Dr. Marijke Breuning with the Department of Political Science at the University of North Texas has been named the 63rd president of the International Studies Association. The competitive election took place November-December 2022 with Breuning emerging as the top vote getter from a field of four.
Breuning, a professor is known for her research that focuses on International Relations: foreign policy analysis, development cooperation, women/gender & politics, the politics of international children's rights (and especially intercountry adoption), and the sociology of the profession. Her current work is on children's rights and efforts to increase transparency and accountability in intercountry adoption.
"The ISA has been an important aspect of my professional life and I have served in many roles within the organization", said Breuning. "I am honored to have been elected to its top leadership position, and am looking forward to bringing together the various constituencies of ISA and to build bridges between the association's diverse members."
As president, Breuning will serve a one-year term and will work during that time to propose programs and policies designed to advance the best interests of the Association. She will convene and preside over meetings of the Executive Committee, the Governing Council, and the Annual Business Meeting while overseeing the work of the Executive Office.
"My goals are two-fold: I seek to bring together the various ISA constituencies and emphasize our shared interests, and our ability to learn from one another across differences in approach to our subject matter. I also want to broaden the perspective of the field's relevance", stated Breuning.
The association has a membership that is interdisciplinary and international with representation from over 100 countries. The association's membership is also diverse in terms of its scholarship, representing a variety of epistemological and methodological approaches to the study of international affairs.
Breuning will officially become President-Elect at ISA's March 2023 Annual Meeting, which will be held in Montreal, Canada. She will serve as President from the annual meeting in April 2024 until its 2025 annual meeting, which will commemorate her conference, where she gets to select program organizers and provide guidance to the program's content. Subsequent to her year as ISA President, she will serve as ISA Past President for one year.
This milestone tabs Breuning as the second person from the same university to serve as President of a major professional association in recent years. Meanwhile, Dr. John Ishiyama, Chair, Department of Political Science is currently serving as the Immediate Past President of the American Political Science Association after completing a stint as the association chief which has 11,000 members.
For Breuning, the honor marks the third time a faculty from a Texas institution has been elected to lead ISA. She becomes the 11th female leader to steer a 7,000+ membership organization that share a passion for international studies.
About International Studies Association one of the oldest interdisciplinary associations dedicated to understanding international, transnational and global affairs. Founded in 1959, its more than 7,000 members span the globe - comprising academics, practitioners, policy experts, private sector workers and independent researchers, among others. The Association has long served as a central hub for the exchange of ideas and for networking and programmatic initiatives among those involved in the study, teaching and practice of International Studies. As an Association dedicated to posing and answering questions regarding some of the most pressing issues of our time, ISA is composed of a variety of Sections, Caucuses and Regions that seek to facilitate their members' analysis of, and engagement with, the world of international, transnational and global affairs writ large.
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