IvoryIvoryInsideInside thethe TowerTower Professors of shape future policy debates and mold the next generation of leaders. So who are these dons of diplomacy, and what do they believe? | By Susan Peterson, Michael J. Tierney, and Daniel Maliniak

he ideas of economists and political the world’s only superpower. If you doubt the con- philosophers, both when they are nection, just consider the current Bush administra- right and when they are wrong, are tion. The political philosopher Leo Strauss and other more powerful than is commonly political scientists at the of Chicago are understood,” said British economist John Maynard often credited with shaping the thinking of the “neo- TKeynes. “Madmen in authority, who hear voices in conservatives” who serve in the top rungs of the the air,” he continued, “are distilling their frenzy administration. Yet academics inhabit a rarefied from some academic scribbler of a few years back.” world about which many people, including some “Academic scribblers” have enormous poten- policymakers, know little. In the most comprehen- tial to shape the worldviews of tomorrow’s leaders. sive survey of its kind, we unlock the door to the FP In the case of American scholars of international rela- academy, examining what these scholars write and tions, they are almost certainly framing foreign-pol- think about international politics, and what they are icy debates and training the future policymakers of teaching tomorrow’s leaders. For our survey, we attempted to contact all polit- Susan Peterson is dean for educational policy and professor ical scientists who research or teach international rela- of government, Michael J. Tierney is assistant professor of gov- tions at 1,157 four-year colleges and in the ernment, and Daniel Maliniak is an undergraduate at the United States. These schools included all national

College of William and Mary. research universities, masters-granting institutions, BY MICHELLE CHANG FOR ILLUSTRATIONS

58 Foreign Policy

[ Inside the Ivory Tower ]

and liberal arts colleges identified by U.S. News and World Report, as well as seven military colleges. In the end, 1,084 scholars, or roughly 47 percent of all Higher Learning American scholars of international relations, partici- pated. These respondents included many of the most here’s the best place to study international renowned and influential scholars in the field. W relations? The answer depends in part on The picture of the discipline that emerges is a the career you have in mind. Aspiring academics complex one. Some stereotypes are strengthened. typically need a Ph.D. from a top-notch political Sixty-nine percent of international relations pro- science department. For scholarly pursuits, fessors, for example, describe themselves as liberal; Harvard easily leads the field; it was the only a scant 13 percent see themselves as conservative. institution named by a majority of respondents. They overwhelmingly opposed the U.S. war in For those who want to walk the corridors of Iraq, almost unanimously believe that the United power—not study them—Johns Hopkins and States is less respected in the world because of it, win the most praise. and they think that this loss of respect poses a sig- Armed with a masters degree in international nificant problem for U.S. foreign policy. Seventy- relations from a top policy school, students are seven percent of them support free trade, and only likely to head off for jobs in government, non- 10 percent believe the United States should beef up governmental organizations (ngos), or interna- its military budget. tional business. Proximity to political circles keeps Other stereotypes, however, are stripped away. the East Coast dominant for policy schools, but International relations scholars are not locked in the West Coast and the Midwest do well their ivory towers. In fact, many of them moonlight for those who want to

in important parts of the foreign-policy making don academic robes. ANDREW GUNNERS/GETTY IMAGES apparatus, serving as consultants to the U.S. gov- ernment (25 percent), nongovernmental organiza- tions (15 percent), think tanks (14 percent), the private sector (11 percent), and international organ- izations (9 percent). And professors are more engaged in practical questions than popular myth would have it: Forty-five percent conduct research designed, at least in part, to have specific policy applications. Like much of the political and business world, the field of international relations remains domi- nated by men: No women rank among the top 25 International relations faculty are trained at a wide scholars with the greatest impact on the discipline range of institutions, but 25 percent received their over the past 20 years. And, despite their pur- doctorates from one of six schools—Columbia; portedly global outlook, American scholars are a Harvard; the University of California, Berkeley; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; the ; or Stanford. Despite their purportedly global outlook, American The international relations field today is surprisingly young: scholars are a relatively insular group who primarily Half of the professors who teach at U.S. colleges received their assign American authors to their students. Ph.D.s in the past 12 years. Even more surprising is how young scholars change the focus of their relatively insular group who primarily assign Amer- teaching over time. Early on, when young faculty ican authors to their students. This insularity might are fresh out of graduate school, they focus their be explained by the fact that a handful of schools teaching on theoretical questions and scholarly churn out a disproportionate number of scholars. debates. But, as their careers progress, professors

