So far, only China and Canada have imposed additional tariffs on US goods.

Canada has not retaliated against the "reciprocal" tariffs, China has.

The EU's planned retaliation against the tariffs on steel and aluminum will come into effect in Mid-April. It's still not clear whether they will retaliate directly against this round of tariffs, as many member states are divided on this issue. The most high profile person to come out against retaliatory tariffs is the Italian PM Meloni. It is likely that the EU will push forward with the Digital Services Tax against US tech giants.

Who else do you think is likely?

Hello, I received my bachelor's last spring and am planning on entering grad school in the next year or two. When I left undergrad, the plan was to gain work experience for two years to help hone my research interests and prep better for grad school.

I'm now seriously reconsidering that plan - I've been working at a policy institute since August but was recently laid off due to the DOGE cuts. I had expected to hop around a bit to gain a better understanding of the field but the scale of the disruption to US foreign policy + development organizations/positions is obviously massive.

While I was still studying, I got accepted into a 2-year masters program with an option to defer enrollment for 1 or 2 years. I now have 2 weeks to decide whether I want to matriculate this fall or next. Many people I've asked recommend taking the offer now given the uncertainty of the moment, avoiding the job market for a couple years, and coming out the other side with a better sense of direction. Given that I was just fired, this is definitely a solid, safe option.

My hesitation mostly stems from the fact that I want experience to inform my studies - the job I was just fired from was super helpful in showing me the good and bad parts of this work and understanding what I want out of my degree. Ideally I would spend another year for that purpose, especially as I have many interests but cannot confidently say there's a concentration/expertise I know I want to wholly dedicate my studies & career to yet. It would also give me the chance to consider other schools rather than committing myself to just one option. But it would be taking a huge leap of faith because I don't know if I can get another solid, relevant job in between now and fall 2026 given the current climate. Part of me is also romanticizing travel or a service/random job but again, that is a big leap of faith and maybe more exciting in my head than in practice, and also easier said than done.

This could be a good time for a reset, taking the next few months easy and going to school at a time when a lot of highly qualified people are now having to scramble to find employment. On the other hand, deferring is a (somewhat risky) opportunity for potentially more experience, travel, and another year to help refine my interests. What should I do?? Any advice welcomed!

Liberal IR theory would prescribe that countries whose economies are intertwined with each other don’t go to war because the relative costs are too high. Of course, throughout history there have been exceptions to this rule, most notably Germany and the uk during WW1, but it does seem to be the case that free trade reduces the odds of war albeit not completely eliminating the possibility. If China and US decouple, does it decrease the relative cost of an invasion of Taiwan and subsequent confrontation with the US, or is the US military deterrent the main factor ?

I have to prepare for international relations as an optional subject for an exam. The syllabus is of undergraduate level at least and exam questions are essay based questions. Can anyone recommend resources for it?

I currently live in Chattogram. I got chance at Du and I'll probably get medium subjects like Peace and conflict, Women and Gender studies, Anthropology etc. I also got chance at Cu. And I'll surely get IR there. IR was my dream subject to study.

Please suggest me what should I do?

I'm saying this because it's too vague. some said that it's bad for having a job, and some said that there is a plenty of chances to get a decent job. generally, what is your view on the job prospect of 'studies' subject?

What are the book that are in your opinion helped you in your career, gave your valuable knowledge or insights?

Hey everyone, I really need your thoughts on this big decision I’m trying to make.

I’ve been accepted into two programs: • IE University (Spain) – Bachelor in International Relations (possibly the WBA track with law focus) • Bocconi University (Italy) – Bachelor in Global Law

I got a full scholarship at Bocconi, while at IE I’d still have to pay €9,000 per year out of €30,000, which is a big financial stretch for my family. My parents would need to make a huge effort to cover that cost.

My goal is to work in diplomacy, international policy-making, or legal-affairs-oriented fields, so both degrees are somewhat aligned with that path.

BUT — here’s the catch: The Global Law program at Bocconi is brand new, and I’d be part of the very first generation of students. That means no alumni network yet, and very little idea of what kind of post-graduation opportunities the program will actually open up. Meanwhile, IE has a more established IR program with a decent international rep.

So now I’m torn. • Is the financial burden of IE worth it for the potentially better network and recognition? • Or should I go with Bocconi, save my parents the stress, and trust the school’s strong brand even if the program is new?

What would you do in my shoes?

Any thoughts, experiences, or perspectives would help a ton. Thanks in advance

Hello, I'm considering changing my major to IR but the only thing close to IR at my university is international studies. 1.)What would be the difference between the two? 2.) if I chose the diplomacy concentration of international studies, would that be similar to IR?

