International relations is the study of how countries and their citizens interact with one another and with other entities, such as international organizations and multinational corporations. It is related to, but broader than, other academic fields, such as political science, history, geography, law, sociology and philosophy.
The doctrine that nations are sovereign and have the right to control what happens within their borders. This is a major assumption of modern international relations.
A system of military alliances and cooperative relationships that a country maintains with other countries. The United States has a network of these with NATO, Japan, Australia and other nations. Its aim is to achieve defense and deterrence goals through cooperation with like-minded countries.
Efforts to further the interests of a nation without respect for its moral principles. Policies such as these may have a positive or negative impact on other countries and are the source of many conflicts in world politics.
A group of people who live outside their country of origin, but still share a common culture, language and religion. Examples include the Huguenots, Scots and Jews.
A branch of IR that explores how beliefs, values and ideology affect international interactions. These theories are based on the belief that the world is not a natural, given space but is rather a construct of ideas and beliefs. They differ from realism and liberalism in that they do not see the world as a self-contained anarchic space, but rather a result of human choices and efforts to shape the world.