Hi! I’m an undergrad studying International Relations and I want to know any topic suggestions for this?

Going beyond just cool visuals how are insights used? Like is there any organisation that does regression modelling around predicting geopolitical conflict based on demographic trends 20 years ago?

Hi I am looking for some degree advice :)

I am wanting to study a major in sociology/ anthropology but I know they don’t have the best career outcomes by themselves unless you already have connections. So I’m wondering what majors do you think would be the best to pair with this major to make it more employable.

And if you have studied sociology/ anthropology what career are you in now and what was it like finding a job after uni?

Any advice would be appreciated!!

Even without the US, the population of NATO exceeds 600 million people, while Russia has around 120 million. This means that even if the US leaves NATO, NATO still has 5 times more people than Russia, while 2 of their members, UK and France, has nuclear weapons. NATO's military budget, without the US, is likely 3 to 4 times that of Russia.

So why are some of these NATO countries so scared of Russia, and by extension,

so scared of USA leaving NATO? NATO literally has more bodies and more equipment than Russia.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, its economic and strategic relationship with China appears to have become increasingly asymmetric. Russia has lost or reduced access to many European markets and increasingly relies on China as a major market for energy and raw materials, while China has become an important supplier of machinery, electronics, vehicles and other industrial goods to Russia.
This raises a broader question about the long-term balance of power between the two countries.
Historically, Russia acquired large parts of what is often called “Outer Manchuria” from the Qing Empire in the 19th century, including the territory around present-day Vladivostok. The PRC has nevertheless recognized the existing Sino-Russian border and does not currently maintain an official territorial claim to these areas.
My questions are:
1. Could Russia’s long-term relative decline and China’s continued rise lead to a substantially greater Chinese sphere of influence in Siberia and the Russian Far East?
2. Could this happen without formal annexation – for example through Chinese investment, infrastructure, resource concessions, trade dependence, migration and economic integration?
3. How asymmetric is the current China–Russia relationship actually? Is Russia becoming structurally dependent on China, or does Russia retain significant leverage through its energy, food and raw-material exports, geography and nuclear arsenal?
4. Would a future Russian political or economic crisis make Chinese territorial claims to Outer Manchuria more plausible, or would China have little incentive to annex territory that it can influence economically without assuming the costs of governing it?
**5. Finally, what would be the rational response for Europe and the United States? Should Western policy seek to prevent excessive Chinese influence over Russia, or could a more China-dependent Russia actually be strategically preferable to a stronger and more autonomous Russia?
I am interested in serious IR analysis rather than predictions based on nationalist narratives or speculation about an imminent Chinese invasion of Siberia.
Note: I used generative AI to help structure and formulate my own thoughts and to translate them into English. The underlying questions and ideas are my own.

Hi! I’m a first years student in international studies. I’m mainly interested in journalism, political commentary or being a consultant of some kind, but ultimately I don’t know, what I want to do yet. I’m also interested, but on the fence about diplomacy or any kind of work in the EU or the UN.
I’m from Hungary, other than that I only speak english.
Can it be useful to study spanish? Eventually, I would also like to study russian or arabic, or if I choose to pursue a career in diplomacy, than french. I’m generally interested in North-America and immigration. But I also thought about starting with spanish, because it’s easier to learn, than russion or arabic. What would you recommend me? Is it a good starting point or would I be just wasting my time?

I would also like to add, that if I decide to take spanish classes in college, than that would also mean paying a lot of money, considering I’m a broke college student. So I’m a bit scared of paying for a something, that won’t be as useful in the future.

Hi everyone! I am currently an 11th-grade student from the country of Georgia. My goal is to apply for undergraduate programs in International Relations (IR) / Global Affairs abroad (Europe/US) with financial aid/scholarships.

Since I am starting my preparation now in 11th grade, I would love some advice on:

1. Timeline: What should my priorities be during 11th grade vs. 12th grade?
2. Preparation: Which standardized tests (TOEFL/IELTS, SAT) or extracurriculars (MUN, debate, research) matter most for IR?
3. Affordable Programs: Which countries or universities offer full-ride/need-based scholarships for Georgian/non-EU students in IR?

Any tips, resources, or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated!

South Korea is reportedly considering deploying military assets to help secure freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, potentially including P-8 maritime patrol aircraft, logistics support, and mine-clearance capabilities.

This creates an interesting strategic dilemma.

The obvious objection in South Korea is that the country still faces North Korea. If Korean assets deploy overseas while some U.S. assets are also tied down in the Middle East, what happens if North Korea chooses that moment to escalate?

But there is another way to look at it.

South Korea is no longer a small, aid-dependent country. It is one of the world's major manufacturing, shipbuilding, semiconductor and trading economies.

Hormuz is therefore not simply a distant American security problem. It is part of South Korea's economic lifeline.

Perhaps protecting critical sea lanes should be thought of as part of the price a major trading nation pays for participating in the global economy — much like maintaining the infrastructure that makes trade possible in the first place.

That raises a larger strategic question.

If South Korea can assume selected maritime-security functions in Hormuz without materially weakening deterrence on the Korean Peninsula, could that actually strengthen the alliance by freeing scarce U.S. capabilities for the Indo-Pacific?

In simplified form:

ROK protects more of its own global interests →
U.S. Middle East burden falls →
U.S. Indo-Pacific capacity rises →
ROK-U.S. deterrence against larger regional threats potentially becomes stronger.

Or is this logic flawed because the North Korean threat means South Korea simply cannot afford meaningful military commitments outside the peninsula?

I'm particularly interested in how people would think about the trade-off between peninsula readiness, protection of global sea lanes, and allied burden-sharing.

The Iran war has made something increasingly hard to ignore: Europe’s geopolitical weight has declined dramatically.

Whatever your views on the conflict itself, look at who is actually shaping events. The US, Israel, Iran, and the Gulf states are making the decisions that matter, while European governments mostly seem to be reacting to developments they have very little ability to influence.

Europe still has enormous economic power, but economic power doesn't automatically translate into geopolitical leverage. On issues involving hard power, energy security, and regional security, Europe increasingly looks like a spectator rather than a decisive actor.

That, more than any individual policy failure, may be the clearest sign of how irrelevant Europe has become on the world stage.

Why does the majority of the world powers tolerate US domination, especially in light of the current situation escalating overt belligerence?

Why isn’t there a consensus to reject the US and isolate it?