International relations refer to the interactions among sovereign states and the scientific study of those interactions. It is a multidisciplinary field that concerns all activities among states, such as war, diplomacy, trade, and foreign policy, as well as relations with and among other international actors, such as intergovernmental organizations, international nongovernmental organizations, international legal bodies, and multinational corporations. The study of international relations is also concerned with global governance, intercultural relations, national and ethnic identities, foreign policy analysis, development studies, environment, international security, diplomacy, terrorism, media, social movements, and more.
International relations is widely classified as a major subdiscipline of political science, along with comparative politics, political theory, political methodology, and public administration. It also often draws heavily from other fields, including anthropology, economics, geography, law, philosophy, sociology, and history. There are several schools of thought within international relations, of which the most prominent are realism, liberalism, and constructivism.
Although international politics has been analyzed since antiquity, international relations did not become a discrete field until 1919, when it was first offered as an undergraduate major by Aberystwyth University in the United Kingdom. After the Second World War, international relations burgeoned in both importance and scholarship—particularly in North America and Western Europe.
International relations is becoming increasingly relevant as the world grows more and more interconnected through trade and commerce, migration, the internet, and social media, and concerns about pressing global environmental problems. A globalized world calls for academics and professionals trained to comprehend these complex interactions, promoting understanding and crafting policy and business solutions to meet the challenges of today and the future.
