International Relations Midterm

1. To ‘study’ international relations is to undertake a very broad concept that is both multifaceted and multidisciplinary. International relations involves analysis of the world and its actors to determine why events occur and how they might develop. I will explain the study of international relations in three parts. First, I will discuss the players or actors that international relations scholars study. Second, I will discuss what these scholars seek to achieve. Last, I will cover how the viewpoints of scholars might affect their analysis.

International relations is the study of relations between states, but also between states and non-state organizations, and between states and intergovernmental organizations (Wilkinson, Paul 2007, 1). States can be defined as “A political actor that has sovereignty and a number of characteristics, including territory, population, organization, and recognition” (Rourke and Boyer 2010, G–11). Non-state organizations can be defined as non-profit organizations, such as churches or Red Cross. A good example of an intergovernmental organization, an organization whose members have international presence, would be the United Nations. Since international relations is such a dynamic concept, more players are introduced all the time. For instance, multinational corporations are corporations which have branches in other countries, such Nissan or Exxon are rising to such significance that they are studied as actors as well.

Scholars that study international relations seek to achieve a considerable amount. International relations scholars seek to make generalizations of a historical period (Yetiv,Steve 2011, 97). These scholars also seek to apply theories to world events, for instance, asking what the...

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...istan’s chaotic society lead its leadership to just try to maintain some form of normalcy. I think that the dominance that the U.S. is used to having and the angry society it needed to please drove the decision to infiltrate Pakistan. These events have brought us to where we are today.

Works Cited

Layne, Christopher. 2012. “This Time It’s Real: The End of Unipolarity and the Pax Americana.” International Studies Quarterly 56: 203–213.

Rourke, John T, and Mark A Boyer. 2010. International Politics on the World Stage. 8th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education

Wilkinson, Paul. 2007. International relations: A very short introduction. Oxford, GBR: Oxford University Press, UK.

Yetiv, Steve. 2011. “History, International Relations, and Integrated Approaches: Thinking About Greater Interdisciplinarity.” International Studies Perspectives 12: 94–118