Free International Relations Essay Examples & Topics
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The modern world is deeply interconnected. The relationships between nation-states, non-governmental organizations, and multinational corporations are quite complex. International relations (or IR for short) are exactly the study of those relationships. They are concerned with issues such as global politics and foreign policy, as well as many others.
To write an international relations essay, you should learn about different theoretical frameworks. These theories help understand the interactions between states, the purpose of policies, the history of international systems, etc. Some of the main types of international relations theories are as follows:
Realism deals with “real life.” It attempts to emphasize the importance of national and international security. The fields that are studied most within this theory are history, political science, and economics.
Constructivism analyzes constructed state identities. It is involved with cultural studies as well as sociology and social policy.
Finally, Marxism is the theory that mainly concerns itself with inequalities and socioeconomic imbalances. It is most critical of the international capitalist system and attempts to deconstruct class struggle and marginalization.
It is easy to see why international relations are important. With such a broad subject matter, it is also easy to get lost. That’s why our experts have compiled several international relations essay topics here. We have also collected useful advice and samples for you to study.
How to Pick an International Relations Essay Topic
An appropriate topic is a fundamental part of a successful international relations essay. Considering the possible ideas, selecting an area that is outside your expertise can be detrimental. Therefore, we have created a guide to making the right choice for your assignment.
To pick the right topic, try these steps:
Brainstorm ideas.
One of the vital steps in writing any academic work is the first one. Before conducting any research, write down the ideas that are already present in your mind. Maybe you already have a particular area you want to talk about. For example, you can explore feminism or state sovereignty. Rely on what you know best and what interests you most.
Check credible sources.
Once you have a general idea of what you want to focus on, it is time to find sources. Your best bet is to concentrate on works by established authors in the field of IR (e.g., Alexander Wendt). Of course, you may also rely on websites from well-known organizations. Look for reports and articles online. Check that the information you are acquiring is recent and up to date.
Make sure your ideas aren’t too broad…
With IR being such a multidisciplinary field, it is easy to get swarmed by thoughts. Just remember that you still have a word limit to follow! Writing an essay on climate change and international relations may be way too extensive of a subject. Instead, focus on something feasible yet related – like the Green Theory.
…But also not too specific!
At the same time, choosing a topic that is way too narrow could prove a challenge in its own right. You could encounter trouble in trying to find credible sources. You may find yourself at a loss for what to do for your next step. In this case, you might want to change the topic before it’s too late!
Strive to research.
If you have an idea that is interesting to you, this step will not be a problem. You need to be motivated to find enough valuable sources and write a high-quality essay. It helps to look at authors with differing points of view. This way, you’ll create a compelling argument.
These recommendations should help you write your IR essay. If you still have trouble choosing the right idea, let our topic generator do that for you.
13 International Relations Topics for Essay
Now that you know how to select the perfect topic for your essay, we can begin to do just that. Below you will find a list of 13 international relations essay topics. They will prove helpful in your homework or exam writing practice.
You can use these ideas:
Green Theory – environmental action in international relations.
How liberalism in British politics led to Brexit.
Idealism vs. realism in global diplomacy.
Technology as the silent factor in international relations.
Economic reasons for the start of World War II.
The International Monetary Fund in political economy.
The end of the Cold War through the perspective of realist theory.
A brief assessment of the International Law.
Regulation of international non-governmental organizations.
The role of soft and hard power in current international relations.
Modern diplomacy between the governments of Russia and China.
Feminist theories in the study of international relations.
A Marxist critique of globalization.
As it stands, this list could go on forever. We hope that we managed to illustrate just how diverse the ideas for an international relations essay could be.
5 International Relations Essay Questions
Even after reading through this step-by-step guide and all the topics, you may still find yourself hesitating. This isn’t surprising. The ideas that must be swirling in your head right now would overwhelm anyone!
Here you will find 5 international relations essay questions that will help direct your workflow:
1. What is the difference between classical realism and neorealism?
Introduce realist theory and outline its evolution. Explain the main ideas behind classical realism and neorealism. What were the reasons for the shift between theories?
