It is with great sadness that we have heard of the passing away of Professor John Groom. The development of a pan-European community of International Relations scholars after the end of the Cold War was one of John’s major aims in his professional life. He was the mastermind behind the formation of the Standing Group of International Relations (SGIR) in 1990, out of which EISA later developed, and its first Chair. Together with Frank Pfetsch, he organised the first Pan-European Conference on IR in Heidelberg in 1992. Three years later, he was the driving force behind the establishment of the European Journal of International Relations. His vision and leadership laid the groundwork for the journal to become Europe’s primary outlet for IR debate and one of the top journals of the discipline worlwide. Beyond Europe, John was also a major force behind the establishment of the World International Studies Committee (WISC) in the mid-2000s to facilitate the development of a truly global IR.
It is no exaggeration to say that without John, EISA would not exist today. His intellectual openness and dialogical inclinations did not only spark the institutional development of European IR but was also visible in his many contributions to IR theory and conflict research and inspired many cohorts of scholars. We are deeply grateful for all that John has done for us. Through the continuation of our work in EISA, the publication of EJIR and the organisation of future Pan-European Conferences, we will keep his spirit alive.
