May the Force be With IR!

Among all the science fiction (SF) and fantasy sagas ever released, Star Wars has a very special place in our collective psyche. Renewing the codes of the genre and, perhaps, the codes of Hollywood itself, Lucas paved the way for the “blockbusters’ era”. Star Wars created a kind of nearly religious fervour among its most devoted fans. Hundreds of parallel stories emerged while the original films were glorified. The 1977-1983 trilogy took mythical proportions among the purists, who sometimes deliberately ignore some of its original flaws. From our perspective of research fellows in International Relations (IR), this series is like a rough diamond. At first sight, it may seem uninteresting, insignificant, even irrelevant. But beyond appearances, it quickly reveals a real treasure full of meaning.