Basic Terms and Concepts for International Relations Exam Questions with Latest Update

realism - ANSWER-a pragmatic approach to foreign policy, emphasizing national self-interest and based on the premise that power is the central factor in IR realpolitik - ANSWER-emphasizes the conflictual nature of global politics, the priority of national security, a pessimistic assessment of human nature idealism - ANSWER-an approach to IR based on the belief that moral principles and international cooperation should be guiding factors rather than considerations based purely on power and national interest (assumes that law, institutions, and morality can contribute to the development of peaceful, just IR-- an optimistic perspective) nation-state - ANSWER-the primary or fundamental unit in IR; a political entity within a defined territorial area possessing legal and political authority over that area nationalism - ANSWER-identification with a group based in a sense of a common heritage including some or all of these factors: language, ethnic or racial origins, religion, geographic location, or political base; also, the belief that the nation or nation-state merits political loyalty; often associated with the goals of self-determination and independence national interest - ANSWER-those elements constituting a nation's most vital needs and objectives, including such factors of self-preservation, independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, military security, and economic well-being sovereignty - ANSWER-considered to be the enabling concept of world politics, whereby nation-states possess authority not only within their own territorial entities but possess membership in the international community balance of power - ANSWER-a term used in various ways, but the traditional concept involves creating/maintaining an equilibrium in the international order so that one nation/alliance does not become preponderant over others bipolar - ANSWER-a world political system in which power is concentrated in two power centers multipolar - ANSWER-a global distribution of power in which three or more of great powers or poles have significant power