The Cult of the Irrelevant or Political Narrative?

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221089336
• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023
• Subject Matter: Symposium: National Security and Social Science

https://doi.org/10.1177/0095327X221089336

Armed Forces & Society

2023, Vol. 49(1) 41 –47

© The Author(s) 2022

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DOI: 10.1177/0095327X221089336

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Symposium: National Security and Social Science

The Cult of the Irrelevant

or Political Narrative?

Rebecca L. Schiff1

Abstract

This commentary discusses Michael Desch’s book The Cult of the Irrelevant: The

Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security. Desch offers a respectable and

important overview of the history of national security within the social sciences

from World War I through current times. He focuses on the gradual irrelevancy of

political science and particularly the field of international security. Desch, however,

neglects the recent university activism and political narratives infusing academic

writings and classroom discussions. This review argues that what contributes to the

irrelevancy of social science and particularly national security is the new “cult” itself:

demands placed on academia and students to become political activists, and not

social scientists nor theorists who contribute rigorous academic research affecting

domestic and foreign policy. It is the political advocacy narrative itself, embraced

by university cultures, that pushes social science and the study of national security

down the path of irrelevancy.

Keywords

civil–military relations, public policy, political science, military organization

I and several colleagues were asked to comment on Michael Desch’s book The Cult

of the Irrelevant: The Waning Influence of Social Science on National Security at an

Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society (IUS) conference. It was a

1Inter-University Seminar on Armed Forces and Society, Chicago, IL, USA

Corresponding Author:

Rebecca L. Schiff, Ph.D., P.O. Box 324, Jamestown, RI 02835, USA.

Email: rschiff1@msn.com

1089336AFSXXX10.1177/0095327X221089336Armed Forces & SocietySchi

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