Open mic topic: who belongs in the IR hall of fame?

Today’s post is for all you graduate students, academics, and IR theory mavens out there. I’ve been finishing an article for the International Studies Association’s Compendium Project (a big reference work attempting to cover the whole IR field), and it got me thinking about the enduring classics in the field. So here’s my question: how ...

Walt-Steve-foreign-policy-columnist20
Walt-Steve-foreign-policy-columnist20
Stephen M. Walt
By , a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University.

Today's post is for all you graduate students, academics, and IR theory mavens out there. I've been finishing an article for the International Studies Association's Compendium Project (a big reference work attempting to cover the whole IR field), and it got me thinking about the enduring classics in the field. So here's my question: how many scholars in the field of international relations have written more than one truly classic works? By a "classic work," I mean a book or article that is a genuine "must-read" in the field when it is published, and that retains that status for a decade or more. We're talking tape-measure home runs here, not singles. One doesn't have to agree with these works to recognize them as seminal contributions. I can think of plenty of scholars who have written one "classic" work, but not that many who have written two.

Today’s post is for all you graduate students, academics, and IR theory mavens out there. I’ve been finishing an article for the International Studies Association’s Compendium Project (a big reference work attempting to cover the whole IR field), and it got me thinking about the enduring classics in the field. So here’s my question: how many scholars in the field of international relations have written more than one truly classic works? By a "classic work," I mean a book or article that is a genuine "must-read" in the field when it is published, and that retains that status for a decade or more. We’re talking tape-measure home runs here, not singles. One doesn’t have to agree with these works to recognize them as seminal contributions. I can think of plenty of scholars who have written one "classic" work, but not that many who have written two.

But let’s raise the bar even higher. How many people can you think of who have written more than two "classic" works? Off the top of my head, here are three obvious candidates:

Kenneth Waltz: (1) Man, the State, and War; (2) Theory of International Politics; and (3) "The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: More May Be Better "(Adelphi Papers, 1981)

Samuel Huntington: (1) The Soldier and the State, (2) The Third Wave; and (3) The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order.

Robert Jervis: (1) Perception and Misperception in International Politics; (2) The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution; and (3) "Cooperation under the Security Dilemma," (World Politics, 1978).

These names are just the first three that popped into my head and I’m sure there are others, so feel free to chime in with your nominees. Scholars in the field are welcome to nominate themselves, but should expect a high degree of ridicule if you get found out. (Better to call one of your graduate students and have them submit your name instead.)

But seriously: which IR scholars have written more than two "classic" works? Why do their writings deserve to be regarded as "classics?" Bonus points given for convincing arguments justifying controversial suggestions, and for nominations from outside the United States, Canada, and the UK.

Stephen M. Walt is a columnist at Foreign Policy and the Robert and Renée Belfer professor of international relations at Harvard University. Twitter: @stephenwalt

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