The study of history of international relations affects our daily lives in several ways: 1) It helps us avoid repeating the mistakes of the past that led to wars and conflicts, such as poor relations between countries that contributed to World Wars 1 and 2. 2) It has made countries more conscious of maintaining peaceful relations with other nations and recognizing interdependence, leading to cooperation through bodies like the UN. 3) However, some issues like terrorism persist due to failures of international relations and poor response, as seen with the rise of groups like Al-Qaeda in response to issues in Iraq. 4) Examining history has moved the world towards greater humanitarianism, with the UN and other groups providing aid, and countries

1. UNIVERSITYOFNAIROBI
HISTORYOF INTERNATIONALRELATIONS
MARVINNJAUMUNGAI
R67/38943/2016
QB) HOW DOES THE STUDY OF HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS AFFECT OUR DAILY LIVES TODAY?

2. John Jay, former chief justice of the United States of America and a diplomat, defined History as
“a narration of the events which have happened among mankind. Including an account of the rise
and fall of nations as well as other great changes which have affected political and social
conditions of the human race.” History without a doubt affects our everyday lives. Below is an
argument meriting how the study of History of International Relations affect our daily lives.
Scholars all over the world studying the History of International Relations all agree on one thing,
it is crucial in avoiding repeating the same mistakes committed by our ancestors. For example
the infamous wars, World War 1 (1914) and World War 2 (1939-1945). The causes of these wars
were political, territorial and economic disputes that had bottled up for years until they could not
take it any longer. The European countries had poor relations with each other and were hell bent
on promoting own power and prestige without the regard for human suffering. Looking back at
our ancestor’s poor approach on International Relations, we are now more conscious on how we
handle relationships with other nations. Because of our History we now understand that no single
country can survive on its own. This is why the United Nations has been able to operate for so
long since the year 1945 to this day. We have become more mindful of the idea of International
Peace.
Unfortunately, terrorism is rapidly growing and forming International Organizations.it is said
that the rise of the Al-Qaeda organization began after the United States of America moved in on
their country without authorization from the Iraq government to extract their vast deposits of oil.
A plentiful natural resource that was once found in Iraq. This is an example of how International
Relations has failed. The United States was not sanctioned for their actions which forced a

3. portion of the natives of the land to form a group intended to fight for their rights. This is
possibly one of the worst failures of the United Nations since they were supposed to protect the
people of Iraq from the United States who were destroying their lands in such of oil breaching
the United Nations’ charter. The idea by the Muslims living in Iraq was noble at first but it
quickly turned into senseless killing and use of sanguinary means to achieve an audience with
the international community. I believe that this could have all been avoided if the United Nations
had stepped in early enough many lives would have been spared .From Al-Qaeda, ISIS (Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria) now known as ISIL (Islamic State of Syria and Levant) and the Al-
Shabaab based in Somalia broke off and are now terrorizing the World on multiple fronts. The
most recent attack was in Paris (13th November 2015) where 129 people were killed and as many
were injured. Also in Kenya, Westgate mall (21st September 2013) where 67 people lost their
lives and 174 were injured. The rise and growth of terrorism is a result of poor International
Relations and because of this, human beings now live in fear because of poor handling of the
terrorism threat by the then management of the United Nations.
By studying the History of International Relations, the world has evolved from their egomaniacal
ways to a more benevolent community. The world through the United Nations is now more
accommodating to non-nationals who seek help to better their lives. The UN offers aid in form of
food or relief funds to countries that cannot tend to their citizens due to National poverty.
Examples of the UN Programs are, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP),
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), World Food Program (WFP),
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Environment Program (UNEP),
World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the World
Bank just to name but a few. This programs are operational to assist poor and disaster stricken

4. countries. In September 9, 2015 Germany took in refugees from Syria and surprised the entire
world by promising to take in 500,000 refugees seeking asylum every year for a number of years.
In the past History has not been too kind on Germany seeing as how they persecuted persons
from different races. This proves how history has influenced our lives today.
In the 18th and 19th century the international system was terrible to Africans. The black
community was treated as savages and primitive beings. It is for these reasons that the
international system treated the Africans as slaves were our ancestors used to be coerced into
performing hard tasks like picking coffee for little to no pay not forgetting how they were treated
physically by whips on the bare back and torture methods like starving them for days. The black
community basically did not have a voice and therefore had no rights. The Africans who
remained in Africa were evicted from their homes and placed in less productive land while the
Foreigners exploited them and took advantage of their inability to defend themselves as they had
inferior weapons. Those who were shipped off to the “new world” were taken to war to fight for
their masters and tend to their crops and their every needs. Today we find that the black
community is free to pursue own interest as much as the white man. Today we see the black
community are also vocal on important matters. Examples are Nelson Mandela former president
of South Africa and freedom fighter Kofi Anan, former secretary general to the United Nations,
James Mwangi CEO Equity Bank, Oprah Winfrey media personality and former TV talk host
and a pioneer of black lives matter campaign, Ellen Johnson president of Liberia and Barrack
Obama president of the United States of America.
The strides we have taken to achieving better lives are truly great. History has affected us all for
better and for worse. But we still have a lot of work to do if we are to learn from our previous
mistakes and move forward, together as one toward a better tomorrow.