ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book breaks new ground by introducing various disciplines applicable to international studies and addressing regional and global issues through an interdisciplinary approach. It introduces seven regions of the world: North America, Europe, East Asia, South Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. The book aims to help students begin to think in an integrated and critical way, relying on valuable perspectives from many disciplines but moving beyond disciplinary boundaries toward complex explanations and understanding. An interdisciplinary approach is essential to fully understanding the historical, geographical, political, cultural, and economic dimensions of these global challenges. Geography's role in international studies is to analyze space, regions, and environments. Global warming, water and air pollution, soil erosion, and desertification know no political boundaries and are best understood through geography's contribution to an interdisciplinary analysis.