2. What is the impact of Brexit on the European Union’s foreign policy?
Explain the concept of Brexit. Evaluate the relationship of the European Union with the UK before Brexit. Using literature, illustrate the difference between the EU foreign policy before and after Brexit.
3. Do multinational corporations exploit developing countries?
Outline what makes a corporation multinational. What makes a country developing? Evaluate the relative harms and benefits of a multinational corporation settling in a developing country. Refer to Marxist theory for that purpose. What do you think can be done to minimize the harm?
4. How useful is the distinction between absolute and comparative advantage?
Summarize the theory behind the terms. Compare and contrast the concepts of absolute and comparative advantage. In your opinion, how important is the difference between the two notions?
5. Is constructivism a valid theory in international relations?
Illustrate the ideas behind constructivism and the evolution of the theory. Contrast constructivism against other well-known frameworks. Justify whether you think it is useful.
We are not underestimating the importance of an international relations essay. It is an extensive and complicated field of study. Despite that fact, we still hope that you managed to find this guide useful! Now proceed to look through some international relations essay examples below.
Thank you for reading!
787 Best Essay Examples on International Relations
The need to replace the League of Nations with the United Nations was largely inspired by the failure of the League of Nations to prevent the outbreak of war among nations.
He has given numerous examples of today's failing states and has compared them with the stronger and successful states of the world. Unfortunately, all these failures and weaker states are the poorest of the poor [...]
The development of technologies and the improvement of business, education, and other services have led to the continuous intercourse between people of various cultures and religions. Huntington introduced the theory that the post-Cold War world [...]
Feminist international relations approaches in the past used to be part of the major debate that ensued between the post-positivists and their counterparts, the positivists.
In fact, it can even be seen today based on the substantial growth of China, the Philippines and various other countries in East Asia that dependency theory is no longer applicable to their current situation.
While realism is taken to portray pessimism in the relations between states in the international system, liberalism depicts optimism and positivism in as far as the relations and goals of states in the international system [...]
Political nature of the General Assembly and the Security Council hinder the effectiveness of the United Nations in fostering international peace and security.
Even the balance of power theory has been found to be inaccurate and the tendency of making self serving adjustments to avoid criticisms has also contributed to the fact that realism in international relation is [...]
These conflicts were the areas of open confrontation of interests between the U.S.and the Soviet Union, as they backed up different sides and aimed at reducing the influence of opponents in this part of the [...]
The second characteristic of the international system is the existence of different units. The third characteristic of the international system is the unique structure of change systems within each independent unit of influence.
The theories look at the philosophies which shape the relationships between nations and the key interests of the nations which participate in international relations.
The next phase of the conflict ranged from the year 1948 to the year 1967-a phase that was marked by the time the state of Israel was declared and the time the six days war [...]
As a result of the conference, certain decisions were made regarding the division of Africa among the European countries, and the countries' rights to their zones of influence and colonial agreements between them were recognized.
The main historical event with which the literary work begins is the heyday of the Ottoman Empire and ends with the events that affected the beginning of the First World War.
Without abolishing the nuclear weapons, the danger that will always be there is that more and more states will seek to obtain these weapons and this will eventually lead to an increase in the number [...]
Thus, the concept of citizenship under the new trend of globalization has led to a change in the concept of citizenship. Globalization has led to the decline of citizenship and the authority of the nation-state.
The societal changes in India can be approached from a number of perspectives including Sanskritization, westernization, Little/Great Traditions, and the dialectical concept.
This has given it a dominant position in the world political arena and it has also influenced how it deals with other nations."The diplomatic affairs of this country are always under the guidance of the [...]
He draws a conclusion that the refugee status could be granted solely to persons whose government does not protect their basic needs, who have no other way but to seek international restitution of such needs, [...]
Among the positive effects is that an increase in population can lead to the supply of a population that would not have been there in the absence of rapid population growth.
