Violence in International Relations and Why?

Running head: VIOLENCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHY?
VIOLENCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHY?
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1VIOLENCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHY?
Introduction:
Currently, one of the major debates in international relations is considering to study
violence in international relations. There are certain aspects that raise the question of including
‘violence’ in international relations (Adler 2013). Society is richly connected to each other, they
are complex and demands professionals who would help maintain these relations between
countries. The study and practice of international relations are interdisciplinary by its nature. It is
a blending of various fields involving economics, security, global ethics and political
environment, economics, political environment and globalisation. International Relations is
concerned with the relations existing across the boundaries of nation-states (O'neill 2017).
Violence can be defined as a global phenomenon that results in death, injuries and traumas. As
per the UN’s global Study, almost half a million people across the world died due to intentional
Homicide. There is no country that is untouched by violence since it is an increased aspect of
today’s society. It has become increasingly interpersonal which is now tied to criminal activities
specifically in the urban areas. There is a need to understand the causes of the increasing rate of
homicide and take appropriate measures. The paper aims to understand violence, international
relation and the relation between both in order to understand the need of studying violence
should be studied in international relation.
The conception of violence:
Violence can be defined as an extreme form of aggression involving murder, killing and
injuring. According to world health organization, violence can be defined as the intentional use
of physical power or force that may be due to threatened or actual against another person,
oneself, group or community that usually result in or injury, death, psychological harm,

2VIOLENCE IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND WHY?
deprivation or maldevelopment (Fox, Levin and Fridel 2018). The definition that is provided by
the World Health Organization is associated with human intensions that specifically target the
act itself regardless of the results and the outcomes that can happen. Violence includes
unintentional actions as well where there is involvement deaths and injuries such as car accidents
and other accidents (Fiske and Rai 2014).
Association with power and security:
According to Wrong (2017), the term ‘power’ is often added with the term ‘violence’ due
to the use of the phrase ‘use of physical force’. The phrase let the concept broaden in its nature of
the violent act and helps in expanding the conventional understanding of violence that results
from a power relationship. Threats, acts of omission and neglects are included in the knowledge
of violence. Therefore, the phase is understood including every type of negligence and every
kind of physical, psychological and sexual abuse, self-abusive acts and suicide. According to the
World Health Organization, the definition of violence covers a range of outcomes such as
deprivation, psychological harm as well as maldevelopment (Hughes 2013). It is a reflection of a
growing recognition that has caught the attention of researchers and scholars. Therefore, it was
highly essential to include violence that does not necessarily result in death or injury. However,
it does consists of a substantial burden upon families, individuals, communities and healthcare
system worldwide. Various forms of violence that involves women, children and elderly that do
not end up with results involving any injury, death or disability. The consequence of these
incidents also varies which can be latent, immediate or for a long term. Therefore, defining an
action as violence solely on the basis of the result will only limit and create an obstacle in
understanding the full effect of violence on communities, individuals and society at large.