6 min read
We sat down with Professor Peter Trubowitz, the Academic Director of Summer School and Professor of International Relations at LSE, to learn about his research, career and the Summer School Academic Director's Scholarship.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Peter Trubowitz. I am Professor of International Relations, Director of the Phelan US Centre, and Academic Director of Summer School at LSE, and Associate Fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs. I grew up in small town named Rowayton, located in the state of Connecticut, about an hour by train from New York City. I did my undergraduate work at Bard College and Clark University before going on to MIT, where I did my doctoral work in political science. Before joining LSE, I was Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. I have held visiting positions at Harvard University, Princeton University, Tsinghua University, Universidad de Chile, and the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City, and the Beijing Foreign Studies University, where I was the J. William Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in American Foreign Policy.
Please tell us about your work and research.
My main research interests are in the fields of international security and foreign policy, with special focus on the United States. I have written widely about the ways domestic politics have shaped America’s approach to the world since its founding, and about how geopolitics, globalisation and other international forces have influenced and shaped American political development and contemporary US politics. I also write and comment frequently on US politics and elections. My publications include Geopolitics and Democracy: The Western Liberal Order from Foundation to Fracture (Oxford 2023), Politics and Strategy: Partisan Ambition and American Statecraft (Princeton University Press, 2011) and Defining the National Interest: Conflict and Change in American Foreign Policy (University of Chicago Press, 1998), as well as articles in scholarly journals such as International Security, International Studies Quarterly, and Political Science Quarterly and more popular venues like Foreign Affairs, Le Grand Continent, and The National Interest.
What, in your opinion, makes LSE Summer School unique?
One of the truly remarkable things about LSE Summer School is its international diversity. While many universities provide summer programmes, the LSE Summer School offers a unique environment by drawing students from across the globe to share in LSE’s tradition of academic excellence and international exchange. In an average summer, students from over one hundred and ten countries come to London to experience LSE’s world-class teaching, engage with other students from very different backgrounds and cultures and form global relationships that can be activated over a lifetime. I know from first-hand experience teaching on Summer School how stimulating and eye-opening students find LSE’s intensive, inclusive experience to be, and how much they benefit from the opportunity to study in one of the world’s great cities.
Why should students apply for the Academic Director’s Scholarship?
The Academic Director’s Scholarships are designed for students who are passionate about, and show extraordinary promise in, one of LSE Summer School’s key thematic areas: Sustainability and Development; Responsible Leadership; and Technology, Media, and Society. The idea behind the scholarship is to help students gain the skills and background needed to tackle the great challenges facing the world today. By participating in the LSE Summer School’s intensive, international learning experience, scholarship students can gain greater global perspective on these challenges while deepening their understanding of the issues, debates and trade-offs involved in managing and solving them. For students wishing to broaden and enrich their undergraduate experience, the Academic Director’s Scholarship offers an opportunity to immerse themselves in LSE’s great tradition of intensive research-led teaching and develop a truly global network of lifetime friendships.
What do you think is most important for an ADS applicant to demonstrate in their application?
Each year we receive hundreds of ADS applications for these highly competitive, merit-based scholarships. In reviewing applications, we consider many things, ranging from demonstrated commitment to academic performance to exceptional promise in the applicant’s relevant scholarship field. The essays offer an opportunity for applicants to develop a compelling narrative or story about their background and experience, their dedication and accomplishments, and to explain how the LSE Summer School experience, inside and outside the classroom, can help them achieve their longer-term aspirations. I would encourage prospective ADS applicants to have a look at the student blogs on LSE Summer School’s Content Hub to see what past scholarship students have written about preparing the application, and how they describe the overall experience of studying at LSE Summer School. They are inspiring as well as instructive.
Professor Peter Trubowitz
Summer School Academic Director - Professor of International Relations, Department of International Relations
Professor Trubowitz is the Academic Director of LSE Summer School. He is also a Professor of International Relations, and Director of the Phelan US Centre at LSE and Associate Fellow at Chatham House. His main teaching and research interests are in the fields of international security and US foreign policy. He also writes and comments frequently on US politics. Before joining the LSE, he was Professor of Government at the University of Texas at Austin. He has also held visiting positions at Harvard, Princeton, University of California at San Diego, Universidad de Chile, Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City, and the Beijing Foreign Studies University, where he was the J. William Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer in American Foreign Policy.