 International Relations, International Relations IR or International Affairs IA commonly also referred to as International Studies is or Global Studies GS is the study of interconnectedness of politics, economics and law on a global level. Depending on the academic institution, it is either the field of political science, interdisciplinary academic field similar to global studies, or an entirely independent academic discipline in which students take a variety of internationally focused courses in social science and humanities disciplines. In all cases, the field studies relationships between political entities-polities such as sovereign states, inter-governmental organizations-agos international non-governmental organizations-ingos other non-governmental organizations-hengeos and multinational corporations and benches 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 political activity, International Relations dates from the time of the Greek historian Thucydides C. question mark 46395 BC and, in the early 20th century, became a discrete academic field number 5901 in the four-digit UNESCO nomenclature within political science. In practice, international relations and international affairs forms a separate academic program or field from political science, and the courses taught therein are highly interdisciplinary. For example, International Relations draws from the fields of politics, economics, international law, communication studies, history, demography, geography, sociology, anthropology, criminology, psychology, and gender studies. The scope of International Relations encompasses issues such as globalization, diplomatic relations, state sovereignty, international security, ecological sustainability, nuclear proliferation, nationalism, economic development, global finance, terrorism, and human rights.