On March 27, 2023, the international webinar “An Unwritten Future: Realism and Uncertainty in World Politics” was successfully held; it was co-organized by the Princeton University Press (PUP) China Office, the School of International Studies (SIS), Peking University (PKU), and the Institute of International and Strategic Studies (IISS), PKU. The following attendees were invited as keynote speakers of this conference: Jonathan Kirshner, Professor of Political Science and International Studies at Boston College and Stephen and Barbara Friedman Professor Emeritus of International Political Economy, Cornell University, and Yan Xuetong, senior Liberal Arts Professor and Dean of the Institute of International Relations, Tsinghua University. The invited guest speakers were Jack Lewis Snyder, Robert and Renée Belfer Chair Professor of International Relations at Department of Political Science, and the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University, and Yu Tiejun, IISS President and Professor at SIS of PKU. This webinar was hosted by Brigitta van Rheinberg, Vice President and Director of Global Development of PUP.

Prof. Kirshner introduced his main ideas of “reaffirmation of classical realism” proposed in his newly published book “An Unwritten Future: Realism and Uncertainty in World Politics”. Prof. Yan Xuetong provided his constructive opinions on related topics and existing academic theories. Conference attendees conducted in-depth discussions on the significance, value, and limitations of theories including classical realism, structural realism, and neoclassical realism, as well as their historical analogies in studies of international relations. They also provided detailed answers to questions from the audience during the Q&A session.

This webinar is the first thematic discussion of a series of the academic conference entitled “Frontiers in International Relations Theory” co-organized by IISS of PKU, SIS of PKU, and PUP.

Editor: Li Fangqi