PS 103 Global Political IssuesStudy Guide: December 2014 (4th Test)This is a list of the terms and concepts that I found particularly important. I am drawing from the lecture material; if we didn’t talk about it in class, it seems unfair to me to test students about it. You should understand the terms/concepts, but also be able to link them (up and down the list) to other terms/concepts and understand how they relate to each other. This is (as best I can manage) in the order we discussed them.Brazil: ElectionRousseff over Neves; Poor north over rich(er) SouthIncumbents usually winTaiwan/Hong KongHistory/Formation; China’s view (internal matter); USA’s policyEconomic relations with ChinaEffect of Hong Kong protests in TaiwanChinese ConstitutionDifferences between Chinese view of constitution and US viewGoal is to enforce party discipline and reduce corruptionLink between corruption and economic growthJihad IdeologyNot all Islamic Fundamentalists believe the same thingHistory of Islamic Fundamentalist ideology; ISIS’ beliefs aren’t newTunisia ElectionsSecular party wins over Islamists; rare success of Arab SpringPutin’s Anti-Americanism/Anti-WesternismDoes he mean it, or is this just a way to rally public support to him?“Rally ‘round the flag” effectUS Mid-term ElectionsResultsGovernance issuesVeto points; effect on efficient governance and changing governmentFraming; was it a Republican wave election, or bad Democratic candidates?Senate: What changed? Little effect b/c of cloture ruleHouse: What changed? Republicans increase margin; little effect (few minority rights)Ballot Initiatives: almost all went on the Democratic sideLocal Elections: Republican; gerrymandering worksGovernorships: RepublicanUnited Nations/Global GovernanceNo global governmentCoordination: postal rules and air traffic controlIntergovernmental Organizations (IGOs): Formal or InformalFormal classification: general/specific vs. Global/RegionalUN: History, Purpose, Organization, Security Council, Peacekeepers, BudgetUN in Syria: why no action?UN in Jerusalem/Israel/Palestine: why limited involvement?India/Pakistan: Sharif wants peace; Modi doesn’t (why?); UN involvement?China: why will the UN never act?Globalization Mechanisms: IMFOfficial versus unofficial roleHistory: Bretton WoodsOfficial: loans, stabilize currency/economy, collateral (policy change: capitalism/globalization)Unofficial: report card, influences outside investment/moneyWashington Consensus; golden straight-jacket Arguments: violates sovereignty vs. good steward of moneyPoor state’s dilemmaBrazil/Russia: being rejected by global marketsAbenomics (Japan): to big for IMF, but reform still necessaryClimate Change/EnvironmentEcosystem; Carrying Capacity; Collective Action ProblemSovereignty and the Environment: States own their environmentGlobalization and the Environment: more movement; more plants/animals/diseases move around and cause disruptive effects; invasive speciesSolutions: High Technology (Creativity/Capitalism) vs. CooperationGlobal Warming: Kyoto Protocols, effect on economicsRich vs. Poor argument (about Global Warming, but all environmental issues)US Mid-terms/Obama’s Climate agreement with China: issues of governance, regulation, government action/inactionNew Republican Senate: effect on foreign policy: less effect on Iran, more on Syria/RussiaLame Duck session actionsMexico: Capacity and Autonomy (Comparative Politics)Definitions of Autonomy and Capacity; examples of high/low capacity and autonomy states; size of the problem effects ability of state to actPena/Mexico: corruption and violence reduce capacity and autonomyNew oil/gas changes may increase capacity/autonomyRussia: collapse of the RubleWhy? Effect on Putin’s capacity and autonomy(Sidebar on international law: Yukos lawsuits)Iran: update on nuclear deal (still a deadlock; no deal yet)Syria: update on civil war (still a stalemate; USA’s bombing hasn’t tipped the scales)Pacific Ocean (hegemony)Shift of global economics/politics to the Pacific as states riseUnderlying conflict between China and USA: whose rules are we converging towards?TTP versus RCEPExamples: freedom of the seas and resolving conflicts/disputes (nine-dash line); USA and China use mix of hard/soft power to try to influence states towards their side.Immigration: USA issueObama executive order: what changed?Context: immigrants in USA, congressional inaction, demographicsPolitical issues: Republican issues with demographics(Israel has a demographic issue with Jews/Arabs; taking initial steps to reduce democracy and keep Arabs out of politics)Hagel: Obama fires his Secretary of DefenseReflects Obama’s shifting priorities/politics, not Hagel’sPart of it is public relations: showing new policiesAfghanistanFailure of development efforts: same number in poverty as before warIran: final updateNo deal at deadline; talks extendedSpying/CryptographyPrivate companies are adding encryption to their data; this prevents NSA from following what the bad guys (and good guys) are doingDemocracy vs. secrecySnowden; previous history of NSA attempts at access to dataNSA promotes weaker encryption standards; pros and consNSA buys software/hardware weaknesses on open marketIntel: primary purposes and intel cycleArticle’s conclusion argues that NSA will have harder time doing intel (reducing uncertainty)Pirates: comparison of Somali vs. Nigerian pirate organizationsDifferent goals, different structures, different governmentsDifferent global