Introduction

First of all, thank you for choosing this book. The field of international relations concerns the relationships among the world's government. But these relationships cannot be understood in isolation. They are closely connected with other actors (such as intergovernmental org., multinational corporations, and individuals); with other social structures (including economics, culture, and domestic politics); and with geographical and historical influences. These elements together power the central trends in IR today-globalization.

Purpose of the Book

This book is an introduction to the basic concepts in the study of international relations. I have taught an introductory course on international relations in university classes. This book is a collection of handouts which I prepared as course material to facilitate my students. I hope this collection would help the reader to understand the concepts involved in the study of international relations.