ON HISTORY AND HISTORIOGRAPHY OF INTERATIONAL RELATIONS

The history of international relations is often traced back the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, where the modern state system was developed. Westphalia encouraged the rise of the independent nation state, the institutionalization of diplomacy and armies. The contemporary international system was finally established through decolonization during Cold War. However, this somewhat over-simplified.

IR AS AN ART

International Relations as an art occur when a nation make a relationship with the other nations. For instance when a nations decide to work together in trading or military with the others.

One of the most significant problems in work on the history of IR is that these histories have failed to address question, how one should write the history of IR in the field? Describing the history of IR as if a complete consensus existed on the essential dimension of the field’s evolution is not easy at all, the absence of any significant controversy concern “how the field has developed” must be devoted. That’s why nobody knows “when or where” international relation began at the first time. But all of we knew that the achievement of the art of IR that a nation successfully fulfill its nation interest by its relationship with the other nations.

IR AS A SCIENCE

IR as a science is when we learn IR as a discipline study or science.

Initially, international relations as a distinct field of study (science) were almost entirely British-centered. In 1919, the Chair in International Politics establishment at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (in 2008, renamed Aberystwyth University) from an endowment given by David Davies, became the first academic position dedicated to IR.

In the early 1920’s, the London School of Economics’ department of IR was founded at the behest of Nobel Prize winner Philip Noel-Baker. That is the defining moment of IR as a science.

There is a strong conviction that significant development in international politics (such as: war) shaped the development of IR as a science. It is characteristically as a reaction of World War I.

REFERENCES:

-          Schmidt, Brian C. 2002. On the History and Historiography of International Relation. “Handbook of International Relations”. London: Sage Publication Ltd

-          Fearon, James & Wendt, Alexander. 2003. Rationalism vs. Constructivism: Skeptical View. Handbook of International Relations. London: Sage Publication Ltd

-          University of Airlangga Roadmap

-          Angel, Norman. 1909. The Great Illusion. New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons

-          http://dictionary.com (diakses tahun 2008)

-          http://hfienberg.com/irtheory/neorealism (diakses tahun 2008)