When former Carnegie Corporation grantee Stephen Saideman guest-responded on Thomas E. Ricks’ Foreign Policy blog, Best Defense, his ire caught the attention of International Peace and Security Program director Stephen Del Rosso, who called the piece “a spirited defense of policy relevance in the academy.” What got Saideman so riled up? A prior post by Ricks characterizing political science as irrelevant and made up. Not to mention boring.
Saideman, Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University, promised to rebut with “a list of relevant poli-sci stuff,” (which Del Rosso noted cites a number of his program’s grantees). The timing was auspicious, as the Corporation had just awarded $1 million grants to five universities for innovative programs aimed at bridging the gap between higher education and the policy world, because “academics and policymakers have far more potential to work with and learn from one another - especially on the many international political conflicts roiling the globe,” according to a write-up in Politico. Read Saideman’s guest blog here: Why Tom is so damn wrong about the relevancy of political science and read the riposte by Ricks here: Put down that broad brush, Steve!
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