International politics is the study of how power operates within and among nations in a global context. It is an interdisciplinary field that draws from a wide range of disciplines such as economics, history, geography, law, political science and philosophy.
The prevailing approach in the field is called realism. Realists contend that the world is essentially anarchic and that state actors must pursue their own self-interest at a global level by means of coercion or consent. In this anarchic environment, Great Powers—those states with the most military, economic and diplomatic capacity—will prove to be the dominant players. Historically, this system of power play has resulted in about a dozen general wars.
Another school of thought in the field is called liberalism. In contrast to realism, liberalists believe that a world of interdependent, free-trade states can overcome a tendency toward violent conflict by pursuing mutually beneficial agreements. They also contend that the international community is best served by a democratically-elected world government body that can settle disputes.
A third major approach in IR is called institutionalism. It is a bit of a hybrid of realism and liberalism. It takes many of the basic assumptions of realism—states are rational and self-interested; the international environment is anarchic; no state knows what other states will do; and power is the most important factor—but then it uses game theory to show that cooperation in the world’s anarchic environment can emerge through the establishment of institutions, rules and procedures that guide the interactions of international actors.
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