Claim: International Relations includes the U.N.

International relations -LRB- IR -RRB- or international affairs , depending on academic institution , is either a field of political science , an interdisciplinary academic field similar to global studies , or an entirely independent academic discipline in which students take a variety of internationally focused courses in social science and humanities disciplines . In both cases , the field studies relationships between political entities -LRB- polities -RRB- such as states , sovereign states , empires , inter-governmental organizations -LRB- IGOs -RRB- , international non-governmental organizations -LRB- INs -RRB- , non-governmental organizations -LRB- NGOs -RRB- , and multinational corporations -LRB- MNCs -RRB- , and the wider world-systems produced by this interaction . International relations is an academic and a public policy field , and so can be positive and normative , because it analyzes and formulates the foreign policy of a given State .   As political activity , international relations dates from the time of the Greek historian Thucydides -LRB- c. 460 -- 395 BC -RRB- , and , in the early 20th century , became a discrete academic field -LRB- No. 5901 in the 4-digit UNESCO Nomenclature -RRB- within political science . In practice International Relations and International Affairs forms a separate academic program or field from Political Science , and the courses taught therein are highly interdisciplinary .   For example , international relations draws from the fields of : technology and engineering , economics , communication studies , history , international law , demography , philosophy , geography , social work , sociology , anthropology , criminology , psychology , gender studies , cultural studies , culturology , and diplomacy . The scope of international relations comprehends globalization , diplomatic relations , state sovereignty , international security , ecological sustainability , nuclear proliferation , nationalism , economic development , global finance , as well as terrorism and organized crime , human security , foreign interventionism , and human rights , as well , as , more recently , comparative religion .