but is challenged by humanitarian norms., Society of states: states form order by shared rules and institutions rather than by a single authority.