About Strange

Sketch credit: Erin Kavanagh @geomythkavanagh

Susan Strange (1923-1998) was one of the most innovative and interesting thinkers about global politics and economics in the late twentieth-century. After studying economics at the LSE during World War II, she began her working life as a journalist in the US and UK, before going on to co-found a new academic field, International Political Economy (IPE), despite never having received a doctorate. Her writing in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s about systemic risks in financial markets, America’s global influence and more was ahead of its time and engaged deeply with power and history. She also had a remarkable personal story, as the most prominent woman academic in her field and the mother of six children.

Learn more about her life and idea through these profiles by Professor Patricia Owens, researcher Nat Dyer, and journalist Diederik Baazil, as well as from Susan Strange herelf.

I never meant to be an academic (external link): Susan Strange in her own words

Susan Strange – world renowned international relations scholar (external link): Patricia Owens offers a biography focusing on Strange’s academic record

“Stand up for your own ideas” – Susan Strange’s remarkable life (external link): Nat Dyer on Strange’s life

Susan Strange: a great thinker or a ‘journalist’? (external link): Nat Dyer on Strange’s ideas

Meer dan vraag en aanbod (More than supply and demand): Diederik Baazil, writing in 2021, with a thorough consideration of Strange’s life and ideas (in Dutch; English translation via Google Translate)

Academic Reflections #

“Susan Strange: A Critical Appreciation”: Memoir by Chris Brown, published in the Review of International Studies (open access)

“Susan Strange 1923-1998: A Great International Relations Theorist”: Memoir by Ronen Palen, published in the Review of International Political Economy (paywalled)