What is International Relations (IR)?
International Relations is the study of how countries interact with each other through diplomacy, war, trade, alliances, international organizations, and more.
🌍✨ “The Birth of a Subject Called International Relations”
— A Creative Journey Through History
Once upon a time, in the grand halls of empires and behind the closed doors of royal courts, kings, queens, and diplomats shaped the world with secret treaties and whispered promises. But there was no formal way to study how nations interacted—no classroom to decode the art of war and peace.
Then came a storm that shook the world—
💥 World War I (1914–1918).
It wasn’t just a war. It was a heartbreak.
Millions perished, and people asked: How did we get here? Could this have been stopped?
From the ashes of this devastation, a new idea was born:
What if we studied how countries behave—like scientists study the stars or doctors study disease?
🌱 1919 – The Seed is Planted
In a quiet town in Wales, the world’s first chair in International Politics was established at the University of Aberystwyth.
It was more than a department—it was a promise:
“Never again,” said its founders, “shall the world sleepwalk into war.”
Scholars of the time were called Idealists. They believed in peace, cooperation, and that international law and organizations like the League of Nations could keep war at bay.
But idealism was young and hopeful—and the world, sadly, was not ready.
💣 Enter: World War II (1939–1945)
The second great war shattered those dreams. It wasn’t just about peace anymore—it was about power, survival, and fear.
From the rubble of bombed cities and broken treaties emerged a colder, harder view:
Countries, like people, don’t always follow ideals—they follow interests.
Thus began the age of Realism—a new school of thought that saw the world as a chessboard, where states were players seeking to survive in an anarchic (without rules or laws) game (According to realists, the world is anarchic in nature). The Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union gave this theory plenty to study.
🔬 But as the 20th century turned, the world changed again.
Now, it wasn’t just kings and generals making decisions. It was economists, NGOs, tech giants, climate scientists, and activists.
And so, IR evolved.
It opened its doors to new questions:
- Can cyber attacks start a war? 💻
- How does global trade affect peace? 🌐
- Can diplomacy fight climate change? 🌱
- What role do women and minorities play in global affairs? ✊
📚 And that’s how International Relations grew:
From the horror of war, to the hope of peace, to the complexity of today’s global village.
It began with bloodshed, was shaped by power, and continues to grow with curiosity and conscience.
GeoWire 