Introduction and Background
The study of international relations
represent the of foreign affairs and global issues as it obtains among states
operating within the international system. These include the role of state, intergovernmental
organisations (IGOs), Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) and Multinational
Corporation (MNCs). International relations allowed as an academic field of
study as well public policy discipline. International relations is both
positive and normative in that it seeks to influence the formulation of the
foreign policies of states as well as provide analytical explanations upon
which such policies and actions are based. The study of international relations is an
intellectual effort aimed at bringing order, reason and normally into the chaos
and near state of anarchy that characterised international politics in the
part.
Though international relations is often
considered a branch of political science, many scholars prefer to view it as an
inter disciplinary field of study, because if its relationship across the
board. Despite its relationship with political science, international relations
draw much relevance and strength across diverse fields of human sociology,
anthropology, international law, social works, psychology and cultural studies.
International relations cover a wide range of issues including globalization,
regional integration, sovereignty of states, ecological preservation, nuclear
proliferation and threat, nationalism, racism, economic development, global
finance, international terrorism, organized crime, human trafficking and modern
slavery, foreign intervention and human rights.
The history of international relations
could appropriately be traced back to the “peace of Westphalia” of 1648 hence
modern states system was developed. Prior to this era, the European medieval
organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical
religions order revolving around the imperial domination of the Catholic
Church.
Westphalia brought about the legal concept
of sovereignty which essentially that rulers and sovereigns hold absolute power
within the defined territory they rule and no other power, either within or
outside their territory shall hold supremacy over them. Kings and sovereigns
and Monarchs shall maintain absolute sovereignty within their territorial
borders.
Westphalia encouraged the rise of
independent nation states, the institutionalization of diplomacy and the
establishment of national armed forces. This European invention spread across
the world to the Americas, Asia and Africa through the system of colonization,
empire building and standards of global civilization. The two major wars of
twentieth century eventually led to the establishment of the contemporary
international system brought about by decolonization and the rise of new
nations.
Theoretical Bases:
The theoretical bases of international
relations aims at providing explanation, predictions and analytical
understanding of the complex actions and events taking place within and across
national boundaries. These actions and events have had serious effects on the
direction of human evolution and development. It impacts have been felt most
particularly in areas of law, politics, economics, diplomacy, military strategy,
science and technology. Other areas of human interaction affected by
cross-border interaction include health, tourism, sports, commerce, human
rights culture and the environment.
The
study of international relations has undergone several revolutionary stages in
the last decades. With the use of social science techniques in order to
establish verifiable propositions, theorizing has become a ready tool in the
study and understanding of international relations. For greater relevance,
these tools are employed by social scientist, analyst, theoreticians, political
realists, statesmen and political idealists alike in their various levels of
explanation and analysis.
Levels
of analysis comprises various ways of looking at the international system.
These includes the individual level, the group, the domestic level, the
nation-state as a unit, the international level, intergovernmental affairs and
the global level. The major functions of theory are to:
a. Describe
events.
b. Explain
events.
c. Analyses
events.
d. Predict
events and outcome.
The
quadruple function of description, explanation, analysis and prediction are
undertaken on a global level. Theory tries to explain patterns of events on its
raw and first hand basis. It also provides the necessary yardstick for future
patters of development and assessment. Despite differing view points on the
level of approach to the study of international politics, there is a common
agreement on the existence of and indeed the importance of international
politics as a human phenomenon. To this end, theories of international
relations try to provide answers to questions bordering on the achievement of
order, peace and stability in an otherwise unregulated, ungoverned and
unpredictable world environment. Theories try to provide answers to numerous
problems which have thwarted the efficiency and growth of the international
system in the past. Such problems which hinders growth and universal
development include.
1. War
and aggression.
2. Racism
and racial prejudice.
3. Nationalism
and ethnocentrism
4. Alliances,
collective action and integration.
5. Ideology,
doctrine and dogma.
6. North-South
dichotomy i.e. economic imbalance.
7. Human
rights violations including poverty and abuses.
8. International
law – its successes and constraints.
9. The
absence of a credible empire i.e world government.
10. Power
and the use of power.
Providing
answers to the above questions will enhance the capability of actors in the
system to pursue, with greater vigor and clarity, the quest for lasting
solutions. Such answers will provide a better understanding of the world system
and streamline collective efforts at managing events and their outcomes with a
view to promoting world peace, security, co-existence and universal progress.
Theories
of international relations when fully developed and effectively applied would
represent a set of doctrines with which order would be achieved in the world
system. This is particularly important in view of the fact that the world
system is full of complex problems brought about by the perceptions of
mis-perceptions of the major actors in the system and even the minor ones.
Historically
the idea of international relations as a distinct field of study originated
almost entirely from Great Britain. The chain of international politics was
established at the University of Wales in 1919. in the early 1920s the London
School of Economics created a department of international relations at the
instance of Philip Noel Baker, a Nobel peace prize winner.
The
first university entirely dedicated to the study of international relations was
the graduate institute of international studies founded in 1927, to train
diplomats accredited to the league of nations. The graduates institutes
produced the firs Ph.D degree in International relations. In 1919, the
Georgetown University became the first university in the US to establish a
faculty of international relations. Today, international relations has become a
major field of study, research and development in almost every university in
most countries of the world.