History of International Relations

The history of international relations is probably the best-known and oldest subfield of international history. It can be traced back to as early as 3,500 BC. However, most scholars – historians and IR theorists alike – tend to regard the history of international relations as beginning with the emergence of the concept of national sovereignty in the aftermath of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia. Previously, the history of international relations focused mainly on the evolution of the interactions – in peace and war – of sovereign nation states: the sum and combination of the foreign policies of these actors.
 

As an academic field – and as practiced in our department – the history of international relations now reaches far beyond the confines of state-to-state relations. It concerns itself not only with the roles of states, military alliances (such as NATO), and inter-governmental organisations (such as the UN). Today’s historians of international relations also examine the impact of international non-governmental organisations and multinational corporations. They have long since moved beyond traditional diplomatic history (the study of elite behaviour and high-level decision-making) by recognising the close interaction between domestic and foreign policy as well as the impact of ideological, cultural and economic factors for a proper understanding of the historical evolution of international relations. Indeed, while the history of international relations still tends to begin with the assumption that state behaviour is the key focus of analysis, today’s scholars in this field are in constant interaction with colleagues who concentrate on transnational history or global/world history.
 

The study of the history of international relations in our department thus emphasises not only the roles of so-called ‘great powers’ in the international system but also recognises the significance of international organisations, ideological movements, economic interactions and cultural trends. With easy access to the archives of many international organisations’ archives, the Graduate Institute is ideally placed for undertaking research that enriches the study of the history of international relations.