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redirect Foreign affairs International relations (IR), a branch of political science, is the study of foreign affairs of and relations among states within the international system, including the roles of international organizationinter-governmental organizations (IGOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and multinational corporations (MNCs). It is both an academic and public policy field, and can be either positive (social sciences)positive or normative as it both seeks to analyze as well as formulate foreign policy.IR draws upon such diverse fields as political science, economics, history, law, philosophy, area studies, sociology, cultural studies and other social sciences. It involves a diverse range of issues, from globalization and its impacts on state sovereignty to the environmental movement, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, foreign aid, economic development, terrorism and human rights.
International relations theory - mainInternational relations theory International relations theory attempts to provide a Model (abstract)conceptual model upon which international relations can be analyzed. Each theory is reductive and essentialist to different degrees, relying on different sets of assumptions respectively. As Oli Holsti describes them, international relations theories act as a pair of colored sunglasses, allowing the wearer to see only the salient events relevant to the theory. An adherent of realism may completely disregard an event that a constructivismconstructivist might pounce upon as crucial, and vice versa.The number and character of the assumptions made by an international relations theory also determine its usefulness. Realism, a parsimonius and very essentialist theory, has less explanatory power, but greater predictive power. Liberalism, which examines a very wide number of conditions, is less useful in making predictions, but can be very insightful in analyzing past events. Traditional theories may have little to say about the behavior of former colonies, but Post-colonialismpost-colonial theory may have greater insight into that specific area, where it fails in other situations.Major schools of thought include:Realism*Neo-realismLiberalism*Neo-liberalismNeoconservatismIsolationismFunctionalism*NeofunctionalismMarxism*LeninismConstructivismFeminismPost-colonialism
History - mainHistory of international relations The history of international relations is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648 where the modern states system was developed. The Westphalia settlement marked the start of a novel premise in international affairs: armed struggle was no longer defined as a contest between varieties of confessional truths, but rather, a dispute among secular "sovereigns". The final settlement of armed disputes, after Westphalia, was no longer the province of military contractors and theologians - but the termination of war fell within the purview of an identifiable coterie of a new class: Professional diplomats and warriors sworn to the service of a state.Before the Westphalia settlement, there was no recognizable diplomatic profession. Spies, irregular envoys, and heralds citing scripture or handing out ringing declamations were the usual route that princes chose to alert one another to each other's demands and to sound the start of war. After Westphalia, the diplomatic craft was practiced by a kind of well-born guild, with members who were adept at melding reason, precedent, and law with quiet allusion to the implication of armed compunction.Before Westphalia, soldiers were led by contractors, private entrepreneurs who garnered pay from their won estates or from the lands they plundered. After Westphalia, soldiers were led by military bureaucrats who raised armies year-round and paid for their keep through levies and taxes. After Westphalia, diplomats and warriors began to share a kind of regulatory synergy. Both diplomat and warrior sought less "victory," and more, the achievement of a favorable peace. War, after Westphalia, as the great observer Carl von Clausewitz put it, came to be a "stronger form of diplomacy," and the battlefield an extension of the conference chamber.In the beginning, International Relations as a distinct field of study was almost entirely English-centered. This is evidenced by the first two schools to form academic divisions directly focused on the study of IR: in 1919 the first Chair in International Politics was established at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth from an endowment given by David Davies, and in the early 1920s the London School of Economics became the first university to found a full department of International Relations under the behest of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Philip Noel-Baker.seealsoDiplomatic history CriticismsCritics of this interpretation of history argue that it is inherently eurocentric; some non-European territories recognized states in a manner resembling the Westphalian system before 1648 whereas others had wildly different systems. Others (such as Andrew Linklater) argue that today's system is post-Westphalian due to the expansion of the political community into supranational governance through projects such as the European Union.Barry Buzan and Richard Little find that theories modelling their conceptualizations of international society on the Westphalian system are unable to grasp both the premodern international systems and answer the most important questions about international society today. Buzan and Little therefore define an international system as a system in which it is possible to distinguish between an "inside" and an "outside" in political realms and consider an international system to have existed since the rise of civilisation in Sumeria.
Mechanisms of international relations - International relations do not exist in an abstract vacuum—each state (and sometimes sub-state actor) utilizes institutions, traditions, identity, force, rhetoric, and other channels to influence the other actors in the international system.
Official - Summits, diplomacy, international organizations, supranational organizations, armed conflict, treaties, trade policy, visa policy.
Unofficial - Business communities, cultural exchange, ethnic diasporas, transnational groups, NGOs, epistemic communities.
