International relations attempts to explain the interactions of states in the global interstate system, and it also attempts to explain the interactions of others whose behavior originates within one country and is targeted toward members of other countries. In short, the study of international relations is an attempt to explain behavior that occurs across the boundaries of states, the broader relationships of which such behavior is a part, and the institutions (private, state, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental) that oversee those interactions. Explanations of that behavior may be sought at any level of human aggregation. Some look to psychological and social-psychological understandings of why foreign policymakers act as they do. Others investigate institutional processes and politics as factors contributing to the externally directed goals and behavior of states. Alternatively, explanations may be found in the relationships between and among the participants (for example, balance of power), in the intergovernmental arrangements among states (for example, collective security), in the activities of multinational corporations (for example, the distribution of wealth), or in the distribution of power and control in the world as a single system.
International Relations Faculty
Mark Copelovitch
Position title: Professor of Political Science & Public Affairs | International Relations
Email:
copelovitch
Lisa Martin
Position title: Professor: International Relations | Political Methodology
Email:
lisa.martin
Jon C. W. Pevehouse
Position title: Development Chair | Mary Herman Rubinstein Professor | International Relations | Political Methodology
Email:
jcpevehouse
Jonathan Renshon
Position title: Professor: International Relations | Political Methodology
Email:
renshon
Nadav Shelef
Position title: Department Chair | Professor | Comparative Politics | International Relations
Email:
shelef
Jessica L. P. Weeks
Position title: Professor of Political Science and H. Douglas Weaver Chair in Diplomacy and International Relations
Email:
jweeks
Zhenhuan (Reed) Lei
Position title: Assistant Professor Political Science and Public Affairs : Comparative Politics | Politics Methodology
Email:
zhenhuan.lei