The study of international relations is becoming ever more important as our

world becomes more interconnected. In this lesson, you'll learn about what
international relations is and some important related concepts.

International Relations Defined

International relations is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of

the interaction of the actors in international politics, including states and non-
state actors, such as the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund
(IMF), the World Bank, and Amnesty International. One of the key features of
the international system is that it's a state of anarchy - each state in the system
is sovereign and does not have to answer to a higher authority.
Imagine living in a confined space with a group of other people with limited
resources. Further imagine that there is no law enforcement and that the only
'law' is agreements between individuals and self-help is the only means of
enforcement. In short, every person can do whatever he or she wants only
subject to what the others in the space will do as a result. This situation gives
you an idea of the world in which states live.
International relations involves the study of such things as foreign policy,
international conflict and negotiation, war, nuclear proliferation, terrorism,
international trade and economics, and international development, among other
subjects. As you may expect, international relations' broad scope requires an
interdisciplinary approach, drawing upon the fields of economics, law, political
science, sociology, game theory, and even psychology.

Schools of Thought
Like most areas of scholarship, there are different schools of thought in the field
of international relations. Let's take a quick look at the major ones:
Liberalism is a school of thought and argues that states exist in an
environment of anarchy, as discussed above, and primarily act in their own self-
interest. Liberalism argues that states act in their own self-interest by
cooperating, which increases predictability and transparency in the anarchical
world stage. For example, institutions, such as the United Nations, help states
come together in a deliberative fashion to try to solve important issues affecting
global stability and the interests of the international community.
Realism, like liberalism, holds that states live in an anarchical world and act in
their own self-interest. However, unlike liberals, realists don't buy into
cooperation. Realists contend that all states are focused on survival through the
acquisition of power and preventing other states from obtaining more power
than they have. For example, some states have invaded their neighbors or
established colonies in the past to acquire resources to increase their power.
The English School takes a different approach than liberalism and realism.
The English School focuses on the concept of international society. These
theorists view the world stage as occupied by a society of states that are bound
by a set of rules, norms, and institutions that are mutually agreed upon by their
members. In their views, while states cannot completely escape an anarchical
environment, certain rules apply to members of the international community. We
can see this in international law.
Constructivism takes a sociological approach to international relations.
Constructivists focus on how national identity is formed in order to understand
national interests. For example, states that share common characteristics or
traits, such as democracy and capitalism, tend to view each other in positive
terms, while viewing states without these shared characteristics often identify in
negative terms. Thus, states with similar identities may tend to socialize
positively with each other, while being hostile to states that have radically
different identities. Constructivism has provided some important insights into
understanding conflicts based upon ethnicity, religion, and terrorism.
Critical theory is actually a set of theories that challenges assumptions made
in traditional approaches to international relations. For example, that the quest
for power is the motivating factor in state actions. In fact, these theorists often
argue that these traditional assumptions may very well be responsible for some
of the tragedies that occur in international politics, such as war, third-world
poverty, and ethnic cleansing.
Two critical theories in international relations are neo-Marxism and feminism.
Neo-Marxism focuses less on the role of states and more on the role of
economic factors in the international system. Feminism argues that masculine
ideas of aggression and war color how the nation-state and international system
are characterized.

Lesson Summary
Let's review what we've learned. International relations involves the study of
the interaction of actors on the world stage. Several different schools of thought
attempt to explain international relations,
includingliberalism, realism, constructivism, the English School and critical
theory. Subfields in international relations include security studies, civil society
studies, international ethics, international political economy, and international
law.