International Relations

Meaning, Nature and Scope

Dr. Ramakrushna Pradhan

 Introduction
 We are not surprised
 The world has become increasing Borderless and a
Global village
 i-ways and airways made the world a network
society.
 In the age of globalization, one cannot be a
Robinson Cruso
 Even Aristotle said, Man is a social animal who
cannot live without the society.
 George Orwell said, ‘man must interact to be
complete as no one is self-sufficient’.
 STATE being a human institution is not an ‘Island’
 International Relations: What and
How???
The world is complex and interactive.
Domestic politics & policies are constantly
affected by developments outside.
Nations enter into dialogue to fulfill their
own interests.
The subject that studies relations among
nations and states is called International
Relations.
 What??
Two meaning of IR:
1. IR as an activity: Age old
2. IR as a Academic Inquiry: 1919
Quincy Wright: IR can be used in two senses:
3. Condition: refers to the facts of international life, i.e., the
actual conduct of relations among nations through diplomacy
based on foreign policy.
4. Discipline: systematic and scientific study of relations among
nations
 Narrow View of IR: simply relations between units states in
the international system
 Broad (Inclusive) View: inter-state, inter-society, and state
society relations including both states and state based actors.
 Why IR is important to us???
Question of war and peace

Deals with the highest human and social

organization – the State.

It is more scientific than other social

sciences.

IR a meta narrative – Lyotard

 What is Science?
 Science is any systematic knowledge, capable in correct prediction or reliable
outcome.
 Robert Burns - it is “a systematic investigation to find solutions to a problem”.
 Horton and Hunt - Science involves: observation, verification, accuracy,
precision, systematization, objectivity, recording, controlling and training.
 Although scientific research method depends on the collection of empirical
facts, yet facts alone do not constitute a science. For meaningful understanding
facts must be ordered in some fashion, analysed, generalized, and related to
other facts. Thus, theory construction is a vital part of the scientific inquiry.
 Since facts collected and findings evolved through the scientific method are
interrelated with the previous findings of other scholars or earlier
theories, scientific knowledge is a cumulative process.
 The scientific method could either be an inductive method or the deductive
method. Inductive method involves establishing generalizations, i.e., building
generalizations inferred from specific facts, or drawing particular principles
while Deductive method involves testing generalizations, i.e., it is the process of
reasoning from general principles to particular instances.
 Why IR is a Science?
 International Relations Science focuses on a certain field of human
relationships.
 highest field of social relationships, relationships between nations and
states.
 Like Science, IR too seeks to explain the events of nature in the
reproducible way and to use these findings to make useful predictions
which can be later implemented and used by the policymakers and other
practitioners.
 Scientific thinking represents a very very special approach to the things,
and it revolves creation of a grand concept to explain very general patterns
of social activities and theory.
 IR as a meta narrative provides a set of proposition (theory) to generalize,
thus, provide an explanation, establishing a casual relationship between the
variable, serving as a sort of explanatory concepts or a source of ways of
evaluating the point we use well meaning of such concepts
 What is the field of International
Relations?
 what we define, what is the subject matter of IR Theory has
been an age old discourse.
 World Views of IR: Narrow and Broad lenses
 How you see IR: Theoretical Outlook/Paradigms/Theories:
Realists, Liberals and the Marxists
 For Realists: State is the only and supreme actor (IR
cannot be conceived without/beyond state)
 Fore Liberals: the most important relations are not within
the states but between the society and the states, and the
internal politics are directly influencing the foreign policy
of any country.
 For Marxist: the most important relations are not between
the states, but between the social classes.
Two general traditions within the theory of International Relations

 1. Ancient/Classical Tradition: derived from the theories, ideas

and philosophy of the Ancient Greece.
 This tradition assumes that the logic of international
politics is driven by the human nature and human nature
is unchangeable.
 For traditionalists, human nature has not been good,
always and that people have been always trying to
maximize their benefits at the expense of the other people
leading to conflict
 2. Bible/Christian/Monotheistic Religions: it assumes
history as the journey towards perfectness.
 Eternal peace between people and the state can be
established by improving the relationship between them.
Three major paradigms in the IR Theory
Realism: based on the concept of eternal and unchangeable
nature of international politics as a consequence of eternal and
unchangeable nature of human beings.
Liberalism: development of international relations should
unavoidably come to a certain point of perfectness by forging close
relationship between people and the state
Marxism: Perpetual peace is possible only when classes of
the society enjoy equality and absence of class domination.
Meaning of IR
 The term “international” was for the first time used by Jeremy
Bentham in the later part of eighteen century (1789).
 Consequently, the term IR was defined as officials relations between
the sovereign states. However some
 scholars include economic, social and cultural relations in it.
 There are two views regarding the meaning of IR, one is Broader and
the other narrow
 Those who take narrow view assert IR include only “the official
relations conducted by the authorized leaders of the state”
 To them relations like trade, financial interaction, missionary
activities, travel of students and cultural relations do not fall in the
domain of IR
Professor Dunn takes a narrower view and define IR as “the actual
relations that take place across national boundaries or as the body of
knowledge which we have of those relations at any given time”
 Continue….
 Those who take broader view of IR include, apart from official
relations, all other relations among the states like movement of people,
goods an ideas
Quincy Wright says “it is not only the nation which international
relations seek to regulate. Varied types of groups-nations, states,
governments, people, regions, alliances, confederations, international
organizations, even industrial organizations, cultural organizations
shall be dealt within the study of IR”
Professor Hoffmann says “ international relations is concerned with the
factors and the activities which affect the external policies and the
powers of basic units into which the world is divided”
 It comes from the above that international relations is not only
concerned with official relations among the states but it also covers the
all those factors and organizations which affect the external relations
of a nation.
 IR & IP
 Scholars of international relations have ignored the distinction between
IR and International politics and they consider them as identical
 E.H Carr, Quincy Wright treated the two as identical. However some
writers have tried to draw a distinctions between the two. To them IR is
the totality of relations and therefore a wider term which includes
politics, war, diplomacy, economy and even culture.
 On the other hand International politics is concerned with diplomacy
and the relations among states and other political units
 International politics include only those aspects of IR in which conflict
of purpose or interest is involved
 In its broadest sense IR is comprised myriads of contacts among the
states, people, organizations and groups however all these relations are
regulated by the governments of the states and in this sense IR and
international politics become identical
 SCOPE of IR
 1. State system
 2. National Interest
 3. National Power
 4. Foreign Policy
 5. Instruments of international politics – Diplomacy. International Law, Foreign
policy, international trade, Economic and Military assistance etc.
 6. Nationalism, Colonialism and imperialism.
 7. Control of interstate Relations – Balance of power-International law and
 international organizations.
 8. Dynamic elements and new Dimensions-Rivalry between super powers and
 different blocs of nations.
 9. World government.
 10. War and peace ideologies.
 11. Ethnic groups – Races of mankind and Terrorist groups.
 12. International Regionalism.
 13. Nuclear weapons and its use.
 14. International organization and its role in maintaining world order.
Thank You 