60 Foreign Policy Top 20 Ph.D. Programs* Top 20 Masters Programs* Rank School Percent Rank School Percent 1 75 1 65 2 48 2 Georgetown University 62 3 47 3 Harvard University 47 4 43 4 45 5 36 5 Columbia University 45 6 29 6 Princeton University 39 7 University of Michigan 28 7 George Washington University 26 8 University of California, Berkeley 27 8 16 9 University of California, San Diego 16 9 7 10 12 10 University of California, San Diego 5 11 Mass. Institute of Technology 11 10 5 12 10 12 Yale University 5 13 Johns Hopkins University 9 13 University of Chicago 4 14 Georgetown University 8 14 4 15 7 15 University of Maryland 3 16 7 16 Mass. Institute of Technology 2 17 University of California, Los Angeles 6 16 Stanford University 2 18 6 18 2 19 4 19 New York University 2 20 Tufts University 3 19 University of Southern California 2

*Percentage of respondents listing institution as among the five best. When possible, tie scores were broken by total votes tallied. are inclined to teach their students more about finds its way onto the reading list. Indeed, nearly real-world policy debates and less about scholar- 14 percent of introductory course material is still ly arguments. The image of the ancient, tenured devoted to Marxist ideas. professor reading from decades-old notes needs to Students today may look for broad exposure to be revised. regional issues, but the professors teaching them often When professors do reach for the theoretical have little regional expertise. Forty-four percent of toolbox, they frequently pull out the classics, professors surveyed spend a significant amount of notably realism, with its focus on states and power, time discussing the Middle East in their introducto- and liberalism, with its emphasis on economic ry classes, but only 7 percent have an expertise in the interdependence and international institutions. region. Professors are convinced that East Asia will be Beyond these two schools of thought, however, the most strategically important region 20 years from some interesting results appear. Constructivism, now, but only 9 percent say they have a research which highlights the power of ideology and beliefs expertise in that part of the world. Instead, American in international politics, is the hot new thing in aca- professors tend to be specialists in international secu- demic research; more than 80 percent of scholars rity, international political economy, and U.S. for- report that it is on the rise. Nevertheless, it gets lit- eign policy. Students seeking insight into the world’s tle airtime in introductory classes. Marxism, on the current and future hotspots will have to go beyond other hand, may be on history’s ash heap, but it still International Relations 101.

November | December 2005 61 [ Inside the Ivory Tower ]

Leading Lights The Most Influential Scholars* Rank School Percent hey’re not exactly household names. Very 1 Robert Keohane 56 Tfew of these scholars have served in senior 2 Kenneth Waltz 41 policy positions. Exceptions include Joseph Nye, 3 Alexander Wendt 33 who served in the Carter and Clinton administra- tions, Stephen Krasner, who works in the current 4 Samuel Huntington 21 Bush administration, and John Ruggie and Michael 5 John Mearsheimer 18 Doyle, both of whom served at the United Nations. 6 Joseph Nye 17 The ideas of a few scholars, such as Samuel Hunt- 7 Robert Jervis 15 ington (clash of civilizations), Michael Doyle (the democratic peace), and Francis Fukuyama (the 8 Bruce Bueno de Mesquita 14 end of history), have entered the public discourse. 9 Bruce Russett 11 Outside of the limelight, other scholars have cham- 10 Robert Gilpin 10 pioned schools of thought or offered the type of 11 Peter Katzenstein 9 provocative analysis that shapes how others think about the world. For example, Princeton’s Robert 12 Stephen Krasner 9 Keohane, who tops the charts, has spent nearly 13 James Rosenau 8 three decades as the leading spokesman for liber- 14 John Ruggie 7 alism, the most influential paradigm among the 15 Michael Doyle 6 current generation of scholars. One thing that stands out about these high 16 James Fearon 5 achievers, though, is how similar they are: 17 Immanuel Wallerstein 4 Nearly all are white men older than 50. That 18 Robert Cox 4 result is even more striking as almost a third 19 Hans Morgenthau 4 of the field’s scholars are women and half the respondents received their Ph.D.s in the past 20 Francis Fukuyama 3 12 years. Odds are, it won’t be a men’s club 21 J. David Singer 3 for much longer. When respondents were 22 Stephen Walt 3 asked who is currently doing the most inter- 23 Jack Snyder 2 esting research, four women, led by Martha Finnemore at George Washington University 23 Robert Axelrod 2 and Kathryn Sikkink at the University of Min- 23 Stanley Hoffmann 2 nesota, scored highly. *Respondents listed four scholars who have had the greatest impact over the past 20 years. Percentages have been rounded.

accounts for such apparent scholarly provincial- Home Schooling ism? Those inclined to less charitable explana- tions may conclude that American scholars of he subject may be international relations, but international relations are not immune from aca- Tthe readings are overwhelmingly American. demic parochialism. To be fair, however, Ameri- Almost half of the scholars surveyed report that 10 cans have authored most of the field’s textbooks, percent or less of the material in their introducto- and nine of the top 10 rated journals in the field ry courses is written by non-Americans, with a full are published in the United States. The United 10 percent of professors responding that they do States has, after all, been the most powerful and not assign any authors from outside the United active state in the international system for the States. Only 5 percent of instructors give non- past 60 years. Its behavior is going to eat up a lot Americans equal billing on their syllabuses. What of any curriculum.

