Abstract

In this lecture, Steve Smith will look at globalisation over the last 30 years. He will note the wave of enthusiasm that accompanied its emergence as a dominant theoretical explanation of world politics in the 1990s and will locate that in the specific circumstances of that period of recent international history. Centrally, he will focus on the claims that it marked a transformative moment in world politics, changing the nature of international politics for ever. He will then look at the forces that have led to notions of de-globalisation, both in terms of a loosening connectivity in the international economy and the re-emergence of inter-state rivalries in world politics. The core conclusion will be teat the discipline of International Relations adopted globalisation as a one-way transformation whereas it is now clear that there are both powerful globalising and de-globalising forces at work. These contrasting forces make statecraft ever more difficult with domestic political debates around the world increasingly populist in nature.

About the Speaker

Sir Steve Smith is the UK Government International Education Champion, and the UK Government Special Representative to Saudi Arabia for Education. He was reappointed to both posts by the new Government in 2024. Before that, he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter from 2002 to 2020.

Sir Steve holds a BSc, an MSc, and a PhD in International Relations from the University of Southampton. He served as President of the world academic body in his field (the International Studies Association) from 2003-2004. In 2000 he was elected as Fellow of the Academy of the Learned Societies in the Social Sciences (FAcSS). In 2009 he became a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and in 2012 he was awarded the University of South Florida’s Global Leadership Award. He is the author/editor of 17 books and over 100 journal articles and has Honorary Degrees/Fellowships  from half a dozen universities in the UK, Hong Kong and China.

Sir Steve was President of Universities UK (UUK) from 2009-2011. He was a Board member of the Russell Group (2012-2020); Chair of UUK’s International Policy Network and Chair of UUK’s International Strategic Advisory Board (2015-2020); Member of the UUK Board (2006-2020); Chair of the UCAS Board from 2013 – 2019;  Board member of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (2013-2020). He is currently a Fulbright Commissioner, a Non-Executive Director of Unite Students, and a Patron of Exeter College. From 2006-2024 he was a Member of the Board of Governors, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. From 2023 he has been a Board Member of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore.

From June 2007 until May 2010, he led for higher education on the Prime Minister’s National Council of Excellence in Education, which provided advice to Government about strategy and measures to achieve world-class education performance for all children and young people.

Sir Steve was knighted in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to higher education locally and nationally. In 2019, Sir Steve was made a Freeman of the City of Exeter for his contribution to Exeter and the local community. He remains an optimistic supporter of Norwich City Football Club.