For the fourth consecutive year the International Hierarchy Expert Survey (IHES) collects and publishes panel data on small, middle and great powers to enable research on the dynamics of international hierarchy.
To complete the questionnaire (an estimated 20–25 minutes), please access:
https://forms.gle/ueprUWrqGmerSUNK8
Since 2021, a research team comprising faculty members and graduate students from MGIMO and HSE has been conducting an annual international expert survey on hierarchy in international relations (IR): the International Hierarchy Expert Survey (IHES). The survey was first conceived and conducted at the end of 2021 as part of a study on the relationship between states’ status and their roles in key global agendas. However, it was clear that the value of the results would increase as more data was accumulated. Hence, the survey has been conducted annually since then.
A state’s status in international relations is not an inherent characteristic like economic or military power. In Niklas Luhmann’s new systems theory, status is defined through actors’ collective observation of the international system. In other words, status is a product of how a state is perceived within the international relations system. Thus, status can be most directly measured by surveying the epistemic community of IR experts.
The IHES is conducted in English, online, anonymously and confidentially. Invitations are sent primarily by email, using snowball sampling. As with other types of social surveys, the number of respondents is smaller than the total population. To minimize potential systematic biases and enhance the validity of observations, the survey responses undergo post-stratification weighting (see Appendix 1: «Methodological Notes»).
Each survey wave spans several months around a new year. The first wave, at the end of 2021, had 76 respondents from 23 countries. The second wave, covering 2022, had 86 respondents from 31 countries, and led to a technical report.
The third wave, conducted from December 2023 to March 2024, had 158 respondents from 49 countries. Respondents range in age from 20 to 90. 54% are IR scholars, 27% are specialists in related fields (economics and the social sciences), 11% are IR practitioners, and 8% are graduate students and upper-level undergraduates specializing in IR and related disciplines.
For the fourth consecutive year the International Hierarchy Expert Survey (IHES) collects and publishes panel data on small, middle and great powers to enable research on the dynamics of international hierarchy.
To complete the questionnaire (an estimated 20–25 minutes), please access: https://forms.gle/ueprUWrqGmerSUNK8
IHES guarantees confidentiality of all participants, only aggregated results will be published.
IHES Wave III Report of the previous year is available at https://eng.globalaffairs.ru/articles/international-hierarchy-report/. However, the methodological recommendation is not to examine it before taking the Survey for this year, as it might bias the replies.
Should you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact the IHES research team: i.safranchuk@ihes.expert
