Understanding International Relations | The Hoot Hour - Ep.12

Catch Newsahoot readers discussing current affairs in our exclusive series!
 

This week’s episode of ‘The Hoot Hour’ focused on a theme that has been much in the news lately – International Relations.

Our speakers spoke at length about what international relations mean, why it is necessary to have good relations with other countries, how history affects the present, the role of foreign policy, and conflict resolution techniques.

We would like to congratulate and thank all our participants for making this week’s episode a success!

1. Harsimrat Kaur (Jesus Sacred Heart School)
2. Navya Mishra (Seth M.R. Jaipuria School)
3. Shradha Singh (Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya, Aya Nagar)

The discussion opened with our panellists attempting to understand the importance of international relations. Our speakers agreed that solving global issues is only possible with good relations between countries.

Then, the conversation moved towards the reasons behind unfriendly relations between some nations. Our participants cited disagreement over issues that affect both countries as a major reason. They also discussed how history contributes to continued tensions between countries in present times.

From there, the discussion shifted towards foreign policy and its importance for a nation. Our speakers mentioned how foreign policy helps ensure the safety of our country, boosts our economy through trade, helps spread our culture, and enables us to assist other nations during times of war, pandemic, or economic breakdown.  

The conversation got super-interesting here as our panellists talked about the different methods of conflict resolution. Negotiation and discussion, asking for help from a neutral country, taking the help of international courts, or going to war — are some strategies countries employ to deal with conflicts.

The episode ended with the participants playing the “Diplomacy Game”, where they were asked to choose the best conflict-resolution strategy to deal with global issues like river disputes, border disputes, nuclear weapons, trade wars, etc.

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