I am in secondary school right now and I am extremely interested in geopolitics and would like to have a career in the field. Unfortunately, the job market seems limited. How much opportunity will there be for my interests and specializations:

Nationality: British Languages: Native-English, B1-French, Bengali (want to learn them until C1 level) Specialist: Modern Conflicts and Disputes, Indian Subcontinent, Major World Alliances

I think of Athens and Melos.

It might not have been conventionally moral for Athens to demand subjection of Melos, but weak powers don't get to decide these things. (Yes, violating international law makes you an unliked pariah, but I'd like to hold that thought)

I see US and Canada doing a trade war, and I can't see how Canada can win without a coalition. They are Melos, regardless how much I personally hate Trump.

I'd like to analyze this without the orange man making us partisan but rather from a Strong country vs Weak Country. Theoretically only, the weak country does not have a coalition and cannot form one.

Detach the reality of orange man, potential coalitions, and long term pariah effects. I care about the general idea, not the particular:

Will The Strong almost inevitably win?

I'm struggling to come up with a structural or billiard ball explanation for the American issues with Panama, Mexico, Canada, Denmark, and the broader system of American allies and partners. This seems mostly ideological, if not completely the doing of a handful of key American policymakers.

As someone with neoclassical realist intuitions this is driving me up a wall.

Does anyone have a realist (or other systemic model) explanation for the Trump trade wars and territorial disputes?

The rise of the U.S. as a regional hegemony was met by less balance of power than expected. This is sometimes explained through a Defensive Realist lens, with the hypothesis that U.S. intent is not obviously malign, so countries do not need to balance.

As Stephen M. Walt wrote recently, “overt bullying makes people angry and resentful. The typical reaction is to balance against U.S. pressure.” See this article as well.

If we follow these assumptions, has Trump abused U.S. regional hegemony to a point of no return? Is a balance of power in the Americas now inevitable?

Hey guys I’m writing a undergrad research paper. My topic is To what extent has Turkey’s involvement in Syria been driven by security concerns versus economic and political ambitions? I need help figuring out how to go about researching this. I am having a hard time finding information about what is going on northern Syria. Do you guys have advice on how to find close sources to the area. I’m looking to figure out if any infrastructure is being built there and if so what type. Trying to figure out turkeys plan if they are looking to stay for the long term or what. But being in the west I can only find papers on what people think is going on rather than what’s happening there.

I've been looking at reactions in Mexico and Canada, both on social media and articles published on local media, and it seems like the prelevant view in Mexico is essentially, "whatever, we'll trade more with China".

Meanwhile, on the Canadian side, it seems like a lot of Canadians are still very much repulsed/disgusted by the Chinese government, citing a number of reasons like human rights abuses, lack of labor rights, and authoritarianism.

But Mexico is a democratic country as well. Why do Canadians grandstand on "values" while a lot of Latin Americans tend not to. Of course, this is a generalization since Milei campaigned partially against the "evil Chinese Communists", but he quickly changed his tone once he was elected, and Argentinians mostly don't care about what the Chinese government does either.

Hi everyone! 👋

I’m completely new to International Relations (IR) and want to learn about it from scratch. I’ve created a self-study lesson plan using AI (ChatGPT, to be specific) to guide me through the basics, and I came across Stephen McGlinchey’s book, Foundations of International Relations.

My main goal is to gain knowledge about IR—not for a degree or career (yet), but just to understand how the world works and why countries behave the way they do.

So, my questions are:

1. Is Stephen McGlinchey’s book a good starting point for someone with zero background in IR?
2. Does it cover the basics well (theories, key concepts, global issues, etc.)?
3. If not, what would you recommend instead for a beginner like me?

For context, here’s the lesson plan I’ve created for myself:

• Phase 1: Introduction to IR (basic concepts like states, sovereignty, and actors).
• Phase 2: IR theories (Realism, Liberalism, Constructivism, etc.).
• Phase 3: Global governance and institutions (UN, WTO, etc.).
• Phase 4: Current issues (globalization, climate change, etc.).
• Phase 5: Specialized topics (human rights, global health, etc.).

I’d love to hear your thoughts! Any advice, tips, or resources would be greatly appreciated.

Trying to find countries with serious sectarian divides. A few parliament seats reserved for minorities doesn’t count.

