From Bruce Kesler:
International Relations professors “are often the last people a president turns to for advice on running the world. At least, that’s what the professors say,” in a 2008 survey of 1743 IR faculty at every 4-year college and university in the US. “Most revealing? Nearly 40 percent of respondents reported that these scholars have “no impact” on foreign policy or even the public discourse about it.” Foreign Policy reports the results.
If they, or you, are wondering why they are so irrelevant, just look at their top priority: “It’s a largely liberal internationalist agenda, one that names the most important foreign-policy priorities facing the United States as global climate change (37 percent).”
What issue could possibly trump a major recession and not one but two foreign wars? Our warming planet. According to the scholars in this year’s survey, a U.S. commitment to take the lead on international climate treaties is long overdue. Although the election of President Obama—who has described the global climate change threat as “a matter of urgency”—promises movement on U.S. environmental policy, it might not be nearly high enough on Obama’s to-do list for these experts. Not only do academics consider the environment to be the greatest threat we face today, they predict it will be an even more important foreign-policy challenge for the United States in 10 years.
If there’s still wonder, I looked into the 93-page survey report the article is based upon. Guess what? “Seventy-five percent describe themselves as liberal,” and that percentage has increased from 69% in 2004.
Still wondering? Read on:
In 2008, for instance, we see fewer than half as many scholars (23 percent of respondents in 2008 compared to to 48 percent in 2006) describing terrorism as one of the three most significant current foreign policy challenges facing the United States. Most surprisingly, while 50 percent of U.S. scholars in 2006 said that terrorism was one of the most important foreign policy issues the United states would face over the subsequent decade, in 2008 only 1 percent of respondents agreed….Concern over several other foreign policy issues is also declining markedly: when asked about the most important problems facing the country over the next ten years 18 percent fewer respondents chose WMD proliferation, 12 percent fewer said armed conflict in the Middle east, and 13 percent fewer indicated failed states. At the same time, 17 percent more respondents in 2008 than in 2006 believed that climate change will pose a serious challenge…
Want more reasons to not look forward to paying those huge tuition bills for your children?
In the past week, there has been considerable discussion on the shortcomings of academia. Other authors have focused—more specifically—on the sentiment among international relations scholars that they are largely ignored by policy makers. Given the pitch and breadth of this...
Tracked: Feb 22, 22:17