International relations, often referred to as international affairs, is the study of the interaction of nation-states and non-

governmental organizations in fields such as politics, economics and security. Professionals work in academia,
government and non-profits to understand and develop cooperative exchanges between nations that benefit
commerce, security, quality of life and the environment. The study and practice of international relations is
(1)_________________ in: nature, blending the fields of economics, history and political science to examine topics such
as human rights, global poverty, the environment, economics, globalization, security, global (2)_______ and the political
environment. Exceptional economic integration; (3)_________________ threats to peace and security; an international
focus on human rights and environmental protection; all speak to the complexity of international relations in the
twenty-first century. This means that the study of international relations must focus on research that: addresses,
anticipates and ultimately solves public policy problems. It is important to note that international relations has a broad
purpose in (4)____________ society as it seeks to understand the origins of war and (5)________ of peace, the nature
and exercise of power within the global system and the changing character of state as well as non-state actors who
participate in international decision-making. For example, some institutions may study the psychological and social-
psychological reasoning behind the actions of foreign policymakers, while others may focus their international studies
on the institutional processes that contribute to the goals and behaviors of states. The area of international relations
studied depends on the goals or objectives of the organization. The study and practice of international relations in
today’s world is valuable for many reasons: International relations promotes successful trade policies between nations;
international relations encourages travel related to business, tourism and immigration, providing people with
opportunities to enhance their lives; International relations allows nations to cooperate with one another, pool
resources, and share information as a way to face global issues that go beyond any particular country or region;
contemporary global issues include pandemics, terrorism, and the environment; international relations advances human
culture through cultural exchanges, diplomacy and policy development.

International relations understood in the broader sense as the relationships between independent units or states, has
always been a part of political science. However, international relations as a separate field of study is generally
understood as having begun in the United States in the early 20th century. British scholar E.H.Carr in his 1939 book titled
“The 20-year crisis 1919-1939” spoke of the debate between what were then called idealists and realists in the growth
of the science of international relations. He argued that international relations as a field came about as a result of
(1)__________________ and of the popular demand to overcome the (2)______________ of international politics as
practiced by professional diplomats. (3)______________ the rise of critical theory and post-(4)__________________
almost half a century later Carr spoke of the (5)_______________ (6)_________________ of purpose and analysis and
the impossibility of separating the role of the investigator from that of the (7)_____________ of politics. He argued that
purpose, especially the specific purpose of preventing war was the initiator of the study of international politics and that
purpose remained along with observation and analysis, as a necessary element of a mature science. French scholar
Raymond Aaron argued that the study of international relations defined as the relations among nations or political
collectivities that are (8)____________ organized was a (9)______________ American form of study, and that
international relations in reality could not be separated from other social (10)_________________. He argued that the
focus on international relations was actually interstate relations symbolized by the actions of the diplomat and the
soldier who represent the state in peace and war. His argument that international relations could not rigorously
separate inter-state relations from inter-individual relations involving several political units presage the distinction
otherwise not clearly made until the 1970s between international and transnational relations. Yet he simultaneously
argued that an essential difference remained between internal and foreign policies based on the notion that states
internally “reserve the Monopoly on violence to those wielding legitimate authority” while states, not having emerged
from the state of nature, exhibit foreign policies accepting the “(11)___________ of centers of armed force”. Aaron
argued that historical and sociological analysis was a more appropriate method of studying international relations than
the formal (12)_____________ that seemed to be the basis of this new American field. He also argued that the realist-
idealist distinction made by American international relations scholars who particularly saw the old Europe as realist and
the United States as idealist simply made no sense as all states ultimately followed realist principles in system in which
each was responsible for its own survival.
In terms of the development of the (1)_____________ of the new field, research institutions came first with the
foundation of the Carnegie (2)____________________ for International Peace in 1910, the council for ethics in
International Affairs in 1914, the Hoover institution on war revolution and peace at Stanford University in 1918 and the
Council on Foreign Relations in 1921. The first university department of international relations appears to have been the
Department of International Politics at University College of Wales at Aberystwyth in 1919. It was followed by the School
of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University in 1946 and the school of international studies at Jawarharlal
Nehru University in 1947. Journals in the field (3)________ with the advent of research and educational institutions. The
council on foreign relations began foreign affairs in September 1922 a journal which has been seen as a U.S foreign
policy establishment (4)________ World politics followed in 1948 the Journal of conflict resolution which has bridged
the fields of peace research and international relations in 1957 and the international studies (4)______________ more
oriented to work employing (5)___________ and behavioral (6)___________________ in 1962. The international studies
association or ISA is probably the most important international organization of scholars in the field of international
relations. Created in 1959, ISA has sections on virtually all of the subfields of international relations five journals
including its (7)___________ journal international studies and holds an annual meeting that while still including
(8)______________ Americans and political scientists attracts international relations scholars from around the world.
ISA cooperates with 57 international studies associations in over 30 countries. Other (9)_____________ organizations
include the British International Studies Association, sections of the European Consortium for political research and
sections of professional organizations in many of the social science disciplines. The Association of Professional Schools of
International Affairs lists as members institutes in 19 schools from the United States: American University, Columbia,
Duke, George Washington, Georgetown, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Princeton, Syracuse, Tufts, University of California, San
Diego, the Universities of Denver, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Pittsburgh, Southern California, Washington and Yale
and 11 outside the U.S as well as 21 (10)________

