page_title: International relations
section_title: Institutions in international relations
hierarchical_section_title: International relations / Institutions in international relations
caption_attribution_description: Español: Nueva York (EEUU), 24 de septiembre 2012. La sede en Nueva York en el 67º Período de Sesiones de la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas. Foto: Fernanda LeMarie - Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores, Comercio e Integración.
context_page_description: International relations or international affairs —commonly also referred to as international studies, global studies, or global affairs —is the study of politics, economics and law on a global level. Depending on the academic institution, it is either a field of political science, an interdisciplinary academic field similar to global studies, or an independent academic discipline that examines social science and humanities in an international context.
  In all cases, international relations is concerned with the relationships between political entities such as sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations, international non-governmental organizations, other non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations, 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 analyses and formulates the foreign policy of a given state.
  As a political activity, international relations dates from at least the time of Greek historian Thucydides, but emerged as a discrete academic field within political science in the early 20th century.
context_section_description: International institutions form a vital part of contemporary international relations. Much interaction at the system level is governed by them, and they outlaw some traditional institutions and practices of international relations, such as the use of war (except in self-defence).
caption: The United Nations Secretariat Building at the United Nations headquarters in New York City
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