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Introduction

Welcome to class. Today's lesson will highlight three important organisations. Namely; International co-operation, International relations and International organizations.

You will get to know the meaning thier meanings and differences as well as their forms and area.

Meaning of International co-operation

International co-operation can be defined as the sharing of common ideologies, goals, and expectations among countries.

This relationship is highly desirable in a dynamic world, with ever- increasing complexities, the need for peaceful co-existence, and, indeed, interdependence of nations.

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International co-operation could take any of these forms:

1. Trade: Export and import commodities can be exchanged as well as technical know-how.

2. Aids: Aids could be in terms of industrial development, materials, or financial assistance during natural disasters such as floods, earthquakes, epidemics, and during wars.

3. Defence: Defence pact could be signed between countries to help one another in case of any external trouble. Examples are Britain with the U.S.A. Hence, the latter helped the former during World War II; Egypt and Iraq. Members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) signed this pact, too.

4. Non-aligned Movement: This is mostly composed of Third World countries to avoid being controlled by either NATO or Warsaw Pact. It was formed during the Cold War.

Meaning of International Relations

International Relations is a field of study. Its primary concerns are the political, economic, social, and cultural forms of interaction among international communities that make up the international actors within the system.

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The actors relate to discuss, argue, seek agreement, negotiate, and even fight one another.

The world (international) actors may either be state actors or non-state actors.

(i) Actors: Units or entities that interact in the international system.
(ii) State Actors: These are countries of the world, e.g., Nigeria, Britain, USA, etc.
(iii) Non-State Actors: These are international organisations, e.g., AU, ECOWAS, UNO, etc.

International relations are usually classified into three main areas:

(i) International politics.
(ii) International organizations.
(iii) International laws.

(i) International Politics: This refers to the network of interaction between two or more countries/states. This interaction is carried out in order to achieve mutual co- operation and understanding that could enhance the slates' development.

This could take different forms, namely:
(i) Military affairs,
(ii) Diplomatic affairs, and
(iii) Intelligence activities.

This relationship is significant in the areas of economic development, political growth, social affairs, and cultural development.

International Organizations

The second area of International Relations is concerned with institutions or non-state actors such as: African Union (A.U.), Economic Community of West African States (E.C.O.W.A.S.), United Nations Organization (U.N.O.) the Commonwealth of Nations, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (N.A.T.O.).

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These institutions are created by states to regulate the interaction between the member states.

International Law

International law is the body of rules and principles of action that all the state actors accept as binding in their relations with states. This is very important in controlling chaos, misunderstandings, disputes, and disorders among states.

This includes a court system; a good example is the International Court of Justice at the Hague, Netherlands.

Areas of Interaction

The state actors interact among themselves in three major areas:

1. Political interaction
2. Economic interactions.
3. Social/cultural interactions.

Political interaction among the nations of the world is to adopt collective measures needed to achieve some political goals, such as maintenance of peace and harmony.

This requires co-operation in order for each state to protect values and interests; and such interactions always lead to political treaties and international agreements.

International economic interaction means the co-operation of state actors to promote common economic interests.

Social/cultural interaction among nations of the world implies exchange of cultural and social heritage in terms of religious interaction, sports interaction, and arts and culture. This goes a long way to promoting international understanding.

Conclusion

In our next lessons, we will consider the following international organisations: ECOWAS, AU, UNO, UNESCO.

Let me hear from you at the comment section of this lesson.