International Relations: An Introduction

International Relations: An Introduction

Copyright 2019 Muhammad Anwar Farooq

Published by Muhammad Anwar Farooq at Smashwords

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ISBN: 9780463864234

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements and Dedications

Foreword

Chapter 01 – International Relations

Chapter 02 – Origins and Evolution of IR

Chapter 03 – Theories in IR (I)

Chapter 04 – Theories in IR (II)

Chapter 05 – The Nation State System

Chapter 06 – National Power

Chapter 07 – Diplomacy

Chapter 08 – Disarmament and Arms Control

Chapter 09 – The Relevance of International Law in IR

Chapter 10 – Globalization and its Implications

Chapter 11 – Foreign Investments

Chapter 12 – Conflict and Conflict Resolution

Chapter 13 – International Organizations

Chapter 14 – Systems Approach to IR

Acknowledgements & Dedications

First and foremost I would like to thank God. In the process of putting this book together, I realized how true this gift of writing is for me. You gave me the power to believe in my passion and pursue my dreams. I could never have done this without the faith I have in you, the Almighty.

No doubt, writing a book is harder than I thought and more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. None of this would have been possible without the support of my teacher Dr. Mazher Hussain, my family, and my friends.

To my mother: for the first time in 39 years, I am speechless! I can barely find the words to express all the wisdom, love and support you've given me. You are my #1 fan and for that, I am eternally grateful.

To my wife: what can I say? You are one of the main reasons for my successful life. I am so thankful that I have you in my corner pushing me when I am ready to give up. Thanks for not just believing, but knowing that I could do this! I Love You Always & Forever!

To my friends, Mohsin Saeed and Khalid Munir: Thank you for encouraging me in every tough moment of my life. I am grateful for your moral support which made this possible.

Foreword

First of all, thank you for choosing this book. This book is just an introduction to the basic concepts in the study of international relations. I have taught an introductory course on international relations in university classes. This book is a collection of handouts which I prepared as course material to facilitate my students. I hope this collection would help the reader to understand the concepts involved in the study of international relations.

Chapter 1

International Relations

Definition

Till date, unfortunately, no universally accepted definition of international relations have been coined because of its continuously changing nature. However, Josha Goldstein and Pavehouse in his book International Relations write:

"The field of international relations concerns the relationships among the world’s government. But these relationships cannot be understood in isolation. They are closely connected with other actors (such as intergovernmental org., multinational corporations, and individuals); with other social structures (including economics, culture, and domestic politics); and with geographical and historical influences. These elements together power the central trends in IR today-globalization."

No nation is an island. Because domestic policies are constantly affected by developments outside, nations are compelled to enter into dialogue with the target or initiating entities or form alliances for the purpose of enhancing their status quo or increasing their power or prestige and survival in the international system.

Trevor Taylor (1979) defines International Relations as A discipline which tries to explain political activities across state boundaries.

According to Ola, Joseph (1999), International relations are the study of all forms of interactions that exist between members of separate 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".

Some scholars see power as the key to international politics. Thus they define international relations as the subject that deals with those relations among nations, which involve power status.

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".

In the words of Karl Wolfgang Deutsch (1968):

"An introduction to the study of international relations in our time is an introduction to the art and science of the survival of mankind. If civilization is killed in the nearest future, it will not be killed by famine or plague, but by foreign policy and international relations."

The word international relations for the first time used in 1880. In UNESCO Nomenclature international relations is enlisted with political science. In practice, international relations are studied either as a subfield of political science or as an independent discipline. The discipline of international relations deals with the war, military alliance, diplomacy, trade, cooperation & peace.

International Relations and International Politics

People always confuse themselves among the terms ‘International Relations’, ‘International Politics’ and ‘Global Politics’. Sometimes, this term used interchangeably. According to Hans Morgenthau - the core of international relations is international politics. However, he says, International Relations is much wider in scope than