By world-system, the theory indicates the inter-regional and transnational divisions of labour that divide the world between the rich and the poor, and the powerful and the weak as Macedo and Gounari confirm4.
The rules and policies produced by the United Nations are not centered on a global involvement in de-weaponizing countries, as everyone is full of fear that a group of terrorists will be able to overtake [...]
The title of the essay sums up his topic of interest."The Arrogance of Power" is a title that puts the issues that are addressed by this essay into perspective.
On the other hand, neo-realists say that the system is defined by anarchy and the reaction of states to anarchy is dependent on the power and capability of the state.
Critics also argue that globalization has led to the spread of sweatshops and exploitation of workers from third world countries. However, critics of globalization argue that it has led to the erosion of national borders [...]
However, the 1948 treaty of Brussels, which saw the participation of France, United Kingdom, Belgium and Netherlands, is considered to lay the groundwork for the formation of NATO.
The suggestion that academicians in the hub of the field, principally in the US and UK, are the inventors of premise, while scholars in the far away countries, Africa and most of the developing world, [...]
The person that represents the country in international relations is the President but the Council of Ministers is in charge of "supervising the implementation of judgments rendered by Union Law Courts and of international treaties [...]
This paper explores the factors, which triggered the demonstrations, the nature of the riots, the aftermath of the events, and some of the lessons that the world has learnt from the uprisings.
In this view, the formulation of a foreign policy tends to consider the long-term effect of the policy and instead of being specific, provides a general guideline to be followed given the involvement of a [...]
It seeks to understand the driving forces of the economy and the key actors in the world economy. Governments and economic actors are the key elements in the economy, according to liberalism.
Despite established collective security mechanisms, the realization of collective security is highly depended on the commitment of the major powerful nations or blocs e.g.the US, Emerging European Union and China.
Both cooperative and conflictive behaviors of great powers within the international system are discussed in the literature on great-power foreign policy.
Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the concept of a sovereign has become apparent and seems to be accepted as a matter-of-course. The main problem of the sovereignty principle is that it is contradictory [...]
To begin with, a multilateral approach to international relations is contingent on the principle of indivisibility, and states applying it are supposed to place emphasis on the public good.
The article begins with relating the events of the negotiation between the high officials of the United States and China held in 2011, and the results they led to.
Foreign policy of a country is the essential component for the sound governance of the country as well as keeping good terms with the nations of the world and let the international transaction with full [...]
Consequently, the signing of the peace of Westphalia became a hallmark for the development of the principle of international law, which introduced the concept of nation-states and sovereignty in global politics.
The first part of the article investigates the most important issues of the book which are relationship between power and interdependence, explanation of change in international regimes and the ideal type of complex interdependence.
In 1965 to 1971, he served as the director of the international institute for labor studies, a constituent organization of the international labor organization.
On being sworn in as the president of the United States, Rist notes, Truman introduced the term, underdevelopment, as a new concept of regarding the impoverished regions of the world.
The Israel and Palestinian conflict is mainly a misunderstanding between the Jews referring to themselves as "Israelis" due to their background, and the Arab population of Palestine, popularly "Palestinians" following the remaining by the Roman [...]
From the war in Iraqi, Oklahoma City bombings the NASA space shuttle upheaval, the September 11 attack, the war in Afghanistan and the current Operation Iraqi Freedom, American government has become the subject of debate [...]
The dropping of the nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima by the United States directly contributed to the initiation of the Cold War. The utilization of the bombs led the Soviet Union to see the [...]
The proponents of this theory argue that the war between all is a natural human behavior, which is reflected in the interaction of states on the global scale.
The model was developed in the middle of the twentieth century when the American government needed to evaluate the potential conduct of and choices made by Soviet leaders and political elites.
Nevertheless, the example of the Cold War between the USSR and the USA in the second half of the 20th century proves that, despite the absence of an open armed conflict, both superpowers were in [...]
The author's main findings are in establishing the connection between the United States' economic decline in the global crisis of 2008, and the loss of its dominating positions in the world.
