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IR, scope, nature and approaches

What is IR? Trevor Taylor (1979) defines IR as: "A discipline, which tries to explain political activities across state boundaries". 

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According to Ola, Joseph (1999), "International relations are the study of all forms of interactions that exist between members of separate entities or nations within the international system". Seymon Brown (1988) thus defines international relations as: "the investigating and study of patterns of action and “reactions among sovereign states as represented by their governing elites.” As Stanley Hoffman writes: “the discipline of international relations is concerned with the factors and the activities which affect the external policies and power of the basic units into which the world is divided.”

Thus, international relations is concerned with all the exchange transactions, contacts, flow of information and the resulting behavioral responses between and among separate organized societies. International relations could encompass many different activities social, economic, religious and so forth in so far as they have implications for international political relations. There are three basic levels of understanding. These include IR as a course of study, as a situation, and as a principle.  As a course of study, IR refers to our discipline, what we are currently studying in that specialized Political Science class in which we are learning the politics among nations. It is the field or body of knowledge that examines the totality of human relations across national boundaries.  As a situation, IR describes the state of interaction between two or more actors in separate national boundaries. Put differently, it describes the relationships that take place by members of the international community. These include all or any aspects of their relationship such as war, conflict, dispute, separation, belligerency, settlement, pact, treaties, cooperation, conferences, and organization.  As a principle, IR refers to a set of ideas that constitute the public policy that a state makes for the purpose of the external context. It describes the foreign policy of a state, international organization or region, which are articulated, formulated and implemented by an International Department, or a State Department or Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Nature of International Relations:

The study and practice of international relations is interdisciplinary in nature, blending the fields of economics, history, and political science to examine topics such as human rights, global poverty, the environment, economics, globalization, security, global ethics, and the political environment. International Relations, like the world community itself are in transition. In a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world, it encompasses much more than relations among nation states and international organization and groups. It includes a variety of transitional relationships at various levels, above and below the level of the nation states. International relations are a multidisciplinary field gathering together the international aspects of politics, economics, geography, history, law, sociology, psychology, philosophy and cultural studies. It is a meta-discipline. Due to increasing human-activities, the relations among various states have been changing and due to these continuous changes in international relations, the meaning, nature and scope of international relations have been changing. There are many factors which affects nature of international relations such as evolution of new nations, technological development, nuclear research, rise of multipolar world, emergence of new order, non-state organizations, global problems, so and so forth. Due to changing nature of international relation, it is very difficult to explain the nature of international relations. However, these are the following important points explaining the nature of international relations; 1. NO SINGLE DEFINITION: international relations don’t have any single definition. Unfortunately, till date, no universally accepted definition of international relations has been coined because of its continuous changing nature. 2. OPERATES IN ANARCHICAL SYSTEM: International relations operate in an anarchical

system. There is no single organization to regulate relations among states. Michael Nicholson writes “international relation is study of aspects of anarchy, though an anarchy which is not necessarily chaotic. 3. INTER-DISCIPLINARY SUBJECT: International relations are inter-disciplinary subject. In

1998, UNESCO mentioned international relations as a sub-field of political science because scholars of international relations analyses political relations, economic relations, social relations and cultural relations, etc. 4. CONCERNS WITH GLOBAL ISSUES: International relations deals with key issues which

concerns public global interest. Goldstein and Pave house in his book, “International Relations” write, International relations revolves around one key problem: how to balance interest of international states with the global interest?

Scope of International Relations: It is known by now that international relations encompass a myriad of discipline. Attempts to structure and intellectualize it have often been the magically and analytically confined to boundaries determined by data. The core concepts of international relations are International Organization, International Law, Foreign Policy, International Conflict, International Economic Relations and Military Thought and Strategy. International/Regional Security, Strategic Studies, International Political Economy, Conflict/War and Peace Studies, Globalization, International Regimes. Moreover it covers , state sovereignty, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, terrorism, organized crime, human security, foreign interventionism and human rights. These have been grounded in various schools of thought (or traditions) notably Realism and Idealism. Another merit as well as demerit of this discipline is that it has no boundaries of its scope. It is merit in the sense of provision of absolute opportunity to man to make research on the daily changing international relations. It is demerit as the discipline fails to give itself a concrete shape and outline. But still keeping in view the aspects studied in the International Relations till now, we will try to elaborate its scope. Following points will prove helpful in this regard

