They’re not exactly household names. Very few of these scholars have served in senior policy positions. Exceptions include Joseph Nye, who served in the Carter and Clinton administrations, Stephen Krasner, who works in the current Bush administration, and John Ruggie and Michael Doyle, both of whom served at the United Nations. The ideas of a few scholars, such as Samuel Huntington (clash of civilizations), Michael Doyle (the democratic peace), and Francis Fukuyama (the end of history), have entered the public discourse. Outside of the limelight, other scholars have championed schools of thought or offered the type of provocative analysis that shapes how others think about the world. For example, Princeton’s Robert Keohane, who tops the charts, has spent nearly three decades as the leading spokesman for liberalism, the most influential paradigm among the current generation of scholars.

 

One thing that stands out about these high achievers, though, is how similar they are: Nearly all are white men older than 50. That result is even more striking as almost a third of the field’s scholars are women and half the respondents received their Ph.D.s in the past 12 years. Odds are, it won’t be a men’s club for much longer. When respondents were asked who is currently doing the most interesting research, four women, led by Martha Finnemore at George Washington University and Kathryn Sikkink at the University of Minnesota, scored...