dlvr.it
CfP: Thinking, Training, and Teaching in International Affairs (late 19th century–21st century): Intellectual, Institutional, and Practical Approaches
CfP: Thinking, Training, and Teaching in International Affairs (late 19th century–21st century): Intellectual, Institutional, and Practical Approaches
The end of the Great War marked the rise of International Relations as new academic discipline which emerged from transatlantic intellectual exchanges at the crossroads of diplomatic history, international law, strategic studies, and political economy. The number of historical studies that focus specifically on the teaching of international affairs, on the architects of the field, the institutions and the theoretical texts that underpin it, has remained quite limited. The role international relations but also adjacent disciplines have come to play in the training of researchers, diplomats, and, more generally, practitioners still warrants more attention. The conference aims to fill this gap.
Thinking, Training, and Teaching in International Affairs (late 19th century–21st century): Intellectual, Institutional, and Practical Approaches
The end of the First World War marked the institutionalization of the new discipline of International Relations which emerged from transatlantic intellectual exchanges at the crossroads of diplomatic history, international law, strategic studies, and political economy. At the same time, nineteenth-century diplomatic history began to undergo its own transformation, led by a new generation of historians who advocated a multifactorial approach, rather than a narrowly political one. While the discipline of International Relations embraced its identity as a policy-oriented tool, diplomatic history - though governed by the conventions of the nascent French école méthodique - could not escape the political and legal debate over responsibility for the outbreak of war. Both disciplines emerged and evolved in close entanglement with the political and diplomatic urgencies of their time.
The origins and evolution of these two academic disciplines have become the subject of renewed interest since the beginning of the 21st century, fuelled by the resurgence of international history and the history of ideas, as well as postcolonial and post-Cold War perspectives.
Yet the number of historical studies that focus specifically on the teaching of international affairs, and on the theoretical texts that underpin it, has remained more limited. The role international relations but also adjacent disciplines have come to play in the training of researchers, as well as experts, diplomats, and, more generally, practitioners in the broad field of international affairs still warrants more attention.
The conference aims to fill this gap by focusing on the history of scholarship development, teaching, and training for international affairs – the institutional and organizational framework, the architects, the driving forces of transformation including of pedagogical methods. Our premise is as follows: as the international scene underwent major reconfigurations, particularly after 1945, with the emergence of new states, especially in the Global South and in the former Soviet hemisphere, and with the rise of intergovernmental and non-governmental actors, the range of issues and policy fields under discussion broadened. As a result, the practice of international affairs and the question of how it was to be taught were perennially re-examined, each in conversation with the other. This also applied to the training of experts from the private sector, as well as of civil servants and diplomats, who from the 1920s onwards were called upon to (co-) operate in an increasingly international and transnational world.
There are thus a number of areas remaining under-explored, including: the theoretical and methodological frameworks specific to the teaching of international affairs; the texts that have become established as foundational references; the emergence of leading figures among teachers and practitioners; and the transmission of particular worldviews, theories and practices of governance within a given historical moment and its respective institutional contexts. Building on the substantial body of existing scholarship in the history of international relations and international affairs, the conference therefore seeks to examine how students were taught, how researchers, diplomats and other practitioners were trained, and how teaching and training evolved across the twentieth century. Particular attention will be paid to incorporating the writings and practices which developed in the 1960s in Asian, African and Latin American countries.
This conference forms part of the centenary celebrations of the Geneva Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID), one of the first institutions to focus on the study and teaching of international affairs, beginning in 1927. The centenary offers an occasion to reflect on how the institution – alongside others – has contributed to training generations of internationalists who have gone on to serve as researchers, experts, diplomats and international civil servants since the 1920s.
Themes
We would be delighted to receive contributions on the following topics:
1. Individuals who have contributed to the thinking and teaching of international relations and international affairs on a global scale: male and female theorists, male and female academics, and male and female practitioners. Particular attention will be paid to lesser-known figures – such as the diplomat Paul S. Reinsch, the academics Parker Moon and Frederick L. Schuman, among many others – as well as to women and non-Western figures, particularly since the 1960s. We welcome proposals taking a historical perspective on intellectual contributions dating back to the second half of the nineteenth century. We also welcome individual biographies and group profiles, provided they examine the exchange of ideas and practices.
2. Institutions and programmes that have played a formative role in the teaching of international relations, international affairs and diplomacy since the 1920s. Alongside the Geneva Graduate Institute, other institutions may be considered, such as the Georgetown School of Foreign Service (1919), the Institut des hautes études internationales (Paris, 1921), the Foreign Service Institute (1924), the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna (Diplomatische Akademie Wien, 1964), UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research, Geneva, 1965), and the Cameroon Institute of International Relations (1971, Yaoundé). Proposals should take into account key moments of geopolitical upheaval (wars, decolonisation, ecological crises) and their consequences for research and teaching.
3. Works (reference texts or practical handbooks) that have had a significant impact on the teaching of international relations, international affairs and/or diplomacy. Proposals should focus on their origins, their translations and circulation, their geographical distribution, and the moments they lost their canonical status and fell out of use.
4. Teaching practices. Proposals are encouraged to address questions such as what models and narratives were employed, what perspectives were adopted, what ‘pedagogical’ objectives were sought, and what normative ideas emerged and when. Attention should also be paid to the involvement of practitioners, practical exercises, negotiation simulations, role-plays, etc. Here too, it will be important to take into account key moments of rupture.
5. Methodological developments. The proposals will examine the various disciplinary underpinnings of teaching and research, as well as the evolution of transdisciplinary approaches. In this context, the role and uses of history – its relative decline and its occasional resurgence – will be explored in greater detail.
Papers may cover the period from the 19th century to the present day. We particularly welcome papers that adopt a broad, global perspective, focusing on the flow of ideas and drawing comparisons between different geographical and institutional contexts. We also welcome approaches grounded in intellectual history, conceptual history and the history of ideas, as well as interdisciplinary approaches that combine the various disciplines (history, law , political science, philosophy, economics) within which the study of international relations has taken root and evolved.
Guidelines for submitting proposals
Proposals for papers must be submitted by 1 December 2026 to the following email address: enseignerlinternational@gmail.com
Proposals must include:
1. A title for the paper.
2. An abstract of 400 to 500 words (in French or English) outlining the research question, the
sources used and the methodology.
3. A short biographical and bibliographical note (institutional affiliation, position, and
main publications).
Full papers must be submitted one week before the conference. The final articles will be published in the journal Relations internationales, subject to the assessment of the editorial board. They must be submitted by 30 June 2027 and must not exceed 40,000 characters (including spaces and footnotes). The journal’s editorial guidelines are available on the PUF website.
Participants are kindly requested to seek institutional support for covering their own travel expenses and accommodation costs in Geneva. Financial support may be available for early-career researchers. Applications for financial support must be submitted as soon as possible, and no later than 1 December.
Organisiert von
Amalia Ribi-Forclaz; Carolyn Biltoft; Laurence Badel; Matthias Schulz; Geneva Graduate Institute for International and Development Studies
EK
15. September 2026
enseignerlinternational@gmail.com
Maison de la paix
1202
Geneva
