Political Scientist to Discuss Global Discord in World Politics
Randall L. Schweller, Ph.D.
DELAWARE, Ohio – During the 21st century, says political scientist Randall L. Schweller, “disorder will reign supreme as the world succumbs to … entropy, an irreversible process of disorganization that governs the direction of all physical changes taking place in the universe.”
Schweller, Ph.D., a professor of political science at The Ohio State University, will discuss his theory at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 at Ohio Wesleyan University, when he presents “Maxwell’s Demon and the Golden Apple: Global Discord in the New Millennium.” He will speak in Benes Room A inside OWU’s Hamilton-Williams Campus Center, 40 Rowland Ave., Delaware.
Schweller’s free presentation is based on his new book of the same name and represents Ohio Wesleyan’s 12th Annual Corinne Lyman Lecture on International Studies. The event is sponsored by the university’s International Studies Program.
For his provocative assessment of world politics, Schweller brings together “Maxwell’s Demon” – a thought experiment by physicist James Clerk Maxwell examining increases and decreases in chaos – and the “Golden Apple of Discord,” which led to the Trojan War in Greek mythology.
Schweller’s book, released in April, already has received strong reviews from experts in the field.
“With his typical verve, Schweller explains why and how the concept of entropy illuminates current and coming world politics,” writes Robert Jervis, author of “System Effects: Complexity in Political and Social Life.”
“This is not your grandfather’s treatment of globalization and the information revolution,” Jervis concludes, “but a deeply original account, with stimulating ideas on every page.”
Schweller has taught at Ohio State since 1994, following a post-doctoral fellowship in national security at Harvard University’s Center for International Affairs. His scholarly work recently was named among the top 25 most interesting studies in a survey of international relations professors from 10 countries.
He has written two previous books, “Unanswered Threats: Political Constraints on the Balance of Power” and “Deadly Imbalances: Tripolarity and Hitler’s Strategy of World Conquest.” He holds a doctorate and two master’s degrees from Columbia University. Learn more about Schweller and his work at polisci.osu.edu/people/schweller.2.
Ohio Wesleyan’s Corinne Lyman Lecture Series on International Studies honors the now-retired professor who created the university’s International Studies Program in 1979 and chaired it for 20 years. Read more about the program and the lecture series at https://www.owu.edu/academics/departments-programs/international-studies-program/.
Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation’s premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers 86 undergraduate majors and competes in 23 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Ohio Wesleyan combines a challenging, internationally focused curriculum with off-campus learning and leadership opportunities to connect classroom theory with real-world experience. OWU’s 1,750 students represent 46 U.S. states and territories and 43 countries. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” listed on the latest President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll with Distinction, and included in the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review “best colleges” lists. Learn more at www.owu.edu.