The field of international relations (IR) covers relationships between states. It is concerned with issues such as foreign policy analysis, international law, development studies, intercultural relations, diplomacy, terrorism and global environmental problems. It is a broad, multidiscipline field that often draws heavily on other areas such as anthropology, economics, geography and history. Its various schools of thought are realism, liberalism and constructivism.
The belief that countries should be free to pursue their own interests, but that the rights of others must be respected. It is the basis for international law, and a key concept of the UN Charter.
A situation in which a state increases its security measures, e.g. by spending more on defence, and this causes other states to increase their own security measures in response, leading to a spiral of insecurity. This was a feature of the run-up to world war one. See also dependency theory.
An agreement between nations laying down standards for the treatment of prisoners, civilians and soldiers. It is an important legal principle, and forms the basis for prosecutions of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and aggression at the International Criminal Court.
The belief that nations are best served by close international ties, especially in business and politics. It is the underlying principle of the EU and many other regional groupings, such as SADC in Africa. It is also an important tenet of soft power, which argues that co-operation can be a more effective political tool than threats or military force.