Foreign aid of any kind is offered for the benefit of the receiving country but the donor country may equally benefit indirectly or directly in the event that it wishes to attain any of the [...]
The current economic crisis has revealed the perverse impact of the transnational corporations, such that even the economically superpowers like the U.S.and European countries are helpless against the transgressions of the transnational companies and other [...]
Being prepared by the professionals who work at the London School of Economics and Political Science, the University of London International Programs, and the Political Science Department of the University of Prince Edward Island, it [...]
In the long run, the specified agreement can be consider one of the key factors that led to the creation of ISIS and the further shrinkage of the areas of the specified countries.
However, in the discussion of the role that the UN plays in international relations through the worldwide system, it is important to identify the differences between the international system and international society.
In an attempt to unravel its importance, the writer explores regionalism and discusses a brief history of regionalism and explores that regionalism is important in the study of contemporary international relations because it enhances development, [...]
The greatest of the new policy's contents was the reduction of the interest rates to 5%. The UAE, in their quest to attain economic leadership, ended up creating one of the biggest rifts between the [...]
In conclusion, today, China is a politically and economically stable nation as a result of several reforms that have been made in Chinese foreign policy which enabled the country to enter the world market.
The international relations theory and foreign policy is significant as a result of the interconnection that exists between foreign policy on one hand and the classical, realism theory on the other hand.
Realism is a theory of international relations that arose slowly out of the work of various theorists who took a distinctive attitude and view in the analysis of international affairs.
This means that for peace to prevail in a given public setup there has to be calmness initiated by the members of the society or community referred to as peacemakers.
Answering the following question will help understand the war is unjust, why is Iraq and Afghanistan the focus regarding attacks on terrorism, are the allegations against the Middle East be substantiated, is there sinister motive [...]
On the other hand, liberalists will argue that the US strives to establish a democratic environment in the Middle East and positive economic developments. Similarly, it is reasonable to adopt strategies and theoretical concepts that [...]
Diplomacy can be defined as the process of communication and negotiation between official representatives of a state or territory with representatives of another party with the purpose to minimize conflict and maximize peaceful cooperation such [...]
The state is considered to be a country since it has its national government and residents. Furthermore, the state is viewed as a legal institution in its relations with others.
The paper will introduce the example of Britain and India to justify that Europe and the USA owe reparations and refute a leading counterargument to prove this point of view.
The world can be split into two main world regions - the 'periphery' and the ' core.' The core nations essentially own and control the main means of production in the world and monopolize the [...]
Growing usage of machines has seen their primary energy source, oil, becoming a major aspect in the economies of the majority of countries and the global economy as a whole.
The supremacy of pride in Confucianism civilization is present in the nationalists in China. In Chinese nationalism nowadays, Intellectuals contribute significantly and they have become a major dividing force in the politics and ideology of [...]
The main objective of the paper is to present a detailed account of all the information related to the history, performance, activities, and all the related questions like how and why the United States Military [...]
Some of these events include the "The Arab Revolt of 1916", "The Arab Congresses of the 1930s", "The League of Arab States of 1944", and the brief unity between Syria and Egypt.
One of the biggest motivations that triggered the involvement of the United States in the cold war was the need to stop the Soviet Union spreading their communist ideologies into other parts of the world.
Privatization of land among developing countries is to blame for the consequences of land grabbing by foreign investors. The problem of land grabbing requires world attention in ensuring access to food security, and environmental preservation [...]
Because of the focus on the violence and despicability of Saddam Hussein's regime, the movie fails to mention the effects that the U.S.troops' invasion has had on Iraq, as well as comment on the problems [...]
This paper examines the role of science and technology as it has been used to address the challenge of climate change, which is one of the major issues affecting the global societies today.
This essay gives a brief history of the conflict between India and Pakistan, with special coverage on the genesis of the conflict, historical wars and efforts, which have been witnessed in finding a lasting solution [...]
The Gaza-Israel conflict took a new dimension following the election of the Hamas Party in 2005. The topic "History of the Gaza-Israel Conflict" will focus on the issues surrounding the conflict experienced in Gaza.
