On December 15, 2023, the symposium titled "Book Talk on Cult of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security" was co-hosted by the China Office of Princeton University Press, the School of International Studies (SIS), Peking University (PKU), and the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), PKU. The event was held both offline at Beige of PKU and online. The speaker was Michael C. Desch, Founding Director of the Center for National Security at the University of Notre Dame in the United States and Packey J. Dee Professor of International Relations. Guest speakers were Li Chen, Associate Professor at the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, and Director of the Center for International Security and Strategy Studies; Qi Haotian, Assistant Professor at the SIS, PKU, and Senior Research Fellow at the IISS, PKU. The meeting was moderated by Yu Tiejun, Professor at the SIS, PKU, and President of the IISS, PKU. Over 200 participants attended the event both online and offline.

Prof. Desch first introduced cases and data from his book Cult of Irrelevance: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security, highlighting the tension between academic rigor and policy relevance in the social science research of the U.S. He pointed out that war amplifies policymakers' demand for expertise and scholars' willingness to provide policy suggestions, while in peacetime, the trend of specialization in disciplines leads to a decrease in the policy relevance of academic research. Then Associate Professor Li Chen and Assistant Professor Qi Haotian commented on Prof. Desch's book from multiple perspectives. The speaker and guest speakers further discussed questions such as why the community of American social science is less willing to offer policy suggestions, what kind of relationship should be maintained between academia and policymakers, and how social science and historical research can more effectively meet the needs of current policies. Finally, the speaker and audience exchanged views on how other elements such as international factors impact the policy relevance of American social science research.

Published by Princeton University Press in 2021, the book Cult of Irrelevance: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security probes into the interaction between American national security research and policy development from World War I to the present, examining why the influence of the American social science community on actual policy has diminished. Besides, the book also offers suggestions for balancing the academic rigor of social science research with its policy relevance.

This symposium was the third thematic symposium in the series of academic conferences entitled "Frontiers of International Relations Theory" that was co-organized by the China Office of Princeton University Press, SIS, PKU and IISS, PKU.

Editor: Li Fangqi    Photographer: Zheng Peijie