Light

Foreign Relations

Definition

Foreign relations refer to the interactions between countries, including all types of actions, communications, and dealings. This can involve diplomacy, trade agreements, treaties, wars, and international aid.

Analogy

Think of foreign relations like being part of a big high school. Each country is like a student with their own personality and goals. They interact with each other in different ways - some are friends (allies), some are rivals (adversaries), and others just coexist without much interaction (neutral). Just like students negotiate who gets to use the basketball court during lunch break (trade agreements) or make pacts to help each other out during exams (treaties), countries also have these kinds of negotiations on a much larger scale.

Related terms

Diplomacy: The practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of states or groups. It involves discussions designed to produce an agreement upon courses of action.

Treaty: A formal agreement between two or more states in reference to peace, alliance, commerce, or other international relations.

International Aid: Resources given by one country to another as a sign of goodwill or support often in response to disasters or for development purposes.