62 Foreign Policy 7 percent of U.S. international relations schol- Geography Test ars specialize in the region. This gap may explain why the American intelligence community is cholars, like generals, may be too busy still advertising for Arabic speakers. Sstudying the last war. The Soviet Union dis- In thinking about the future, students of inter- integrated nearly 15 years ago, but plenty of national politics would do well to brush up on tenured professors got their training during the their Chinese. Sixty percent of scholars believe that Cold War, when Kremlin-watching was a East Asia will be of the greatest strategic importance national sport. When asked what region was to the United States in 20 years. If students begin most strategically important to the United States studying Mandarin now, perhaps in two decades, today, a resounding 58 percent answered the the faculty’s regional expertise will reflect emerging Middle East and North Africa. Yet, only strategic reality. Faculty Expertise and Strategic Outlook Greatest U.S. Region Principal Area Greatest U.S. Strategic Importance of Research StrategicRegion Importance Now in 20 Years United States 14% -- -- Canada and Western Europe 13% 18% 9% Latin America 9% 2% 2% Sub-Saharan Africa 6% 1% 2% Former Soviet Union/ 3% Eastern Europe 8% 4% Middle East/North Africa 7% 58% 19% East Asia (including China) 9% 16% 60% South Asia 2% 2% (including Afghanistan) 2% Southeast Asia 2% 0.2% 1%

Introductory Course Material Written by Non-Americans

35 30 25 20 15 10 5

Percentage of Respondents Percentage 0 0% 1-10% 10-25% 25-50% 50-75% 75-100% Non-American Course Material JUSTIN SULIVAN/GETTY IMAGES JUSTIN SULIVAN/GETTY

November | December 2005 63 [ Inside the Ivory Tower ]

issues. True, scholars who work for the government Hired Minds are generally more supportive of U.S. policy than their peers, but compared to the general public, they hen international relations scholars peddle are also far more skeptical, whatever their political W their services, the U.S. government is often stripe. ngos, think tanks, international organiza- ready to buy. Twenty- tions, and the private five percent of the pro- Professors Working For: sector have also sought fessors surveyed are paid 60 advice from interna- consultants to Uncle 50 tional relations profes- Sam. But putting them sors. Fifty-six percent on the payroll certainly 40 of scholars, however, 30

hasn’t bought the gov- government U.S. do no outside work,

ernment any affection— 20 which may hint at the

NGOs Think tanks scholars remain firmly sector Private abstract quality of

10 International organizations Other governments

opposed to current U.S. Interest groups much contemporary None policy on a range of 0 international relations

provides some powerful support for that position. Town and Gown Only 13 percent of scholars identified themselves as right of center, while 69 percent claimed to be he American public has only recently soured left of center. But political orientation doesn’t Ton the war in Iraq, but the great majority of explain everything. Conservative scholars sup- international relations scholars have always ported the war in much lower proportions than opposed it. A comparison of scholarly opinion conservative America. with U.S. public opinion (as reported by a Pew poll in August 2004) reveals Diverging Political Views huge gaps between the professors and the people. Nearly 80 percent of schol- Rank School The War in Iraq Percent ars opposed the U.S. decision to go to Liberals Moderates Conservatives war. More than 87 percent of these scholars believe that the war in Iraq Scholars Public 71 has harmed or will harm U.S. securi- 22 18 46 59 ty. These numbers contrast dramati- 6 cally with the beliefs of likely voters, 31 25 where roughly half believed the war in 46

Oppose Support 75 72 Iraq was the “right choice.” 89 When it comes to trade, profes- sors again move in lock step. An over- Free Trade Agreements whelming majority think free trade arrangements such as the North Liberals Moderates Conservatives American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization are 75 good for the United States—some- 86 44 84 46 49 thing that still sharply divides the American public. 9 38 3 36 4 35 Conservatives have long com- plained that liberals have a strangle- Oppose Support Scholars Public hold on the academy, and this survey

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