My son asked me this very rich question during a chess game about a week ago. Indeed, the distribution of power among the royalty on the chess board is the reverse of the gendered logic documented by feminist theorists of the state. In chess, the queen has mobility...
The tsunami was triggered by an earthquake today and hit the islands of Samoa. The death toll is 17 so far, but likely to rise. Though this doesn't sound that high, consider that the population of...
When ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) says it's over, I guess it's over. Tomorrow, websites using the .yu domain extension will no longer be available. I guess it's some...
Global heavyweights are debating the seriousness of Iran's missile tests, and the newly acknowledged plant outside Qum; and what to do about it all. In this context, Bruce Buena de Mesquita's...
At the request of the US Secret Service, Facebook has removed this poll from its site:According to ABCNews, the Secret Service is investigating the creator of the poll "to determine intent." But if the goal is to identify threats to the President rather than police hate speech, wouldn't it be more logical (and easier) to go after those who voted "yes," "maybe" or "if..."?
I am generally supportive of President Obama's renewed emphasis on diplomacy. But, I also must admit to some skepticism about what, in the end, more "diplomacy" will be able to accomplish. For years, a core assumption of the critics (myself included) of the Bush administration and the neocons has been that contemporary diplomatic institutions and practices offer a more refined set of instruments to deal with the complexities of contemporary global challenges. Maybe. But, then again, maybe not. Several recent studies and stories reveal significant problems with the institutions of American...
The G20 Summit is over, the protests of last Thursday and Friday have largely died down, as has the media coverage. The City of Pittsburgh reports 83 protesters arrested and nearly $50,000 of property damage within the city, mostly caused by a small number of protesters while the rest marched peacefully in a carnival atmosphere: environmental, anti-militarist and labor activists carrying the banner for social justice non-violently, as permitted by the US Constitution. I've already criticized the protest tactics carried out by a minority of those protesting. Now a word about crowd control...
My colleague, Mlada Bukovansky, from Smith College who does excellent work on the evolution of norms and the role of institutions raises some interesting points on the question at the IR Blog. She's cites three recent examples on trade and the environment in which the Obama administration's rhetoric on multilateralism is disconnected from its actions. I think her punch line is fascinating and really thought provoking:...multilateralism is difficult. It is especially difficult for a superpower. And it is most especially difficult for a democratic superpower. Anyone who studies trade and...
The G20 Summit kicked off yesterday in Pittsburgh, and today the NYTimes reported that anti-globalization protesters vandalized the Boston Market I used to feed my kids at in Shadyside. Aside from feeling a bit homesick when I saw the photo of that neighborhood on the front page, I ask myself what the anarchist block of these movements really thinks it's accomplishing with these tactics. Bear in mind that unless the movement has changed considerably in the last decade, the majority of the protesters are using nonviolent tactics and it's only a few on the fringes that are mucking up my...
Last night, over a good meal, two Department colleagues and I talked with several out-of-town guests for quite some time about the prolonged war in Afghanistan. Eventually, I happened to make a point that a fellow blogger said seemed novel and interesting -- certainly worthy of a blog post.Let's see if anyone agrees.As many experts note, the war in Afghanistan is prolonged in large part because too much of the local population sees the U.S.-NATO intervention as illegitimate. Regardless of good intentions, Americans are seen as unwanted foreign invaders. Moreover, even U.S. Generals concede...
This issue of International Studies Quarterly includes an article by Andrew Yeo on the emergence of an advocacy network against foreign military bases. Aside from the minor fact that Yeo omits reference to an important recent contribution to the literature on basing politics, I found his process-tracing of the No Bases Network fascinating. Here's the abstract:"Providing an overview of the emergence, characteristics, trajectory, and potential limitations of the transnational anti-base network, this article focuses on two broad questions relevant to transnational politics. First, what...
General McChrystal's strategic review concludes that the situation in Afghanistan is serious and getting worse, but "success is still achievable" as long as he gets more troops to wage a more aggressive counterinsurgency campaign.According to the review, the US/ISAF objective in Afghanistan is to get to a point where the "insurgency no longer threatens the viability of the state." To this end, it calls for a new strategy in which the focus is winning over the population.But I find this assessment striking:"Afghan social, political, economic, and cultural affairs are complex and poorly...