Two Worlds of International Relations

In the twentieth century the social science of international relations has gone from strength to strength. At first, policy-makers showed little interest in academic international relations, but in the last thirty years they have both encouraged and to a degree intervened in this burgeoning field. For their part, academics have been drawn more and more into commentary on governments' actions, to the point where, for some, the policy debate represents the main focus of their research.

The aims of this book are to discover how significant academic work in international relations has become for practitioners involved in policy formulation and implementation, and to examine the impact of the policy community on academic work and academic values. On the academic side, theoretical, historical and political economy perspectives are presented. On the practitioner side, there are contributions from diplomats, lawyers and parliamentarians.

The principal question at issue is whether, if there is a natural partnership between the modern academic and foreign policy makers, there needs to be preserved a respectful distance between the two worlds. Two Worlds of International Relations will be of interest to all members of the international relations research and teaching community, to historians and political scientists, and to the increasingly large number of academics who have contact with practitioners.