Covert - Coups, espionage, subterfuge, sabotage, terrorism.sectstub
References - # Edward Said (1979), Orientalism, New York: Vintage Books (see also: books.guardian.co.uk)# The United States and the Discipline of International Relations: Hegemonic Country, Hegemonic Discipline?, International Studies Review, Vol 4 (2), 2002, pp 67-86
See also - ;Journals srcf.ucam.org - Cambridge Review of International Affairs, cria.org.uk, ingentaconnect.com ISSN 0955-7571 economist.com - The Economist sgir.org - European Journal of International Relations, ejt.sagepub.com Foreign Affairs The Brown Journal of World Affairs bjwa.org journalofdiplomacy.org - Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations foreignpolicy.com - Foreign Policy journal.georgetown.edu - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs hir.harvard.edu - Harvard International Review blackwellpublishing.com - International Affairs ISSN (print) 0020-5850, ISSN (online) 1468-2346 mitpress.mit.edu - International Organization, ideas.repec.org ISSN 0020-8183 mitpress.mit.edu - International Security isq.unt.edu - International Studies Quarterly, blackwellpublishing.com ISSN (print) 0020-8833, ISSN (online) 1468-2478 jia.sipa.columbia.edu - Journal of International Affairs lse.ac.uk - The Global Civil Society Yearbook (London School of Economics) lse.ac.uk - Millennium Journal of International Studies (London School of Economics) irsam.ca - McGill International Review nationalinterest.org - The National Interest fpri.org - Orbis (Foreign Policy Research Institute) saisreview.org - The SAIS Review (Johns Hopkins University), ISSN (print) 0036-0775, ISSN (online) 1088-3142 princeton.edu - Journal of Public and International Affairs (Princeton University);IR Schools American University, School of International Service american.edu Brown University, watsoninstitute.org - The Watson Institute for International Studies Carleton University, carleton.ca - Norman Paterson School of International Affiars Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs leeds.ac.uk - English School of International Relations, London School of Economics dcu.ie - Dublin City University, School of Law and Government Geneva School of Diplomacy, genevadiplomacy.com Georgetown University, Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign ServiceSchool of Foreign Service Georgia Institute of Technology, inta.gatech.edu - Sam Nunn School of International Affairs Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins SAIS Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) Keele University, School of Politics International Relations and Economics (SPIRE) London School of Economics, Department of International Relations Seton Hall University, The John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations Syracuse University, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs The George Washington University, elliottschool.org - Elliott School of International Affairs Tufts University, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy University of California, San Diego, Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies University of Chicago, Committee on International Relations University of Denver, Graduate School of International Studies University of Durham, dur.ac.uk - School of Government and International Affairs University of Geneva, Graduate Institute of International Studies (HEI), Geneva University of Oxford, cis.politics.ox.ac.uk - Centre for International Studies (CIS) University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs University of Reading, spirs.rdg.ac.uk - Department of Politics & International Relations University of St Andrews, st-andrews.ac.uk - School of International Relations University of Sussex, sussex.ac.uk - Department of International Relations and Politics University of Toronto, utoronto.ca - Munk Centre for International Studies University of Quebec in Montreal, politis.uqam.ca University of Wales, Aberystwyth, Department of International Politics Yale University, Center for International and Area Studies ;Associations The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA)
External links - isn.ethz.ch - International Relations and Security Network Global Public Policy Institute, Berlin & Geneva. Independent non-profit think tank that covers a variety of global governance issues from a Global Public Policy perspective. globalpublicpolicy.net - GPPi For an excellent collection of articles on IR and GPP, follow this globalpublicpolicy.net - link. eufpc.org - EUFPC European Foreign Policy Council - Interdisciplinary Think-tank and Network tamilnation.org - International Relations in the Age of Empire future.wikicities.com - Wikifutures Geopolitical Scenarios hir.harvard.edu - Article on Realism x Liberalism - Harvard International Review article promoting virtues of Liberalism over Realism politis.uqam.ca - Montreal University of Political Science - Université du Québec À Montréal, Department of Political ScienceCategory:International relations bg:Външни работиda:International Politikde:Internationale Beziehungeneo:Internaciaj rilatojfr:Relations internationaleshe:יחסים בין לאומייםlt:Tarptautiniai !santykiaihu:Vetítésja:国際 関係論
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Websites
Summit International Relations
Summit International Relations is a government and business strategy firm specializing in the Balkan and Black Sea region. The principals and partners at Summit International Relations have held top positions in their governments and offer unequaled strategic advice, knowledge and relationships to help clients achieve their goals in the business, governmental and nonprofit sectors. Summit International Relations delivers ideas, solutions and results.
http://www.summit-relations.com
International Relations Portal
This site helps explain new trends in diplomacy and foreign affairs, the strategic environment, international economy, and the bases of other cultures. International-Relations.com has been designed as a resource to help achieve these goals. Articles, research papers, lectures, centre and subject outlines, audio-visual materials, news, and links are provided to create a wide-ranging set of international relations resources.
http://www.international-relations.com/
International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
ISN is a one-stop information service in the fields of international relations and security. Among the services offered are: an annotated links library, a limited area search tool (ISN LASE), a selection of resources on current world affairs, and specialized fact databases.
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/
United States House of Representatives
Information on the lower body of the federal legislature: about the legislative process, this week's House calendar, committee schedules, roll call vote records, and links to House committees and individual members of Congress.
http://www.house.gov/
FIRST: Facts on International Relations and Security Trends
Free public database system, providing integrated searching of a number of international military and diplomatic information systems.
http://first.sipri.org/
Canadian Institute of International Affairs
Provides a non-partisan forum for discussion, analysis and debate of international affairs.
http://www.ciia.org/
University of British Columbia Library
Information on staff,branches, hours and an on-line database
http://www.library.ubc.ca/
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