Can we mend a broken engagement?

Murphy's (2013) argument for greater engagement by academic geographers in the discourses and debates underpinning foreign policy is critiqued. Contemporary academic culture means that few geographers undertake the sorts of research and writing that Murphy wishes to see increased. Even within that context, it is hard to identify what his hoped-for grand regional narratives might look like; his expectation that they could be both empirically grounded and authoritative is questioned.