PH students promote IR scholarship

RECENT years have seen a dramatic increase in number of universities offering courses in International Relations (IR).

The newly founded PhISO aims to inculcate this budding academic field as the pioneering association of students, academicians, and institutions dedicated to the study of IR.

PhISO, or the Philippine International Studies Organization, aims to instil the culture of scholarship and strengthen the theories and praxes of International Relations as a discipline in Philippine academia.

“In recent years, the field of International Relations has seen new discourses covering the roles and perspectives of non-Western states and cultures in theory. This is a monumental opportunity for the discipline in the Philippines. Our objective is to provide a forum for Philippine students, academics and researchers to share their views, collaborate in research initiatives, and disseminate their work to a broader audience,” said Frances Antoinette Cruz, president of PhISO.

Cruz, whose team of graduate students recently bested finalists from London School of Economics and Columbia University in the prestigious Geneva Challenge 2015, an international competition for graduate students at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, said that there is a need for a better appreciation of International Relations.

“The impact of International Relations on our everyday lives is often sadly overlooked. IR provides analytical tools by which one can appreciate the interconnectedness of states, the economy, and transnational phenomena, such as migration, environmental changes, and crime, among other things. These have the potential to not only directly and indirectly affect the politics of any one particular country, but also communities, families and individuals,” she said.