Top 10 International Relations Blogs You Should Know

Disclosure: International Relations Careers may be compensated by course providers.

If you’re interested in keeping up with the latest news and developments in international relations, then you should definitely check out some of the top international relations blogs. These blogs offer a great way to stay informed about current events and developments in the world of diplomacy and international affairs.

Grassroot Diplomat

Grassroot Diplomat is a diplomatic nonprofit consultancy founded in 2013 with the goal of making diplomacy more accessible to everyone. Talyn Rahman-Figueroa, the founder of Grassroot Diplomat is a diplomatic consultant specializing in environmental issues, UN reform, women’s rights, and nuclear disarmament. The blog is consisted of numerous topics and news; however, one mutual key goal is to bring the civil society and the governments closer and make diplomacy accessible to everyone.

The Washington Diplomat

The Washington Diplomat is a prominent and professional journal covering international issues from a diplomatic viewpoint, with a highly diverse, perceptive, and competent editorial team. Almost all publications feature ambassador biographies and conversations with certain top-level officials from various countries. The Diplomat also publishes current assessments on international relations, governance, trade and business, multilateral organizations, charitable projects, economic concerns, and diplomatic challenges. The Washington Diplomat has been the diplomatic community’s premier newspaper in Washington. It is dispersed to most embassies in Washington, D.C., the United Nations in New York, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, Capitol Hill, the White House, the Pentagon, Fortune 500 companies and over 600 places throughout Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, and New York.

Gadling – A Traveler in The Foreign Service

Gadling is a popular travel blog, created and maintained by a group of enthusiastic travelers and authors. It is the best source for anything from travel related news to very specific recommendations and trip planning covering entertaining, fascinating, and useful travel tips. Blog posts by Dave Seminara (A Traveler in The Foreign Service) might be of specific interest to many people in the International Relations field. Dave Seminara resides in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is a journalist, retired diplomat, and pathological traveler, which is why his publications might be of huge importance to people who share his passion for travelling and diplomacy.

The RAND Blog

The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit research organization dedicated to helping societies across the globe become safer, healthier, and more successful by developing answers to public policy issues. Douglas Aircraft Company established it in 1948 in order to provide review and study to the US Armed Forces. RAND is a neutral, nonprofit research organization dedicated to the common good. The RAND Blog provides professional comments and thorough analysis on current events throughout the world, along with research findings on important policy topics. The blog offers an enormous number of informational posts on many topics that might be of use to International Relations students, diplomats or anyone interested in current world events.

Pecunia et Bellum

Pecunia et Bellum (Translation: Wealth and War) is a very interesting blog ran by International Relations graduates from Athens, Greece. According to them, quality news is better than quantity news. Additionally, their main fight is against fake news and they believe they are able to achieve originality and accuracy by implementing a combination of researches, analyses or expert opinions. What makes this blog stand out is the fact that it almost looks like a comic book, however, the content is covering current global issues and related critical assessments. The page is informative and educational, and the best thing about it is their attempt to answer questions such as: “Can Video Games Make Wars Less Atrocious?” and “Is There Really a Power Void in the Middle East?”.

AsianPolyGlotView

Joon’s International Affairs and Public Policy Blog (AsianPolyGlotView) delivers fresh information and perspectives on a range of issues for the US, China, Japan, and Korea, encompassing macroeconomics, finances, international affairs, recent events, public policy, and linguistics. Overview of weekly media articles, latest news, and analytical sections on Northeast Asia are among the main topics. Joon Young Kwon is deeply invested in Northeast Asian foreign affairs, which can be seen through his fluency in Korean, Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. Joon’s blog might be interesting to many International Relations students because of the useful and original content it provides.

Political Violence @ A Glance

Political Violence @ A Glance is a famous online magazine managed by Erica Chenoweth, Christian Davenport, Barbara F. Walter, and Joe Young that tackles the most important issues surrounding violence and dissent in areas of conflict throughout the globe. They aim to reform policies by using thorough research and transparent analyses in order to significantly reduce violence and establish sustainable peace. The blog might be of huge help to those that are eager to learn more about international relations and contemporary politics.

Florian Bieber’s Notes from Syldavia

Florian Bieber is a political science professor and historian whose research focuses on inter-ethnic connections, ethnic tensions, and nationalism in Southeastern Europe. Florian Bieber’s blog, Notes from Syldavia, contains reflections and observations on Balkan and European affairs. It is called after the mythical nation of Syldavia, which appears frequently in Hergé’s Tintin animations. It is a very informational blog which has publications in both English and German language.

War on The Rocks

War on the Rocks is a platform that provides a realistic approach to studying, analyzing and discussing foreign policy and national security concerns. It includes articles, podcasts and webinars from a diverse group of writers with extensive expertise in such areas, including top-tier war academics, individuals who have participated or operated in warzones etc. Experience is what makes them different from other online publishers. They believe that they are equipped with writers that have a lot of expertise in war and international relations. Seeing the world through realist lens might be hard for many, which is why this blog might be of particular interest to students, as well as other academics.

In Moscow’s Shadows

Dr. Mark Galeotti, the creator of this blog, has been studying Russian politics and security concerns since the late 1980s. He concentrates on complex and problematic themes such as current Russian history and international issues, as well as current and past transnational organized crime. This blog can benefit a lot of International Relations students that aim to have knowledge in Russian foreign affairs. Galeotti’s blog is encompassed of categories covering topics such as the history, military, politics, reforms, prisons, crime of Russia and its neighboring countries.