What The Present And Future Generations Need To Learn
Studies in international relations take the student back to liberal thinkers and provides a liberal education which is founded on reason and articulation. This inevitably leads to the power of articulation. The world continues to lay down its policy, whether global, regional or national through written material.
by Dr. Ruwantissa Abeyratne
“When diplomacy ends, War begins”~ Adolf Hitler
( June 19, 2015, Montreal, Sri Lanka Guardian) When McGill University where I teach the subject Air Law and Policy to graduate students asked me last week what an enrolling student should have read prior to applying to pursue a new masters programme in aviation studies that the university was hoping to introduce, I did not hesitate in my response that an applicant must have read international relations and politics. My response would have been the same with regard to the requirement for the pursuit of graduate studies in any commercial subject or the study of economics or politics.
In the Preface to my latest book titled Competition Laws in Air Transport currently being finalised with the publisher, I make the point that competition in air transport is integrally connected to and impacted by various drivers such as environment and climate change, foreign trade and investment, economic growth of nations, liberalization and the enhancement of national security which are in turn affected by globalization – a phenomenon which opened trade barriers through politics and diplomacy. When one looks at the story of nations both powerful and influential, it becomes evident that they did not become so merely through their resources or intellectual talent. A particular example is the richest and most powerful nation – The United States – which achieved its status through a relentlessly intellectual approach to the rest of the world.
Charles King, a professor at Georgetown University, in his article “The Decline of International Studies” published in the latest issue of Foreign Affairs (July/August 2015) says: “The rise of the United States as a global power was the product of more than merely economic and military advantages. Where the country was truly hegemonic was in its unmatched knowledge of the hidden interior of other nations: their languages and cultures, their histories and political systems, their local economies and human geographies. Through programs such as Title VIII, the U.S. government created a remarkable community of minutemen of the mind: scholars, graduate students, and undergraduates who possessed the linguistic skills, historical sensitivity and sheer intellectual curiosity to peer deeply into foreign societies. Policymakers sometimes learned to listen to them, and not infrequently, these scholars even became policymakers themselves”.
As King concludes, international studies enable the student to see how complicated things could get in politics, diplomacy and international commerce and trade. It trains the student to foresee unintended consequences and provides the maturity to harmoniously blend ambition with reality while encouraging intellectual curiosity. In an age where we are drowning in information but starving for ways and means to use that information with wisdom and maturity, exposure to international studies and the way the world functions could be essential to a burgeoning mind. As E. O. Wilson said: “The world henceforth will be run by synthesizers, people able to put together the right information at the right time, think critically about it, and make important choices wisely.
Studies in international relations take the student back to liberal thinkers and provides a liberal education which is founded on reason and articulation. This inevitably leads to the power of articulation. The world continues to lay down its policy, whether global, regional or national through written material. As such, clear and unequivocal writing is still the preeminent tool of communication. Fareed Zakaria, in his book In Defence of a Liberal Education says: ” If you hear someone extol the virtues of a liberal education, you will probably hear him or her say that “it teaches you how to think”. I am sure that’s true. But for me, the central virtue of a liberal education is that it teaches you how to write, and writing makes you think. Whatever you do in life, the ability to write clearly, cleanly, and reasonably quickly will prove to be an invaluable skill”.
International relations and international politics teaches leadership, and how world leaders spoke and wrote using diplomatic language. It teaches negotiation skills which are useful in any discipline or profession. I find that, in my own professional persuasion both as an international civil servant and a member of the legal profession serving the international community, statecraft and its nuances have not only given me insight and maturity but they have also provided me with a sense of purpose, direction and a sense of self worth in understanding how countries work and how their decisions impact other countries including my own. I could unhesitatingly transfer the application of these benefits to a businessman, politician or any other professional who inevitably has to negotiate through life.
This essay by no means claims that literacy, numeracy and technology should play second fiddle to international studies. Rather, it argues that any learned profession would be enriched by an enduring knowledge and appreciation of how the world works and thinks. The study of leadership is an inherent characteristic of international studies which enhances both character and integrity. It widens one’s perspective and enables one to connect the dots of the story of humanity.
When all is said and done, a grounding in international studies is the only intellectual asset that would help one in assisting his or her country in the pursuit of the most cherished human asset – peace. As George Washington said in his farewell address “The Nation, which indulges towards another an habitual hatred, or an habitual fondness, is in some degree a slave. It is a slave to its animosity or to its affection, either of which is sufficient to lead it astray from its duty and its interest. … The Nation, prompted by ill-will and resentment, sometimes impels to war the Government, contrary to the best calculations of policy. The Government sometimes participates in the national propensity, and adopts through passion what reason would reject; at other times, it makes the animosity of the nation subservient to projects of hostility instigated by pride, ambition, and other sinister and pernicious motives. The peace often, sometimes perhaps the liberty, of Nations has been the victim.”
The current and future generations could prevent such a cataclysm.
