We report a qualitative case study of interpretive activity inside the current wave of the "international education" movement in U.S. schools. We used a sociological framework to examine how competing interpretations are mobilized in relation to one another and to the urgent discourses of Globalization and Terror. Data were gathered in interviews of a sample of movement intellectuals--activists positioned between powerbrokers and school practitioners. We found a diverse set of interpretations that were spread across a two-dimensional framework with four quadrants: intent (civic and enterprise) and affinity (national and global). We conclude that the cognitive praxis of this sample extends prior patterns--it is plural and contentious, and national security plays a central role. Within these tendencies, however, are features unique to the current wave. We end with implications for the social studies field. (Contains 1 figure and 5 notes.)