Section 2. Article

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International relations

"Let us agree not to step on each other's feet," said the cock to the horse. English proverb

1.International relations is the study of the relations among states and other political and economic units in the international system. Particular areas of study within the field of international relations include diplomacy and diplomatic history, international law, international organizations, international finance and economics, and communications, among others. Aspects of international relations have been studied as early as the time of the ancient Greek historian Thucydides. As a separate and definable discipline, however, it dates from the early 20th cent., when the first organized efforts were made to find alternatives to wars in nation-state international behavior.

2.Two schools of thought quickly developed. One looks to strengthened international law and international organizations to preserve peace; the other emphasizes that nations will always use their power to achieve goals and sees the key to peace in a balance of power among competing states. With increased importance attached to a theoretical understanding of the whole international system, there has been a growing use of concepts and modes of analysis developed in the natural sciences in an attempt to improve the verifiability and applicability of theories.

3.The study of international relations has always been heavily influenced by normative considerations, such as the goal of reducing armed conflict and increasing international cooperation. At the beginning of the 21st century, research focused on issues such as terrorism, religious and ethnic conflict, the emergence of substate and nonstate entities, the spread of weapons of mass destruction and efforts to counter nuclear proliferation, and the development of international institutions.

4.Diplomacy (from Latin diploma, meaning an official document), is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states. In an informal or social sense, diplomacy is an art of conducting relationships to gain strategic advantage without conflict or to find mutually acceptable solutions to a common challenge in a non-confrontational, or polite manner. Its use predates recorded history. Diplomacy seeks maximum national advantage without using force and usually refers to the conduct of international relations through the intercession of professional diplomats

5. Modern diplomacy's origins are often traced to the states of Northern Italy in the early Renaissance, with the first embassies being established in the thirteenth century. It was in Italy that many of the traditions of modern diplomacy began, such as the presentation of an ambassador's credentials to the head of state. The elements of modern diplomacy slowly spread to Eastern Europe but the entire system was greatly disrupted by the French Revolution. After the fall of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna of 1815 established an international system of diplomatic rank.

6. Diplomats played a major role in world affairs. Today we have independent consultants, think tanks, university research groups, lobbies of all sorts, NGOs, newspapers, magazines, academic journals, etc., all of them trying to have a voice in foreign policy, government has options of where and how to obtain advice. Foreign policy perimeters are set by the President and his cabinet, which is influenced by a wide range of interests from business to military interests. The commercial policy may conflict with defense policy, and ultimately the president decides if it is in the national interest to place commercial interests above security considerations.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14