BISA at 50: reflecting on the discipline and profession of International Studies

In celebration of our 50th anniversary, and as part of the #BISA2025 conference in Belfast, we'll be bringing together a roundtable of distinguished former BISA Chairs to discuss how international relations – as a set of global relations and as a scholarly discipline -  has changed over the last five decades.

Joined by Professors Barry Buzan (BISA Chair, 1988–1990), Chris Brown (1997-1999), Christopher Hill (1999-2001), Caroline Kennedy-Pipe (2005 – 2007), Richard Whitman (2018 – 2019) and Ruth Blakeley (2021-23), and chaired by Mark Webber (2019-2021), our panelists will survey the 50 years since BISA was established and reflect on the most important global developments during this period. How well or badly has International Relations scholarship kept up with these ‘real world’ developments? And what do they regard as the most significant changes (good or bad) in IR scholarship and the academy during their professional careers?

If you're attending #BISA2025, come and join this exciting discussion and debate taking place during the conference in Belfast from 4.45– 6.15pm on Wednesday 18 June. Introduced by current Chair, Kyle Grayson (2023-25), the roundtable will take place in rooms overlooking the Titanic docks at the Titanic Museum and will be followed by our annual reception.

Please ensure you register for this event when registering for #BISA2025! Registration will be open soon.

Photo by Kendall Scott on Unsplash