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IR studies relations between states in their political and economic prospects primarily. IR covers the realm of 'foreign affairs' in all its dimensions. IR deals with the recording and studying of International History with the aim to find out the basis of states' relations in the past. IR studies International Law in the context of how international rules define and govern the relations between states. IR embodies its scope with the inclusion of not only states but also the non-state actors in international relations. IR deals with the international events of; War, Peace, Nuclear world, International political economy, Globalization, International institutions, Conflicts among states, Foreign policy and decision making National powers and interests

Example: International relations are thus concerned with every form of interaction between and amongst nations. Such interactions can also occur between corporation and social groups. Examples are interactions between member states of the OPEC or the International Human Rights Commissions. The moment such interactions cross a state boundary it is of interest to the study of International Relations. International relations recognize and respond to the fact that the

foreign policy goals that nations pursue can be a matter of permanent consequences to some or all of the others.

Approaches: The idealist approach: is that which strengthens the view that international politics is not about a theatre of war. It regards the relationship that exists between states as one that does not necessarily create disorder and descent into anarchy. The idealist school is premised on the Wilsonian theory that peace and order can reign in an international system of politics, that is, where there are conscious and sustained efforts to maintain order. Man as a social being is thus a moral being, and with law to guide the relations and control boundaries, coupled with education which nourishes and ennobles the soul, as well as the presence of a system of law, man can live without anarchy. Idealism as a school of thought gained currency after President Woodrow Wilson of the United States who, after the First World War, presented some ideals that can promote global mutual understanding, peace and order. His 14-point Agenda for global peace was a monumental pathway for the creation of an international organization and an enduring international legal order aimed at minimizing international conflict, promoting cooperation among peoples as well as preventing another global chaos as was the case from 1914 to 1918. Realism: is the IR school that is pessimistic about moral suasion in international politics. The realist argument begins with the natures of politics and man. Politics, which principally means the determination of who gets what, when and how, or the authoritative allocation (sharing) of values (resources), gives little or no room for morality or best behavior. Moreover, man is by nature selfish and aggressive, and on a matter that involves the sharing of scarce resources over which all are contending, law and order or moral consciousness would be the last recourse. Politics is thus the opposite of morality. Talking about morality and law in “politics” therefore translates to putting a square peg in a round hole: they do not go together. National interest, a set of objectives a nation has articulated as its principal targets in its external relations, is a primary factor in international politics. Morgenthau (1962) who has extended the frontiers of political realism in his groundbreaking Politics among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace, argues that the main push factor for states in the international community is Their uncompromised interest and that consequently, the ambitions of states or the clashes of national interests have made international politics a fertile ground for conflict. National interest is not only an end in itself; it is also a means to an end. National power is the ultimate aim of states. Power here refers to national values, economic riches, or national wealth and the occupation of a vantage position in the international community. Power also thus becomes an end in itself as well as a means to an end too.

To actualize their interest or gain such value, states conceive of strategic roles to occupy in international politics. This is the national role conception (NRC) which is done at the foreign policymaking stage (Holsti, 1987). Role conception is a crucial stage in foreign policy as it determines the level of achievement of a state as well as the success or failure of its foreign policy (Folarin, 2010). It is during the role conception stage that variants such as military strategy for the purpose of the pursuit of national power, is considered. Liberalist: approach in international politics flows from the broad liberal ideology which tends to describe the international system as a group of states and non-state actors whose inevitable mutual interdependence ultimately requires social, legal and economic order for states to fully realize their goals. The liberal school tends to marry some aspects of both the realist and idealist schools. The liberalists see a strong bond in democracy, peace, commerce, law, institutions and alliances and the import of all these in the prevention of conflict and anarchy. The focal point of this perspective is that democratic systems are more likely to promote an international environment of peace, friendship and cooperation that will promote a prosperous commerce and trade. To strengthen this kind of auspicious environment, a legal system is required which can be best achieved by international grouping. With firm structure on ground to see to the implementation of agreements and enforcement of law, nations will maintain the peaceful status quo. Strong economic and military alliances are also encouraged as these would see to joint actions in economic development and collective security measures to ward of agents of destabilization. According to Jumarang (2011), liberalism believes in the measurement of power through state economies, the possibility of peace and cooperation, as well as the concepts of political freedoms, rights and the like, an idea shared by Fukuyama in his classic, End of History and the Last Man (1992) that western liberal democracy is the final form of human government.