Got into a top grad school for IR but I am not well versed in the subject. I have a social science background and I am uptodate with what's happening across the globe. But I know that's not enough , so where do I start? I don't want to fall behind when I join the course

Data is the "oil" of the future, or rather the "oil" of right now. It's essential for AI training, and basically the entire world has given their data for free to American social media companies, except for China.

China has its own ecosystem and TikTok globally, allowing it to compete directly against the Americans.

The US now has imposed "retaliatory tariffs" on the rest of the world, is this not the best time to target US social media, that pays little to no taxes in most countries? So far, I understand that the EU is preparing a digital services tax for this exact purpose, we'll see if they go through with it.

As of 2025 with how we see these actors evolve and advance in terms of technology and tactics, as well as the influence they have- would you be an absolutist (like most scholars of such thesis) and say they absolutely don’t have the capacity to invade/occupy like a major power? I didn’t suggest that they could colonise the U.S. of course, but are war experts and scholars perhaps too overconfident that these actors are just disorganised Third World groups who cause chaos and disruption without posing a direct threat for anything bigger?

I feel there is greater focus on the traditional, conventional means of how war was being conducted on the physical battlefield (considering most works supporting this thesis were produced in the 1970s) thus underestimating the influence of non-state actors in the contemporary era of 2025, where war isn’t just about tanks and fighting, but also consists of various irregular forms of warfare. Also, terms like "invasion" and "occupation" were understood differently in the 1970s vs. now.

Can we be entirely sure that Iran (with its growing nuclear program) doesn’t have a nuke already?Or other Middle Eastern factions DONT POSSESS solid invasion capability (of any kind)? Just cuz they’ve operated in forms of attacks so far, does that ultimately mean they lack these capabilities? What if that’s the tactic, to appear as such and convince the other side that they lack structure and power…..

Hi! I'm a Syrian student studying IR in the US. I'm fluent in both Arabic and English but I want to learn a third language. I'm not sure what my career path will be exactly but I would like to have a middle-eastern focus. But also I might like doing more general work in the UN for example.

I'm trying to decide which to learn, what do you recommend?

Farsi: close-ish to Arabic, beautiful language with beautiful poetry. Syria and Iran have a bad relationship because of their crimes in syria. But, learning the language will allow me to understand the Iranian axis better and learn to idk fight it? Idk do I need to like a country to be involved in the IR work between it and my country? Pro is that not a lot of Syrians speak farsi. It will also later make it easier to learn other dialects of it like Tajik and so on + Kurdish (which is an ethnicity present in Syria).

German: Because of the big numbers of Syrians who sought refuge there, syria and Germany will definitely have tight relations in the future. Cons is that I've taken the language in school before and I didn't like it, didn't learn much. + a lot of syrians already speak it so I won't be special.

French: I'm assuming it's important for working with the UN for example. I have also taken it in school before and I didn't like it that much but tbh I didn't try hard.

Turkish: Again, tight relations with syria right now. but a lot of Syrians are able to speak it.

Does anyone have any helpful thoughts? Any other suggestions?

so i am considering ir as a career so i thought maybe if i have a conversation with an ir student then it might be helpful ... so pls msg me if you see this

I am a 16 y/o male student living in Pakistan. I really want to go into international relations, either working for a UN department here in Pakistan, or as a diplomat for Pakistan. However, in the meantime I need advice on how to develop my portfolio and gain experience. The logical answer would be to apply for internships, however seeing as I live in Pakistan there are little to no IR related internships (though I have interned for a magazine), I cannot find any IR internships. Please help and guide me on how to find internships and how I should go about developing my portfolio. Thanks. EDIT: online internships are perfectly fine.

I'm interested in working in Foreign Affairs in my home country. Ideally, I'd like to undertake a masters in IR that is actually affordable from a good university in Europe. Any recommendations?

Strait Thunder-2025A: China’s most intense military drills around Taiwan yet.
As U.S. alliances deepen in the Indo-Pacific, Beijing is responding with warships, fighter jets, and live-fire drills right off Taiwan’s coast. What does this mean for regional stability, global trade, and the fragile balance of power?

https://geowire.in/2025/04/04/strait-thunder-2025a-chinas-taiwan-drills-and-the-shifting-indo-pacific-balance/

i'm a first year polisci student in uni from delhi, india. ive had prior research experience from the ministry of culture as a intern for research, currently also an intern for center focused on indo-pacific region, plus also worked with a few think tanks, written a few articles, all in all, i can surely say i have some experience in the field, but as someone who also wants to be independent financially doing what i love and growing in this field so pls help thank u- :((

what am i missing? (i know im new to the field but im eager to learn, i try attended as much ir conferences as possible, seminars from think tanks and organizations in my city) my background was also in humanities