Editing International relations (section)

===Individual or sub-unit level concepts===
[[File:Maison de la paix petals 1 and 2.jpg|thumb|[[Maison de la paix|Maison de la Paix]], home to the [[Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies|Graduate Institute Geneva]]]]
The level beneath that of the unit (state) can be useful both for explaining factors in international relations that other theories fail to explain, and for moving away from a state-centric view of international relations.<ref>Morin, Jean-Frederic and Jonathan Paquin, Foreign Policy Analysis: A Toolbox, Palgrave, 2018.</ref>
* Psychological factors in international relations{{spaced ndash}}Understanding a state is not a "black box" as proposed by [[Realism (international relations)|realism]], and that there may be other influences on foreign policy decisions. Examining the role of personalities in the decision-making process can have some [[explanatory power]], as can the role of misperception between various actors. A prominent application of sub-unit level psychological factors in international relations is the concept of [[Groupthink]], another is the propensity of policymakers to think in terms of analogies.
* Bureaucratic politics{{spaced ndash}}Looks at the role of the [[bureaucracy]] in decision-making, and sees decisions as a result of bureaucratic infighting, and as having been shaped by various constraints.
* Religious, ethnic, and secessionist groups{{spaced ndash}}Viewing these aspects of the sub-unit level has explanatory power with regards to [[ethnic conflict]]s, [[religious wars]], transnational [[diaspora]] ([[diaspora politics]]) and other actors which do not consider themselves to fit with the defined state boundaries. This is particularly useful in the context of the pre-modern world of weak states.
* Science, technology and international relations{{spaced ndash}}How science and technology impact global health, business, environment, technology, and development.
* [[International political economy]], and economic factors in international relations<ref>E.g., [[Donald Markwell]], ''[[John Maynard Keynes]] and International Relations: Economic Paths to War and Peace'', Oxford University Press, 2006. [[Donald Markwell]], ''Keynes and International Economic and Political Relations'', [http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/publications/trinity_papers/paper33 Trinity Paper 33] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306081030/http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/publications/trinity_papers/paper33/|date=2011-03-06}}, Trinity College, University of Melbourne.</ref>
* International political [[culturology]]{{spaced ndash}}Looks at how culture and cultural variables impact in international relations<ref>{{cite web|last1=Rivault|first1=Fabrice|title=Culturologie Politique Internationale: Une approche systémique et matérialiste de la culture et du système social global|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C9pCQwAACAAJ|publisher=McGill–Queen's University Press|date=1999}}</ref><ref>[http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-21/chapter-1.htm Xintian, Yu (2005) "Cultural Factors In International Relations"], Chinese Philosophical Studies. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410220456/http://www.crvp.org/book/Series03/III-21/chapter-1.htm |date=2010-04-10}}</ref><ref>Xintian, Yu (2009), "Combining Research on Cultural Theory and International Relations".</ref>
* Personal relations between leaders<ref>{{cite news|last1=Bovt|first1=Georgy|title=US-Russian relations: Demanding equal treatment|url=https://www.rbth.com/opinion/2013/08/15/us-russian_relations_demanding_equal_treatment_28927.html|access-date=16 March 2021|work=Russia Beyond|publisher=Rossiyskaya Gazeta|date=15 August 2013}}</ref>