Alex Durham

"My degree program has given me the requisite skills and knowledge to feel confident in my next steps after graduation, and has given me a well rounded understanding of the world that makes me feel as if I can make a difference in whatever field I choose to pursue," said international relations honors student Alex Durham, who graduates this June.

Below he shares why he decide to study international relations, the topic of his honors thesis, and his plans following graduation.

Why did you choose to major in international relations? What was your area of study/focus?

I chose to study international relations because it gave me the flexibility to explore adjacent areas of study, such as history and classics, while also giving me a rich education in national and world politics that I came into Stanford looking to explore more. My areas of focus are Europe, Russia, and the West, and international security.

What is the title of your IR honors thesis? Why did you choose this topic? What were your findings?

The title of my thesis is "How Eurosceptic Party Rhetoric is Changing in the Post-Brexit Era." I chose this topic in part out of an interest in Euroscepticism sparked by a class I took with my advisor, Professor Christophe Crombez, my freshman year at Stanford, and in part because I was really interested in studying what political party rhetoric can tell us about party intentions. In my paper I was looking to prove the hypothesis that Eurosceptic party rhetoric became less hard Eurosceptic in nature in the wake of Brexit, and through my analysis of Eurosceptic party manifesto data I found support for this hypothesis. However, my implied assumption behind why this rhetoric was changing was not supported and is an area that will need extra study in the future.

Why did you decide to apply for the IR honors program? Why would you encourage other students to participate in the program?

I applied for the IR honors program because I sought the opportunity to work on a research project that was my own and extended beyond the usual 10 weeks of a quarter. After hearing previous IR honors students talk about their experience, I realized that this program would give me the opportunity to do just those things and cap off my Stanford experience with a project and paper that I could really call my own. So, yes, I would absolutely encourage other students to apply. I've become really great friends with the others students in the cohort, have grown closer with Professor Crombez through our collaboration over the last year, and really think this program provides a great opportunity to those with ideas of research projects of their own.

What are your plans after graduation?

My plans are still unclear at the moment, but I hope to take my education and work in foreign policy research in the future, whether that be at a think tank or government position.