A #mood and a vibe 💁🏾‍♂️

Yes, International Women’s Day is truly international

Satan: "If You are really the Son of God, throw yourself down off this cliff.”  Jesus: 

Yerko inostroza (via carpediemtuvidadisfrutabien)

Last part of Meryl Streep’s speech at the 2017 Golden Globe Awards

Pros and Cons of Studying International Relations

Pro: It’s a varied field

To do well in International Relations you’re going to learn some economics, some law, some politics, some philosophy, some history as well as the basics of the discipline. You’ll be learning about how smaller states work together against bigger ones and about big issues like globablisation, war, and refugees. This is a field that intersects with so much that is happening in the world, that is bursting with new corners to explore and discover. It is filled with people who desperately want to understand and help which is something quite powerful and rare I think.

Con: If you want to do anything practical with your degree you’re going to need a Masters

Here’s the thing. If you want to join most international organisations and put your degree to practical use, you need a masters. The United Nations and my countries’ diplomatic core both require it. So if you don’t have the time or the finances to pursue that avenue things become more difficult. If you combine it with a journalism degree or teaching degree you can take a slightly different track but it’s something to be aware of.

Pro: The people who study IR

People who study IR want to make a difference and tend to genuinely seek understanding. They have an empathy for the human condition that is hard to find as universally in other politics disciplines. Politics tends to favour those who already have Opinions and Allegiances, International Relations embraces wholeheartedly the fact that it is almost impossible to conclusively Know. Oh we can make predictions, and we’re often right, and we can make proposals and judge policy but the biggest questions in International Relations are largely philosophical and that’s where the grey lies.

Con: International Relations

Here’s the thing about IR. You’re going to learn about genocides and the political reasons why genocides aren’t stopped by other nations. You’re going to learn about the way that the West behaves in the world, and about war crimes that will sicken you to your stomach. You’re going to learn about why the UN so rarely appears to be effective. You’re going to work out why Syria is intractable and why Obama did not get involved, why Russia refused to sanction intervention early. You’re going to learn all about terrorism and nationalist movements about the FARC and Boko Haram. You’re going to be able to say that when people say terrorist movements always fail it’s not true. You are going to confront the sheer vastness of human suffering and you’re going to think to yourself that this is hard and humanity is cruel and everything is just too complex. You’re going to feel small and insignificant but, if this field is for you, you are always, always going to come back in the hope that you can be one small light in the darkness.

Pro: You get to experience the world

An IR degree often contains a language component which is brilliant! And broadens your horizons. It also could involve a semester abroad which I highly, highly, recommend. Even just going to another English speaking country differences become apparent. If you go into the field post-grad you’ll be travelling widely and speaking to a variety of different people from different backgrounds and perspectives. Your life will be the richer for it.

Con: Westerncentrism

The discipline has been Westerncentric since its inception and that hasn’t changed. It’s concepts and key thinkers tend to derive from the West and that means we are loosing a very valuable perspective and skews what we discuss and talk about. It also, in some ways, contributes to some of the problems IR scholars try to solve.

Book of the day: No Matter The Wreckage by Sarah Kay

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En mi defensa voy a decir que cuando se rie, achina los ojos.