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".

 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

 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.