Editing International relations (section)

==Terminology==
Depending on the academic institution, ''international relations'' or ''international affairs'' is either a subdiscipline of [[political science]] or a broader [[Interdisciplinarity|multidisciplinary]] field encompassing [[global politics]], law, economics or world history. As a subdiscipline of political science, the focus of IR studies lies on political, diplomatic and security connections among states, as well as the study of modern political world history. In many academic institutions, studies of IR are thus situated in the department of politics/social sciences. This is for example the case in Scandinavia, where international relations are often simply referred to as ''international politics (IP).''{{Citation needed|date=April 2023}}

In institutions where ''international relations'' refers to the broader multidisciplinary field of global politics, law, economics and history, the subject may be studied across multiple departments, or be situated in its own department, as is the case at for example the London School of Economics.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Department of International Relations|url=https://www.lse.ac.uk/international-relations/home.aspx|access-date=2021-04-14|website=London School of Economics and Political Science|language=en-GB}}</ref> An undergraduate degree in multidisciplinary international relations may lead to a more specialised master's degree of either international politics, economics, or [[international law]].

In the inaugural issue of ''World Politics'', Frederick S. Dunn wrote that IR was about "relations that take place across national boundaries" and "between autonomous political groups in a world system".<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal|last=Dunn|first=Frederick S.|date=1948|title=The Scope of International Relations|url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/world-politics/article/abs/scope-of-international-relations/845B1C00EDAAFF45CA095C25AF59C41C|journal=World Politics|language=en|volume=1|issue=1|pages=142–146|doi=10.2307/2009164|jstor=2009164|s2cid=145188338 |issn=1086-3338}}</ref> Dunn wrote that unique elements characterized IR and separated it from other subfields:<blockquote>international politics is concerned with the special kind of power relationships that exist in a community lacking an overriding authority; international economics deals with trade relations across national boundaries that are complicated by the uncontrolled actions of sovereign states; and international law is law that is based on voluntary acceptance by independent nations.<ref name=":4" /></blockquote>The terms "International studies" and "[[global studies]]" have been used by some to refer to a broader multidisciplinary IR field.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bisa.ac.uk/index.php/119-about-international-studies/420-about-international-studies |title=About International Studies |website=British International Studies Association |access-date=14 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180720081008/https://www.bisa.ac.uk/index.php/119-about-international-studies/420-about-international-studies |archive-date=20 July 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite dictionary |title=global studies |dictionary=Cambridge Dictionary |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/global-studies |access-date=2021-04-14 |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240319190049/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/global-studies |archive-date= Mar 19, 2024 }}</ref>