Analyzing International Affairs
Learn to look past diplomatic rhetoric and decode how nations actually compete, form alliances, and wield power. Build the core analytical mental models used by foreign policy analysts and diplomats.
Like Duolingo, but for Analyzing International Affairs. Tomo turns the whole topic into a game you play five minutes a day, until it actually sticks.
A short one: 11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes end to end, roughly 4 days at five minutes a day. It moves through Decoding Daily Moves and State Leverage and The Structural Game: Anarchy, Alliances, and Rules. It starts from scratch.
Free forever · No credit card · iPhone & Android
Key ideas in Analyzing International Affairs
- States routinely present strategic or economic ambitions in universal moral terms to win public backing and diplomatic cover
- An analyst looks past legalistic rhetoric to identify the concrete resources, trade routes, or security benefits at stake
- Invoking international law or humanitarian values does not mean a state acts out of pure altruism
- Seemingly unpredictable actions by foreign governments usually serve a clear internal logic, such as deterring foreign invasion or forcing rivals to negotiate
- Regime survival and state security take priority for leaders, even when their choices appear counterproductive or self-destructive from the outside
- Labeling an adversary's move as 'irrational madness' blinds analysts to the actual leverage the regime is trying to build
- Leaders often use belligerent rhetoric toward foreign rivals to generate domestic patriotic support and distract from internal political problems
- To evaluate whether war is genuinely imminent, foreign affairs analysts verify troop mobilizations and logistics rather than relying solely on fiery speeches
- Aggressive political speeches are frequently aimed at a home audience rather than the foreign rival
- Core interests involve physical survival, regime security, and defending sovereign territory, which states almost never compromise on
- Peripheral interests include prestige, symbolic gestures, or minor cultural grievances, which states regularly trade away in negotiations
- Treating every foreign policy issue as equally vital prevents analysts from seeing where diplomatic compromises are actually possible
- Hard power relies on direct coercion, troops, or naval forces to force compliance or deter adversaries
- Sustaining military deployments drains immense national budget reserves compared to diplomatic channels
- Coercive military acts alienate allies and burn through regional goodwill and diplomatic cooperation
- Economic statecraft like sanctions or export bans hurts a rival's economy without starting a shooting war
You've tried the other tabs
Thirty open tabs. Four facts you actually kept.
You watched. You nodded. By Sunday it was gone.
One answer, then back to scrolling.
Eight weeks. You meant to finish. You didn't.
Tomo gives Analyzing International Affairs the Duolingo treatment: levels, streaks, and quick quizzes that test what you just learned. That game loop is what the tabs above never had, so it's the one you actually finish.
Here's what playing it feels like
A real question from this course. Take your best guess.
When a leader uses lots of fancy legal rules, what should an analyst look for?
Get it right to open this lesson and 10 more in the app.
How to learn Analyzing International Affairs, step by step
Go in order. 11 short levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes in all, five minutes a day.
- 1
Decoding Daily Moves and State Leverage
- Parsing Foreign Policy Rhetoric
- Mapping the Currencies of Power
- 2
The Structural Game: Anarchy, Alliances, and Rules
- Navigating International Anarchy and Alliances
- The Friction of Treaties and Sovereignty
2 sections · 4 units · 11 levels. Built to play, not to enroll.
Questions about Analyzing International Affairs
How do I learn Analyzing International Affairs?
Go in order: start with Decoding Daily Moves and State Leverage, then The Structural Game: Anarchy, Alliances, and Rules. On Tomo that's 11 short levels, about 22 minutes in all, played five minutes a day. Start free and play the first level in under a minute.
Is there a Duolingo-style app for Analyzing International Affairs?
Yes. Tomo works like Duolingo: short daily lessons, streaks and quick quizzes. Analyzing International Affairs is one of its free courses, and you can type any other topic to get a course of your own.
Is the Analyzing International Affairs course free?
Yes. Analyzing International Affairs is playable on Tomo's free plan, which doesn't expire. No credit card, no waitlist. Download the app and start your first lesson.
How long does it take to learn Analyzing International Affairs?
11 levels across 2 sections, about 22 minutes of play in total. It's built for five minutes a day, so you finish it a little at a time instead of all at once.
Do I need any background to start Analyzing International Affairs?
No. It's pitched at a beginner level, so it starts where you are and builds up. If you can tap a phone, you can start.
Tomo is in ChatGPT
Tomo is also a ChatGPT plugin: the same playable courses, built and played inside your chat.
Add Tomo to ChatGPT- What to ask
- “Make me a Tomo course on black holes.” “Turn this chat into a Tomo course.”
- What you get
- Quick questions with instant feedback, hearts and stars, ready to play in about a minute.
- Where it goes
- No sign-up to start. Connect your Tomo account and your streak carries on in the app.
You pick the voice
Analyzing International Affairs is taught in the Explain Like I'm 5 style: no big words. promise.. Want a different feel? In the app you can spin up the same topic in any of Tomo's teaching styles. Same facts, totally different vibe.
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Start Analyzing International Affairs today.
Download Tomo, search Analyzing International Affairs, and play your first lesson in under a minute.