Maritime Piracy as Security and Economic Threat Among the least understood international security danger is the struggle to contain piracy in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia, and the Indian Ocean.
The main statement of the doctrine was that, any further attempts by the European nations to either colonize or interfere in any manner with the Northern or Southern American states would be perceived as an [...]
By the end of this essay the reader will be in a position to know the origin, the applied science and technology as well as the implementation of atomic bombs.
It further sought to maintain and expand its territorial control over Poland in disregard to the Yalta Accord which granted it control over Eastern Poland and left the North and West to the Polish government [...]
This is mainly due to the root cause of the conflict in reference to internal and external factors and the possible consequences of the intervention to the parties involved, citizen and the world as a [...]
The essay examines as to whether or not the founding of the United Nations represent a radical departure from the system of international law and/or international society prior to 1945.
As a matter of fact, the aspect of location of Africa and Europe has been the major determining factor that has shaped how France configures its international relations with other nations.
Today it is rather difficult to discuss the US-China relations from one point of view with accentuating only positive aspects of the countries' relationship which can lead to the effective cooperation or with focusing only [...]
The rules of engagement and the laws of armed conflict are aimed at reducing the risk of such events. The thing is that they were not required to act in such a way by the [...]
The concept of power balance is enshrined in a political system that defines the behavior of states in the system. The US-led war on Iraq is a historic war of the 21st century because it [...]
These people are the ones who are in a better position to accelerate the development of Africa because they have the skills that are required to take African states to another level.
In most cases, globalization means the extensive integration of multiple economies to the point where the significance of national or international networks declines allowing the emergence of national and global networks.
The intense desire to re-establish the Jewish nation by the Jewish population was sparked by the underlying beliefs of the Jewish religion with of them being repatriation to Zion.
After the end of the cold war between nations, the supremacy of state-centric political and military to dictate the local and international politics have severely diminished over the years.
Because of these challenges, the citizens and the government of Afghanistan together with other countries made a commitment to make the necessary changes in order to rebuild Afghanistan State with the help of US government [...]
While they are optimistic about the advantages that will come along with the expansion of trade and the mechanisms that sustain it, they are conservative in the view that they deny the universal applicability, or [...]
The purpose of this paper is to evaluate one small state of interest Qatar, in relation to the Gulf Crisis and its ongoing diplomatic and economic blockade by the neighboring states.
The Kuwaiti attack by Iraq saw the torching of oil fields, the death of several Iraq and Kuwaiti soldiers as well as the citizens of the two countries.
The book 'The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty First Century' is dedicated to the presenting of modern great changes covering technological and communicative lighting swift advances putting people in touch through [...]
While both the President and Congress share responsibility for the foreign policy, the share of the former {as the creator of the policy} is larger than the latter and the gravity of the responsibility is [...]
For instance, it presented territorial claims to Turkey and demanded a change in the status of the Black Sea straits, including the right of the USSR to establish a naval base in the Dardanelles.
One of the crucial "milestones in early modern Germany history" and the one that influenced the international political arena was the Peace of Westphalia.
In the conclusion the paper touches on the flaws of realism theory such as pessimism from the view of human affairs at the global arena and its inability to explain the boundaries or limits in [...]
Roosevelt, the transformation of public opinion in the 1930s, and the extensive rise of military influence exacerbated by the threats of Communism and Fascism.
Two-way trade constituted the core of the relations between India and the Emirates for centuries, but the new twist in the interstate relationship began with the establishment of the UAE Embassy in the Indian capital [...]
It is paramount to say that the area is incredibly important because it provides populations in this region with resources and is critical from the geopolitical point of view.
This research focuses on the effect of cultural imperialism of Arab states particularly the Americanization and its effects on the native Arab culture.
Although the territories of the Asian states are determined several decades ago, the problem of sovereignty over the Paracels and the Spratlys in the South China Sea remains to be current and constantly developing, and [...]
Pages: 4
Words: 1104
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