Last summer, I noted the significance of the Pentagon's creation of an Africa Command in the unified command plan. My conclusion then was:By creating such a high-profile position for Africa, the bureaucracy of the Pentagon and the US Government as a whole, will see...
I spent about ten minutes on WHRU (Hofstra University Radio) this morning discussing Iran, the Middle East, American Empire. One of the first things the hosts asked me was to explain the broader...
By almost any standard, the B-1 bomber is a pretty impressive piece of engineering. A ceiling of over 30,000 feet, maximum speed of about 950 miles per hour (somewhere around mach 1.25), capable of...
China is in the Satellite business. The NYT reports that China is launching a communications satellite for Nigeria (pictured right).The lead says it all:For years, China has chafed at efforts by the...
Not long ago I mentioned my embarrassment over missing a relevant citation for a piece that I'd written.The article, co-authored with Thomas Wright and entitled "What's at Stake in the American Empire Debate," appeared a few days ago in the American Political Science Review. Tom and I argue that:Scholars of world politics enjoy well-developed theories of the consequences of unipolarity or hegemony, but have little to say about what happens when a state’s foreign relations take on imperial properties. Empires, we argue, are characterized by rule through intermediaries and the existence of...
Is Condi's dream about to become a reality?The Guardian has a story today with this headline: "Bush may turn to UN in search for Iraq solution." It is filled with quotes from "a former senior administration official...who is familiar with administration thinking." A "senior US diplomat" also chips in anonymously as well. So, what's the forthcoming plan -- apparently to be outlined this September when the UN meets in NY?· Expanded UN involvement in overseeing Iraq's full transition to a "normal" democratic state, including an enhanced role for UN humanitarian agencies, the creation of a UN...
Addison Mary Petti was born on Sunday, May 20th at 3:43am after what amounted to 19 hours of labor. My wife Kate was remarkable to say the least--she is my hero. Addison is 7lbs 10oz and comes in at a lanky 21 inches. Daddy is already thinking of buying her a pony.
It wasn't quite one of my best-laid plans, but it did go awry this weekend. I had intended to blog about 3 or 4 interesting stories I've been following over the weekend, but between feeding the new kid, searching for child care (if this were one of those so-called 'mommyblogs,' oh the stories i could post. but its not, so i won't...) and of course the fantastic Taste of Wheaton today, time flew by and here it is, Sunday night watching the Mets - Yankees game (and I share Rodger's view on this) and this is all that there is time to do. So, here goes:Event I really really really really wanted...
It is a time of political transition in Europe. While Tony Blair is not leaving his post as the UK's PM until next month, Jacques Chirac has already been replaced as French President by Nicolas Sarkozy.A few weeks ago, Sarkozy'z UMP party of the center-right beat Socialist candidate Ségolène Royal 53% to 47%. However, Sarkozy has just named Socialist Bernard Kouchner as his Foreign Minister. What will this mean for French foreign policy -- and perhaps US-French relations?The former is perhaps easier to predict. Kouchner is best known as a founder (1971) of Medecins sans Frontieres (Doctors...
From the Guardian:The new EU member states of Poland and Lithuania have been arguing this week for the summit to be called off, and criticising the German preparations. For historical reasons, the east Europeans are highly sensitive to any sign of Germany cutting deals with Russia over their heads.Yes, I imagine they would be.Image source: https://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/pact-sign.jpg
-- Sammy SosaThe fun thing about this blog is that we're IR scholars and baseball fans, and sometimes those two issues overlap in very interesting ways. The globalization of Major League Baseball has been all the rage in the past few years. A wealth of international players--now a full 29% of MLB opening day rosters in 2007--has brought an influx of tremendous talent into the game. MLB is actively promoting the game globally, paying games outside the USA and helping to set up baseball leagues in other countries (most recently in Israel-- notice how the Israel Baseball League website looks...
Hugo Chavez is talking a tough game, challenging the USA, and the Bush Administration in particular, all over the globe. He's rallying leaders in Latin America, meeting with 'rogues' world-wide, and even calling Bush the "devil" at the UN.But he's got a problem. In a fascinating story, The Washington Post reported that:[A] new study of trade and oil consumption data shows that Venezuela appears ever more dependent on selling its oil to the country Chávez calls "the cruelest, most terrible, most cynical, most murderous empire that has existed." And U.S. government energy trade data show the...