International politics is the study of how nation states interact with each other across borders, whether through diplomacy or war. This area of study is a major multidiscipline within the field of political science, and draws heavily from other disciplines like anthropology, economics, geography, history, law, philosophy, sociology, and public administration. It is also an important field for students of public affairs and government.
The field is concerned with the interactions among states and between states and non-state actors like corporations, international organisations, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), religious groups, transnational diasporas and others. It is the study of what happens in these interactions and who makes them happen, not only at the global level but also at regional or local levels. The field is a significant source of controversy and has generated many different schools of thought. These include realism, liberalism and constructivism.
Realism contends that a fundamental reality underlies international relations: that of an anarchic world of competing sovereign states with no overarching power. It examines the goals and claims of actors on the stage of world politics, their bases of influence and their instrumentalities for pursuing those goals.
Some realism advocates, such as Alexander Wendt, argue that the anarchic nature of international relations is in fact socially constructed by states. They seek to explain how this construction occurs, focusing on the role of ideas and norms in shaping state interaction.
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