Institute of Continuing Education (ICE)
Submitted by Carla Dobson-Pérez on Mon, 08/07/2019 - 16:33
Traditional ideas about the relationships between nations and the demands of populations have been turned on their heads this century. We ask Dr Roxane Farmanfarmaian, Academic Director for International Relations and Global Studies, how we can begin to make sense of today’s world.
"Every period has its challenges,” observes Dr Farmanfarmaian, “But everyone and everywhere in the world today is undergoing enormous change. The digital revolution has entirely upended international relations and the idea of state sovereignty."
“For example, social media allows us to connect with people around the world and hear their stories firsthand, and the flow of digital money shrinks distance from place to place, yet many populations are asking their leaders to do more to protect their local livelihoods from income extremes and ensure the businesses in their High Streets aren’t based offshore. Reflecting this, some leaders appear to be less and less interested in international cooperation.”
It’s a long way from the thinking 30 years ago, particularly in the West, that we’d reached the ‘end of history.’ “At the end of the Cold War, President Bush Sr. talked about a New World Order of democracy and cooperation,” says Dr Farmanfarmaian. “He was President during a unipolar moment when the US appeared solely in charge. Today that has changed, with China internationalising through trade, and a resurgent Russia re-asserting its authority, shifting the balance of power into a new, and uncharted, multipolarity.”
Alongside the nation states, non-state actors are also advancing – the powerful lobbies of big business, the storytelling of frontline NGOs and the shocking impact of terrorist organisations all help shape our perceptions and, therefore, the actions of leaders. But those perceptions and actions can be more complex than they seem on the news.
“There’s often a deeper understanding to be had of a situation than we might see in reports. For example, we might view a growing build-up of tension in the Middle East as very contemporary competition between Sunni and Shia interpretations of Islam, but do we necessarily appreciate the much longer, more complex history, including the important power dynamics of Iran and Saudi Arabia, that lies beneath it?”
Taking the time to absorb that deeper perspective is key to making sense of the rapidly moving, global landscape around us, believes Dr Farmanfarmaian: “I think a more nuanced engagement with complex political concepts, institutions and relationships better prepares us to navigate the growing number of global issues challenging the previously established world order.”
“Whether it’s centuries old friction in the Middle East or more recently established threats like climate change or cyberwars, it’s that greater understanding that we want our students on the Undergraduate Certificate in International Relations and, equally, our mid-professional students on the Master of Studies in International Relations to take away with them.”
To find out more about the Undergraduate Certificate in International Relations, visit: www.ice.cam.ac.uk/ug-cert-ir
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This article was originally published as part of the 2019 Easter term and Long Vacation edition of Inside ICE.
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