A Fuller Realism: What Half the Population Adds to Realpolitik

Join the ANU Coral Bell School and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership as we welcome Professor Valerie Hudson for a discussion of her forthcoming book on gender, security and the future of foreign policy.

Drawing on decades of research in international relations and national security, Professor Hudson challenges the assumptions of classical international relations realism (often referred to as Realpolitik) – the dominant framework shaping foreign policy and security thinking around the world. She argues that when women’s experiences, perspectives and expertise are excluded from how we understand power, conflict and national interest, our understanding of global security remains fundamentally incomplete.

In conversation with leading scholars from ANU, Professor Hudson will explore what a more inclusive and genuinely “realist” approach to foreign policy could look like, and why it matters for national and global security today.

About the speakers

Professor Hudson is University Distinguished Professor and George H.W. Bush Chair, and Professor of International Affairs at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. She is a globally recognised scholar with expertise in Foreign Policy Analysis, International Security and Women, Peace, and Security. Professor Hudson has been named a Distinguished Scholar of Foreign Policy Analysis as well as a Distinguished Scholar of Political Demography and Geography by the International Studies Association. 

She is the author of numerous books including, The Hillary Doctrine: Sex and American Foreign Policy (with Patricia Leidl, Columbia University Press, 2015), The First Political Order: How Sex Shapes Governance and National Security Worldwide (with Donna Lee Bowen and Perpetua Lynne Nielsen, Columbia University Press, 2020) and Foreign Policy Analysis: Classic and Contemporary Theory (with Benjamin Day, Bloomsbury, 4th edition forthcoming 2026). 

Panellists 

• Dr Benjamin Day (Moderator), Department of International Relations at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs
• Professor George Lawson, Department of International Relations at the ANU Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs
• Dr Elise Stephenson, Deputy Director, Global Institute for Women's Leadership

Logistical information

Timings 

• 5:00-5:30 light refreshments served
• 5:30-7:00 lecture, panel discussion, and Q&A

Additional information

 If you require accessibility accommodations or a visitor Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan please email bell.marketing@anu.edu.au. Accessible parking spaces are available around campus should you require them.