Portal:International relations
Introduction
International relations (IR) or international affairs (IA) — commonly also referred to as international studies (IS), global studies (GS), or global affairs (GA) — is the study of interconnectedness of politics, economics and law on a global level. Depending on the academic institution, it is either a field of political science, an interdisciplinary academic field similar to global studies, or an entirely independent academic discipline in which students take a variety of internationally focused courses in social science and humanities disciplines. In all cases, the field studies relationships between political entities (polities) such as sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations (IGOs), international non-governmental organizations (INGOs), other non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs), and the wider world-systems produced by this interaction. International relations is an academic and a public policy field, and so can be positive and normative, because it analyses and formulates the foreign policy of a given state.
As political activity, international relations dates from the time of the Greek historian Thucydides (c. 460–395 BC), and, in the early 20th century, became a discrete academic field (no. 5901 in the 4-digit UNESCO Nomenclature) within political science. In practice, international relations and international affairs forms a separate academic program or field from political science, and the courses taught therein are highly interdisciplinary.
For example, international relations draws from the fields of politics, economics, international law, communication studies, history, demography, geography, sociology, anthropology, criminology, psychology, and gender studies. The scope of international relations encompasses issues such as globalization, diplomatic relations, state sovereignty, international security, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, global finance, terrorism, and human rights.
Selected article
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization established 24 October 1945 to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was created following the Second World War to prevent another such conflict. At its founding, the UN had 51 member states; there are now 193. The headquarters of the United Nations is in Manhattan, New York City, and enjoys extraterritoriality. Further main offices are situated in Geneva, Nairobi and Vienna. The organization is financed by assessed and voluntary contributions from its member states. Its objectives include maintaining international peace and security, promoting human rights, fostering social and economic development, protecting the environment, and providing humanitarian aid in cases of famine, natural disaster, and armed conflict. (more...)
Selected biography
Zhang Qian (traditional Chinese 張騫; Wade–Giles Chang Ch'ien) was an imperial envoy to Central Asia in the 2nd century BCE, during the time of Imperial China's Han dynasty. He was the first official diplomat to bring back reliable information about Central Asia to the Chinese imperial court under Emperor Wu of Han. Today Zhang Qian's travels are associated with the major route of transcontinental trade, the Silk Road. In essence, his missions opened up to China the many kingdoms and trade goods from hitherto unknown parts of the world. Zhang Qian's accounts of his explorations of Central Asia are detailed in the Early Han historical chronicles, Records of the Grand Historian or Shiji, compiled by Sima Qian in the 1st century BCE. Today Zhang Qian is considered a national hero for the role he played in opening China to the world of commercial trade.
Did you know?
- ...that Austria (pictured) had been divided and occupied by the Allied Forces from 1945 until 1955?
- ...that the Peace of Westphalia formally ended the Thirty Years' War in 1648 and created a basis for national self-determination that continues to this day?
- ...that Finland fought side by side with Nazi Germany in the Continuation War and then against it in the Lapland War?
- ...that Russia and Japan have been unable to sign a peace treaty after World War II and as of 2015 matters remain unresolved?
- ...that after the Chinese Civil War combat ended between the Communist Party of China and the Kuomintang Party of China, no armistice or peace treaty was signed and there is much debate about whether the Civil War has legally ended?
- ...that in the Russo-Japanese War the complete victory of the Japanese military surprised world observers and transformed the balance of power in East Asia?
- ...that the Cuban Missile Crisis played out on television worldwide and was the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war?
- ...that after the summit of the Munich Agreement the then British prime minister Neville Chamberlain returned to Great Britain and declared that it would mean "peace for our time" only to be followed by the Second World War?
Selected images
In the news
- May 19:Burundian president Pierre Nkurunziza returns to power after an unsuccessful coup d'état attempt during the 2015 Burundian unrest.
- May 18: Saudi Arabia-led airstrikes against the Houthi rebels in Yemen resume after a five-day ceasefire.
- May 17:The Islamic State reportedly seizes control of the Iraqi city of Ramadi after the retreat of government forces.
- May 16: An Egyptian court sentences deposed President Mohamed Morsi to death for his part in the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
- May 14:*U.S. President Barack Obama meets with the Gulf Cooperation Council at the White House with a proposed nuclear deal with Iran top of the agenda.
- May 14:Malaysia turns away two boats with more than 800 Rohingya and Bangladesh migrants abandoned at sea by human traffickers.
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