While the institute’s focus on the theory as well as the practice of international relations, they place a particular
emphasis on producing professionals who will practice in the field of international relations either as diplomats or in
international business or NGOs. (1)______ among the best-selling textbooks in international relations today are at the
graduate and advanced undergraduate level; Baylis and Smith’s globalization of world politics and at the undergraduate
level, Goldstein’s international relations by 2005 in its seventh edition (2)___________ by Goldstein and Pevehouse.
Both offer comprehensive introductions to the theory and practice of the field, although in both cases there is little
emphasis on human rights. A debate continues as to whether international relations is a sub-field of political science or
whether the international parts of the social science disciplines such as political science, sociology, anthropology are
subfields of the interdisciplinary field of international relations. In institutional terms, international relations is studied in
both of those contexts, international politics has generally been seen as that part of international relations that focuses
on interstate relations while international relations (3)____________ the broader relations between all entities including
individuals non-governmental and business organizations across the boundaries of (4)______________ states,
particularly after Kierhane and Nye’s introduction of the concept of transnational relations as the interaction of all
entities at least one of which is not a state or an agent of a state, across state boundaries, the (5)___________________
of international relations has broadened. Some may still consider the relevant distinction to be between the
international politics of state to state relations and the transnational relations of other entities across state borders but
in actual usage the terms have become blurred. Even within political science the term politics has broadened beyond a
sole focus on government and the state to a focus on the political or power relations in all entities ranging from the
family to university departments to NGOs and the media as well. Today the blurring of the lines between domestic and
international politics has meant that the study of international relations itself has broadened, examining the relations
between the two-level games of international and domestic politics and the two areas of transnational and international
relations. The terms global politics and world politics are often used to replace the term international relations indicating
movement away from the traditional state-based analysis. Strangely enough through the terms Global relations and
world relations seem not to be used at all.

Idealism is one of the most difficult terms in the vocabulary of international relations because no commonly accepted
meaning exists for it. Likewise, no commonly accepted idealist tradition or (1)__________ from which to (2)__________
meaning can be found while many academics and practitioners have ideals and seek to realize them. A self-consciously
idealist school of international thought does not exist nor has one ever existed. Yet the term idealism is frequently used
in both the theory and the practice of international politics. Those who use it often have only a (3)___________ idea of
what they mean by it. It frequently means different things to different people. At the most general level, idealism refers
to an approach to international politics that seeks to advance certain ideals or moral goals. For example: making the
world a more peaceful and (4)______________ place, this approach rests on a dual premise. First, that current world
political arrangements for achieving such goals are inadequate, perhaps profoundly so. Second, human beings have it
within their power to change these arrangements for the better, perhaps radically. As we can see, idealism stands for
improving the course of international relations by eliminating war, hunger, inequality, (5)____________, force,
suppression and violence from international relations. To remove these evils is the objective before humankind. Hence,
idealism accepts the possibility of creating a world free from these evils by depending upon reason, science, and
education. Idealism in international relations, therefore, represents a set of ideas which together oppose war and
advocate the reform of international community through dependence upon moral values and the development of
international institutions and international law. Often in international political (6)___________, idealism is used as a
term of (7)_______. More “realistic” critics frequently (8)___________ an idea or proposal as “idealistic” if it goes
beyond what can safely be achieved. Aiming to make the world a better place, for example: by making it “safe for
democracy”, may be noble but it is naïve, it is based on a false estimation of what is possible in international politics,
certainly at the (9)_______________ level. Letting their hearts rule their heads, idealists underestimate the
achievements of the existing international order and fail to appreciate the delicacy of the threads that hold it together.
For the “idealists” however, the real name of realism is conservatism, pessimism, or defeatism. It is the ideology of those
who benefit from the unjust arrangements who find sorry comfort in the thought that all is for the worst in the worst
possible worlds or who lack the moral will to fight for truth and justice. At this general level, the contest between
idealism and realism is sometimes (10)_______________ as a central dynamic of international politics