The Study of International Relations 1960–1965
| Published date | 01 March 1966 |
| Author | Nils Andrén |
| Date | 01 March 1966 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083676600100306 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Nils Andren The Study
of
International Relations
19
60-
19
65
Sweden
I
Even if International Relations as a dis-
tinct academic subject in its own right
is only of very recent origin and still of
insecure standing in Sweden, the study
of international affairs has been carried
on for a long time within the scope of
various university disciplines: modern
history, politics, economics, international
law and, only recently, sociology. An
almost forgotten beginning was made
half a century ago when Rudolf Kjellen,
a strongly conservative and nationalist
professor of politics, inspired the geo-
political school of international study.'
So far there is no complete agreement
in Sweden as to the correct place of the
study of International Relations in the
academic organisation. The general situa-
tion carries features well-known in most
countries. Two schools of thought are
competing, the one arguing
that
the
study of International Relations is basi-
cally an interdisciplinary activity and
that the subject could not be incor-
porated
with
any cognate traditional
field. The other school argues
that
International Relations is a branch of
politics and
that
its dependence upon
related subjects in the academic organ-
ization is very similar to
that
of other
branches of political science. Hence, In-
ternational Relations, or International
Politics, should be or remain incorporat-
ed in the general study of politics.
So far the solution of the issue is a
compromise. At the University of Stock-
holm a special curriculum in a subject
called International Politics may be fol-
lowed for higher degrees (Master's and
Licentiate Degrees as well as for the
Doctorate). At the four other universi-
ties International Politics is growing on
the whole as a speciality under the de-
partments of politics. The difference
between the two arrangements is in-
deed very small and may be more im-
portant from a psychological than from
apractical point of view. In Stockholm
the situation is so
far
marked by a
temporary arrangement, on the whole
entrusting one of
the
senior members of
the political science department to be in
charge of and supervising the postgradu-
ate academic work carried
out
by stu-
dents of International Politics.
In view of the present definition of
the subject this arrangement -although
unsatisfactory as it reflects
the
lack of
specifically ear-marked resources for In-
ternational Politics - is completely logi-
cal.
The
definition is simple and to the
point: "The subject of International Poli-
tics for the degree of filosofie licentiat
aims at a scholarly [the Swedish word
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