Evolution of international relations theory

Abstract or Introduction

International relations is an area of study dealing with the interrelationships among nation-states in an age in which nation-states are the principal holder of political power. The study concerns itself with the outcomes of war and peace; consequently, it has practical importance. However, the change in practice has generated considerable confusion as to who are involved as the principal actors; since there are different kinds of state and non-states actors.

These actors lead to a wide range of stakes, diverse goals, complex modes of interaction, and diverse institutions within which the actors take actions. The old convention which was the main contributor to the articulation of the definition of international relations was the distinction between civil society and the state.

This distinction found currency in the eighteenth century when it delineated two distinct spheres of human interaction and practice; the emergent of a society of human beings characterized by contract and market relations, and a state whose principal function was to maintain internal peace and external defense. In the present age, however, the state and civil society are intertwined that the international relation concept has become purely analytical