Why We are Here

International Relations does not leave much room for personal expression and critical thinking. While you might encounter professors that allow and encourage you to question every theory, publication, and initiative during your studies, working in International Relations typically means you follow the money. And money, unfortunately, is neither critical nor discerning when it comes to diversity and equity.

We had the idea to start Balance of Power as an outlet for both our creativity and our critical ideas. Following graduation from Johns Hopkins SAIS, there has been little time or inspiration to produce our own work, let alone share personal perspectives and ideas in a meaningful way. Now that we are working in the field of IR, it seems the scope of our ideas and opinions must be restricted to what is professionally relevant to us, and research and writing have been decidedly downgraded to a task instead of a passion.

Thus, we decided that we did not dedicate years of our lives and tens of thousands of Euros to acquiring academic skills just for them to go to waste in restrictive environments where our work is polished to a shine to appease a very specific audience. Balance of Power is what we believe and what we stand for, unapologetically.

As women of different backgrounds and identities, we are also confronted with the given that International Relations inherently neither considers us or minorities, nor gives us the space to participate in the field without barriers. . Furthermore, as we accumulate experiences and expand our networks, it only becomes more obvious that many institutional efforts to become more egalitarian are merely performative and disingenuous in nature. The international system is not egalitarian, nor has it been designed in such a way to comfortably and easily evolve to allow the space needed for marginalized groups to exist on the same stage.

While we cannot realistically break down and rebuild the international system to be more inclusive, we can seek to carve out a space for those that have something to contribute but are too often ignored or actively pushed aside. That is our hope for Balance of Power. To try to even the balance in the system, and give voice and spotlight to those worthy of it, regardless of their origins or identities.