In memoriam: Professor A. J. R. (John) Groom

It is with great sadness that we commemorate the passing of one of the founding fathers of the World International Studies Committee (WISC), Professor A. J. R. (John) Groom.

Along with Barry Buzan, with whom he was instrumental in bringing WISC into being, Professor Groom is recognized as having been at the forefront of international cooperation and institution-building. Without John Groom there would not have been a WISC as we have come to know it. He continued to guide WISC as Executive Secretary and was an ardent advocate of the principles it represents, especially facilitating the creation of global and local networks of scholars, the dissemination of knowledge between epistemological communities, and engaging with the Global South.

A Europhile and gifted linguist, John was the Founder and for ten years Chairman of the European Standing Group for International Relations (SGIR), laying the groundwork for its pan-European conferences and the evolution of the European International Studies Association (EISA). He was incredibly active in the British International Studies Association (BISA), serving as Chair from 1990-1991. He also served as Vice-President of the International Studies Association (ISA), and as a Board Member of the Academic Council for the United Nations System (ACUNS).

As a scholar, John Groom was equally influential and catholic in terms of the wide range of fields in which he is considered a pioneer. He provided a major impetus behind some of the most important and influential international studies journals including the European Journal of International Relations, the European Review of International Studies, and Global Society. He served as the Academic Director of the European Summer University for many years. He was an authority on international relations theory, conflict analysis and resolution, functionalism and international organisations.

Perhaps most importantly, however, John was an inspiration to those he met, taught, mentored and encouraged. He was long affiliated with the University of Kent at Canterbury (UKC), joining the school in 1972, serving as Head of the Department of Politics and International Relations until 2001, helping establish the University’s London Centre of International Relations and the Brussels School of International Studies, and serving as Emeritus Professor from 2004.

I was one of the many inspired and mentored by Professor Groom. He was my first professor of international relations when I started my MA in International Conflict Analysis, having come from an undergraduate degree in Modern History. Despite me being a lowly master’s degree student, John took a personal interest in my progress (as he did with all his charges). He encouraged me to go for my first academic position at Beijing Foreign Studies University. When WISC was holding its first Global Conference in Istanbul in 2005, he reached out to me in South Korea (where I had been working since 2001), encouraging me to join, and bring my colleagues with me.

At the Istanbul conference I met Ian Holliday, then President of the Asian Political and International Studies Association (APISA), which led me to join the association which has become such a large part of my life. It was also because of the WISC Global Conference in Istanbul, that my Korean colleagues urged me to set up the Korean International Studies Association (KISA) to continue John Groom’s mission through the English medium on the Korean Peninsula.

So, it is with true regret that we mourn the passing of one of the greats of international studies and the globalisation of the discipline. At the same time, we celebrate his life and his legacy, and the profound impact he has had on individuals and the networks of human beings who strive to continue his work.

Brendan M. Howe
President of WISC
20 Sep, 2025