The history of international relations based on sovereign states is often traced back to the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, a stepping stone in the development of the modern state system. Prior to this the European medieval organization of political authority was based on a vaguely hierarchical religious order.nternational relations is an academic and a public policy field, and so can be positive and normative, because it analyzes and formulates the foreign policy of a given State.
Maritime Law. What is the 'Maritime Law'. Maritime law is a body of laws, conventions and treaties that governs international private business or other matters involving ships, shipping or crimes occurring on open water.
Rush-Bagot Pact, 1817 and Convention of 1818. 1  The Rush-Bagot Pact was an agreement between the United States and Great Britain to eliminate their fleets from the Great Lakes, excepting small patrol vessels. The Convention of 1818 set the boundary between the Missouri Territory in the United States and British North America (later Canada) at the forty-ninth parallel.