America's IR Schools Are Broken

Nobody can deny this is a fascinating time to study international affairs. Societies are connected in more ways than ever before. States continue to compete and cooperate, and to co-exist, cooperate, and compete with corporations, social movements, nongovernmental organizations, criminals, and many other social forms. Institutions and orthodoxies that were once unquestioned are now under siege, and the world order we have known for decades may be undergoing fundamental changes. Great power politics is back (after a brief hiatus), balances of power are shifting with far-reaching effects, and the complex interplay between politics and international economics becomes more apparent every year. And the planet is heating up, which heralds wide-ranging and mostly negative consequences in the decades to come. Given all that (and more!), it is easy to understand why so many young people are interested in the subject.