The international relations broadly can be defined as a discipline which studies the developments taking place beyond national borders. It is highly fragmented field, encompassing matters of political, security, legislative, economic, social, cultural, commercial and many more spheres of societal life.
Because of its multidisciplinary character, the study of international relations does not have a unified methodology for complete analysis, thus leading to the existence of various scientific methods and theories, seeking to explain the processes on the international level. For quick example we can appoint the geopolitics as a method for foreign policy analysis, or the theories of political realism and liberalism, which focus on power relations between actors.
History of the international relations can be traced back to the ancient times of Sun Tzu and Thucydides, when they recorded violent attitudes between peoples. In the Medieval, Niccolo Machiavelli wrote a fundamental book called “The Prince”, in which he discusses the power and principles of ruling.
In the 19th century, the theoretical writings of Carl von Clausewitz on military, political and cultural matters resulted in his book “On War”. Their insights stood the test of time and were widely used through the development of international relations theories.
International relations started to form as a separate academic field after World War I and especially in the middle of the 20th Century, when the political setting in Europe was developing dramatically. The appearance of new theories, methods and schools multiplied during the Cold War. Due to their variety, the international relations study is filled with debates and disagreements, all with their advantages and disadvantages.
The study of international relations stems from History, Political Theory and Law, which were the sources of knowledge before the international relations emerged as a separate study. In its big part, the international relations ponders on the political activity, which is the main instrument for interaction between typical actors.
Can we say the international relations are political relations then? International politics and international relations should not be confused, because international politics consists of strictly political relations between state actors and are just a part of overall international relations.
International relations is a very fluid science, which requires broad knowledge of different fields, predominantly from social sciences. It is also filled with terminology, which does not have a universal definition- you may be surprised that a term such as “terrorism” does not have a recognized universal meaning. This fuels the arguments and degrades the efficiency of international law.
With this said, one thing is clear, there’s a lot of room for interpretations in the international relations. We hope this post will help you avoid confusion in such a complex matter.
In conclusion we can say that:
International relations refer to an academic field and also, to the practical interactions beyond national borders.
As a study, international relations is relatively new but fast developing.
- International relations is interdisciplinary field.
- There is no single scientific method for international relations research.
- International politics is just one branch of the international relations tree, both are not the same thing.
- Big part of international relations terminology is a subject of interpretation.
Thank you guys for reading my second post on steemit. The subjects of the both are not related. I, being a specialist of International Relations, intend to publish some articles on the subject written by me. Hope you'll find them useful. Thank you once again!