The study of behavior that occurs across the boundaries of nation-states and of the broader relationships that are shaped by those interactions. The study of international relations addresses a wide range of issues, including global political economy, foreign policy analysis, international political economy, intercultural relations, national and ethnic identities, terrorism and media. It is often seen as a discipline that intersects with economics, history, law, geography, diplomacy and sociology.
A state that wants to revise the existing global order, such as Russia or China. Such states are often unstable.
When one state acts as an intermediary for talks between two others that do not talk directly to each other, such as Henry Kissinger’s shuttle-back-and-forth between Israel and Syria in 1973 to prevent a war. Increasingly common, particularly in the aftermath of the Iraq War in 2003-09 and with North Korea.
The Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs, founded in 1989, lists graduate institutes in 25 universities in the United States that offer degree programs in international relations (American University, Carleton College, Columbia, Georgetown, George Washington, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, New York University, Princeton, Pennsylvania State, Syracuse, and Tufts). A subset of this group — known as the American Council of Foreign Relations, which was established in 1922 — offers Master of Science in Foreign Service degrees, which were among the first in the field. It is also possible to pursue a doctorate in international relations. International relations is an increasingly popular field of study, reflecting both the growing importance of international politics and concerns about global environmental problems.