Hello, I'm looking to get a master's degree in IR. Are there any affordable, not really popular universities in Europe or Asia?

I suppose the Sinosphere would be China's equivalent, but countries in the sinosphere are ironically the countries China has the worst relations with. I personally believe that the US' alliances and its cultural connections with Europe and Latin America will give it an upper hand against China in the coming conflicts. What do you think?

I sent an email to OHCHR library asking for docs regarding general assembly debate on a particular resolution which was submitted by HRC and they haven't responded in 3 weeks.

What are the more libertarian leaning think tanks that take a non interventionist, restraint approach to foreign policy. I know there’s the Quincy Institute but what are the other options that are somewhat well respected?

https://democracyssisyphus.substack.com/p/america-first-bravado

"However, why start with hostility? Why lead with threats, intimidation, and reckless accusations? If America First considers this strength, it is indistinguishable from bullying. The administration argues that funding Ukraine to resist Russian aggression is a waste of taxpayer dollars, yet it simultaneously believes China will be deterred by America metaphorically taking Canada’s lunch money. This worldview mistakes bravado for strength."

Hello everyone,

I recently graduated with a Bachelors in Poltiical Science (comparative politics) and I wanted to brush up on IR. Also, is there any readings any of you would recommend when it comes to learning about how to get into the job field? I've hit a bit of a rock recently with trying to get a job in my field.

Anyways, hope to hear from you all soon!

I’m looking for a couple of news agencies that provide recent news about crises and global events. Foreign Policy (the media outlet one) is paid, offering a subscription to read the favourable articles.

I also want to comprehend the terminology by reading news with regards to foreign policy. Any recommendations?

Yes, I know BBC, The Guardian etc. but I’m looking for suggestions from anyone who want to stay informed about the world just like me, especially in a diplomatic way as an International Relations student.

In conclusion, just looking for any website both offering me reading in English and keeping me updated as to things happening around the world.

Its incredible to see how Realism predicts the actions of nations and how Idealism fails to predict anything. However, spoken out-loud, IR Realists sound like a horrible person.

I don't see things changing, ever. Grand claims from demagogues will always impress The Commons. However, at the highest level, there seems to be a filter that prevents Idealism, with only few exceptions from weak leaders.

Seeing the world contradict reddit and ideas taught to me in Youth has made me jaded in the value of the opinions of the multitude.

Now that I know this, I don't even know what to do. Ignore their pleas? Play along for popularity points?

I’m very passionate about the concept of universality, and as a former student of Anthropology, I would like to write a paper about it. There’s a massive archive of sources on universality, but coming up with a solid research question targeting this complex concept is quite difficult. I was thinking about debunking the whole theory of universality and proving that it has historically caused more harm than benefit due to its connections to imperialism and colonialism. So far, it is quite intuitive and provable, but I feel like I’m missing the opportunity to focus on something unique, and I’m completely stuck. Is there something more specific I can investigate to narrow down my research question concerning universality?

Hey guys! Just this semester I graduated from Athens Panteion university International Relations faculty. I am currently in a limbo state trying to figure out the next steps after my internship at the Greek consulate (April to June). Right now I ve moved to Hamburg Germany in my effort to learn the language better as well as because it's the internships location. I ve come to the decision of delaying my masters and trying to find a job to kickstart my career, however I do not know where to look and in what kind of companies and positions to apply for. I am a Greek national with a high English proficiency and currently learning German and Russian I also think I want to get into writing on a blog on daily political issues on the side as a way to enhance my CV and maybe potentially earn some money in the future. Any tips or your experiences are very much welcome.

hey guys,

yeah, well, I don't know what's the point of this post, but I am here just to cry out, because over the last month I invested so much effort into two jobs that were my dream jobs in the security field. Literally the best jobs you could get in my country in this field that could spur my career as an early stage professional. And guess what? I got through to the final stage in both of them where it was just 2-3 candidates out of dozens or even hundreds candidates initially, and both of them eventually chose to go with the other person. I just can't... you invest so much effort, get high hopes, to eventually get rejected that close TWICE a month. It's just tough to accept that you have to move on and work on things you're not so much interested... well, still, to anyone out there in the same situation, you're not alone out there, keep working hard, hopefully, good days will come...