TRINITY TERM 2011 INS The Magazine for OxfordPIR Politics and InternationalES Relations Alumni A LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Welcome to the inaugural issue of Inspires, the alumni magazine of the University of Oxford’s Department of Politics and International Relations (DPIR). Inevitably, the contents of this first edition are selective. However, we hope that our choices will appeal to a wide spectrum of Politics and International Relations alumni – both those that did undergraduate degrees including Politics (‘Philosophy, Politics and Economics’ and ‘Modern History and Politics’), and those who have done more specialised graduate degrees (MSc, MPhil and DPhil) in Politics and International Relations, at Oxford. Many of you will be surprised to see just how much Politics and International Relations in Oxford has grown and developed over the years. Indeed, one of the purposes of this magazine is to convey the scale, variety and value of the teaching and research that is now undertaken in the Department. In particular, we have sought to provide a sense of the Department’s contemporary impact on, and interaction with, the wider world. Inspires will be an annual publication, and we hope that it will form part of a growing engagement with our alumni. However, our success in developing a conversation with readers will depend, in part, on your response. We hope that you will let us have your comments on this edition, make suggestions for future content and volunteer to contribute to future editions yourselves. Our contact details are set out opposite. We look forward to hearing from you. Kate Candy and David Leopold Photo: Keiko Ikeuchie 2 CONTENTS TRINITY TERM 2011: ISSUE 1 4 Welcome Stephen Whitefield 6 Law and War Jennifer Welsh 8 Learning to Experiment Ray Duch 10 Crunching the Numbers 12 Theory and Practice Stuart White 14 Nation States, Capitalism and the Crisis David Soskice 16 Life After PPE 18 International Relations in Oxford Andrew Hurrell 20 Recent Books 22 Media and Politics Sara Kalim 24 Undergraduate Teaching Elizabeth Frazer 26 DPIR on the Internet 28 Dates for Your Diary Photo: Sue Srawley ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In addition to all the excellent contributors, GET IN TOUCH: the editors would like to thank the following for their advice and help of various kinds: Department of Politics and International Relations, Lucy Crittenden University of Oxford, Janice French Manor Road, Oxford OX1 3UQ, David Hine United Kingdom Iain McLean Marc Stears Email: [email protected] Adam Swift Phone: +44 (0)1865 278700 Shepherd and Woodward Design Keiko Ikeuchi (www.keikoikeuchi.co.uk) The opinions expressed in Inspires are Photography Sue Srawley ([email protected]) those of the contributors, and are not Keiko Ikeuchi (www.keikoikeuchi.co.uk) necessarily shared by the DPIR or the University of Oxford. Cover Photo: Keiko Ikeuchie 3 WELCOME Stephen Whitefield has been the Head of Department since 1 September 2010. Here he welcomes readers and explains some of the contemporary challenges and opportunities facing the Department of Politics and International Relations veryone knows Gilbert Ryle’s old the top-ranked Department in the UK for our problems’ in the building with the heating philosophical joke: a prospective teaching and the student experience, and by and air conditioning were sorted out and they Estudent visits Oxford and sees Balliol, the fact that we have the largest number of wanted to leave their colleges. But more Christ Church and Exeter Colleges, and asks top-rated researchers of any Department in importantly, the Department is and wants to be the tour guide, ‘But where is the university?’, the country too, we have responded to those spatially and intellectually diversely located. having been under the assumption that it is challenges tremendously well. We are self-avowedly pluralist in our teaching a different place altogether. But, for those of and research with enough of us to operate on you who matriculated fifteen years ago and So, the simplest answer to the question, the ‘zoo principle’ – two of everything. And we read PPE at Merton, St John’s, Somerville ‘Where is the Department of Politics and work, happily but with occasional friction, in a or elsewhere or perhaps did the MPhil at International Relations (along with Economics Collegiate University, which means that almost Nuffield or St Antony’s, the question might be: and Sociology)?,’ is that its administrative all of us wear two hats of Department and ‘But where is the Department of Politics and heart is now located on Manor Road in an College, if seldom at the same time. So, as my International Relations?’ appropriately modern new building designed colleague Sudhir Hazareesingh at Balliol put it: by Norman Foster, with many lecture and Where is the Department? It is really located Until ten years ago, Politics matters in Oxford seminar rooms as well as offices and a large all over the University! were managed by the Sub-Faculty of Politics. café. Students come to visit the relocated You may recall that its administrative heart, so Social Sciences Library and attend lectures My hope is that some of that spirit of far as it had one, was located in George Street there more frequently than they attend pluralism of academic endeavour as well as in the same building as the Social Studies Schools. Many of our graduate students on pluripresence will be evident in this the first Library. It was pleasant, with a common MPhils and DPhils have desks and computers, issue of the Department’s Alumni magazine room and small seminar room. Coordination and some academics also have (largely Inspires. Why are we launching Inspires across Politics as a whole was rather limited, shared) offices there too, particularly when now? Because the challenges – from the and colleges and college tutors were central. they are involved in burgeoning Departmental government, for the needs of our students But, the world was already changing. The administration. I am the third Head of (graduate and undergraduate) and to continue government inspectors were inspecting our Department, after Mark Philp and most our research – keep on coming, if anything teaching; research funding was becoming recently Neil Macfarlane each served five ever more briskly, and to meet them we need more important (and we were subject to yet years. They were the institutional builders. the support and understanding of our closest more inspection); our graduate programmes I am trying hard not to mess things up. friends, our alumni. So, we aim to show you were growing. And so, to meet the challenges here a few of the many exciting things that are of modernity, the Department of Politics and But, the simplest answer won’t really do. happening in the Department in the hope that International Relations was born. And, judging For one thing, our building could not house you will want to be involved with us in years to by its enormous growth over the last ten years, the nearly 100 academics and hundreds come. the external recognition we have achieved as of students, even if the various ‘teething 4 We are very confident about our standing in the academic “ world and confident too about our capacity to progress in future. ” Photo: Sue Srawley Jennifer Welsh writes about the work of the We are very confident about our standing we will need your help through joint college- inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary in the academic world and confident too departmental funds to do so. Oxford Institute for Ethics, Law and Armed about our capacity to progress in future. But Conflict (ELAC), particularly about the what, finally, are the main challenges facing So, this is what will be the first of many future emerging doctrine of ‘responsibility to protect’ our Department as we aim to maintain and alumni magazines and the first in what will be that the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon enhance our teaching and research? You will a stream of invitations to you to get involved discussed eloquently in a recent lecture have read a great deal about the proposed with the Department. Come to the University sponsored by the Department and which is increases in undergraduate fees, much of Alumni weekend in Oxford this September. playing a major legal role in currently on- which will simply be used to make up for And bear in mind events to be announced going intervention in Libya. Ray Duch writes cuts in government funding with most of the soon that will commemorate the appointment about his work, based in Nuffield College’s remainder going to much needed bursary 100 years ago of the first Gladstone Professor Centre for Experimental Social Sciences, and access schemes that will help ensure that of Government and not long after that the involving pioneering research that tries to no-one is put off of applying for and attending 100th anniversary of PPE as well. Visit our find new ways to get at the vexed issue of Oxford. But much less is heard about the website. And please be in touch through determining causality when people make pressing need the Department has to offer Kate Candy (Communications Officer with political judgements or decide on political scholarships for students on our masters responsibility for alumni relations) about how action. Stuart White discusses how Political and doctoral research programmes, where your careers and lives connect with Politics in Theory should engage with the real world of government funding has also been cut. To Oxford. politics, which of course is already central to give an example, both the Economic and our teaching and research. As, for example, Social Research Council and the Arts and We look forward to hearing from you David Soskice shows when he engages with Humanities Research Council have announced and seeing you in the Department soon.