Chapter 5

What is "unipolarity"?

• Unipolarity denotes the period of time after the post-cold war era, in which the US emerged as the sole superpower. It describes the unrivalled extent and many dimensions of US power.

• Unipolarity refers to the dense set of trans-Atlantic and trans-Pacific relations and alliance systems.

• Unipolarity was marked by Western-dominated institutions and multilateral organizations originally created in the wake of the Second World War.

• All of the above options are correct.

Soft power is...

• Weakening hegemonic influence.

• Collaboration among several emerging powers.

• Getting others to agree with you without using coercive force.

• The influence of financial institutions and markets (as opposed to state actors or other political institutions).

Which of the following is an example of how emerging powers have impacted the international governance system?

• India, Brazil and South Africa have been installed as Permanent Observer Countries (POS) In the United Nations Security Council.

• The BASIC countries have created a formal intergovernmental organisation with a brief similar to the G8.

• Brazil and India have joined the US and the EU as members of the WTO inner negotiating circle.

• ASEAN has been granted the right to appoint a senior vice president of the World Bank Group, and a senior vice president of the IMF.

What is an example of a nation trying to "graduate" from the developing world category?

• Insisting that it should be granted formal positions in various international organisations that reflect its new political clout.

• Renegotiating existing bilateral and multilateral agreements to push new agendas.

• Waiving special concessions based on their old developing country status.

• Fortifying claims of sovereignty.

What is the Washington Consensus?

• A set of policy aims thought, by its promoters, to maximise global welfare, by pushing for (among other things) market liberalisation and a reduced role for the state.

• The idea, prevalent in the 1990s, that the United States would be able to use its status as a benign hegemon to promote the "winning" set of norms more or less indefinitely, leading to a gradually more peaceful world.

• The policy aim consciously to invest in soft power instruments and methodologies.

• The idea promoted after the first Gulf War to rely more on international conflict prevention, and to expand the role of the United Nations Security Council in this context.

What would be an example of increased "concert diplomacy"?

• Using a variety of diplomatic means in concert to achieve desired ends.

• Developing standard operating procedures to aid international collaboration in crisis situations.

• Creating new formal organisations (such as the G20) to organise countries.

• Attempting to organise diplomatic interaction around a limited number of accepted "themes".

During his tenure as Secretary General, Kofi Annan made it a priority to reform the United Nations, including the Security Council. What reform(s) have been implemented thus far?

• India and Brazil have been made permanent members (but lacking the veto power).

• A new class of observer countries (to be elected biannually by the General Assembly) has been instituted.

• India, South Africa and Brazil have been appointed Regional Representatives, a form of permanent membership where the countries are expected to consult with regional partners and organisations.

• None

What is BASIC?

• A theoretical variant of the classical realist tenet that raw coercive force is the fundamental power determinant in international relations.

• An acronym (BAndung Simplified Inter-regional Communication) denoting a diplomatic protocol prioritising economic and cultural cooperation between developing nations.

• A group of developing countries (Brazil, South Africa, India and China) that have in some cases acted in unison to strengthen their negotiation position vis-a-vis traditionally strong parties such as the United States.

• The "standard" governance structure adopted by some intergov. organisations. BASIC is criticised as reifying traditional western norms by "surreptitiously" lodging them at the heart of these organisations.

Evidence that the United States has primarily been a status quo power includes...

• Washington's continued references to the tenets of the Monroe Doctrine in order to retain the status quo in the Western hemisphere.

• The way it tends to support embedded political systems by default.

• Its apparent conservation of values that were formed a long time ago.

• The statement is fundamentally flawed: the United States has primarily been a revisionist power.

What is the "liberal global order"?

• A 1990s assumption that liberal values, as defined and promoted by the United States, were "winning", leading to a more tranquil world.

• A neo-realist ironical denouncement of soft values as a major factor in international affairs.

• A United Nations doctrine meant to guide diplomatic relations, first advanced by Secretary General Perez de Cuellar.

• A theoretical explanation how financial and trade globalisation will spill over to other areas and gradually deepen integration.