A multifaceted field that reaches deeply into how countries engage with one another, negotiate agreements, manage conflict and collaboratively address global challenges. International relations studies the formal diplomatic ties and informal networks that influence international dynamics, with special emphasis on the development of ideas, concepts and theories that help to understand these phenomena.
The recognition by a country that another entity fulfils the conditions of statehood and has control of its territory. It may be a formal declaration, such as a country becoming a member of the League of Nations or the United Nations after World War I, or it may be an indirect recognition, such as a country joining the European Union or a regional economic bloc.
Countries that belong to an alliance or coalition, such as the NATO group of countries, the EU and other free trade areas and regions, the African Union, ASEAN and other regional groups. Often these organizations are characterized by the use of military force to enforce agreements and protect the interests of their members.
A policy that avoids participation in the wars of other countries, especially by refusing to join mutual defence arrangements or by avoiding international trade. The term is also used for a more generalised policy of non-interference, and for the political ideology that underlies such a policy.
A theory that suggests that democratic states are less likely to fight each other, while authoritarian and semi-authoritarian states tend to do so more frequently. Theories of this phenomenon look at social and cultural factors to explain why democracy leads to peace and why authoritarian or semi-authoritarian regimes are more likely to be violent.