I left academia because I wanted to make a difference. I went to graduate school for the normal reasons: I’d done well in school, I didn’t really want to get a job, and I needed to learn how to free my mother from the eternal torments of the demon Mephisto. For a...
In the New York Times yesterday, Northwestern University political scientist Ian Hurd lays down the law on Syria and intervention: As a legal matter, the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons...
I guess most folks are on the way to APSA. Have fun in Chicago if you're going--and if you're a member of the APSA council, please consider moving the convention to some weekend besides the first...
As a callow undergraduate, I kind of supported the Iraq War for all of the normal reasons; see The Republic of Fear and The Threatening Storm. (I say "kind of" because I was in college and, frankly,...
Last month, Dani Rodrik wrote a piece for Project Syndicate that went all kinds of viral.  In it, he explains why he no longer views himself as a political economist.  The upshot: because if he believed the stuff he used to believe, he'd have to accept that there's not much room for improving the world through op-eds, and that's not something he's prepared to accept. Consider this passage: But there was a deep paradox in all of this. The more we claimed to be explaining, the less room was left for improving matters. If politicians’ behavior is determined by the vested interests to which they...
Studying North Korea inevitably means people ask me pretty outlandish stuff. People have asked, if the North really believes long hair is bad for socialism, if that goiter on Kim Il Sung’s neck made him crazy, if Kim Jong Il’s platform shoes meant that he liked disco, and if North Korean women are good looking because a food shortage would mean everyone is slim. (I presume that last one is a reaction to the obesity epidemic in the US.) So I tried to avoid this latest outbreak of Norko bizarreness with Rodman. But people keep asking me, so here a few thoughts to the effect that no one should...
Good morning, ducks! Let's start the week in Pakistan The horrific and systematic killing of the Shia in Pakistan continues in full swing. Sunil Dasgupta asks: "How will India Respond to Civil War in Pakistan" (h/t C. Barwa) General Musharraf has promised (again) that he is coming back to rescue Pakistan...  But will it be the crazy, try-to-provoke-a-nuclear-war-with-India Gen. Musharraf or think-outside-of-the-box and try to resolve the Kashmir dispute Pres. Musharraf?  Does anyone in Pakistan still care about him? Arif Rafiq looks at Pakistan's Powerful Chief Justice, Iftikhar Muhammad...
Traveling home today from a great conference with some awesome Ducks and non-Ducks. The conference, hosted by Debbi Avant (U of Denver) and Oliver Westerwinter (EUI) at the University of Denver, was on the topic of networks, governance, and security. I learned a lot and will hopefully write a nice, normal research -related post sometime soon. At the conference, one of the dinner conversations that kept popping up was the academic job market. In general, the consensus – across age and rank divides - was that the job market is a very difficult, dehumanizing experience for the candidate. Of...
I'm at a conference with a surprising number of Duck bloggers and commentators, so this will be brief. I spent some time last night troubleshooting older podcasts. If you notice a problem please email me. Kings of War analyzes the impact of the sequester on the US army. Andrew Yeo looks at "naming and shaming" viz. North Korean human-rights behavior. Daniel Little looks at recent developments in social theory. Recent developments in intra-regime politics in Bahrain. Joshua Foust on Kazakhstan's "long quest for nuclear power relevance." Kindred's had enough of ceteris paribus policy analysis...
Twitter went nuts when President Obama said he could not get the Republicans to do what is right because of his finite powers, that he could not do some sort of Jedi mind-meld! He mixed his space franchises--Jedis may have Vulcan-like abilities, but the mind meld thing is of Star Trek. So, this sent twitter on a wonderful spiral for awhile. Some of the highlights: RT @jpodhoretz: "By Grabthar's hammer, you will be sequestered." — Hayes Brown (@HayesBrown) March 1, 2013 RT @angelaisms: "Dammit Luke, I'm a doctor, not your father!" #ObamaSciFiQuotes — Philip Klein (@philipaklein) March...
Miscellaneous musings for the weekend. If this is true,  then will the sequester be over by the next Congressional recess?  Any idea as to why so many trips to Switzerland? I seriously doubt it has anything to do with this. Mattea Kramer and Chris Hellman find that we've spent $791bn on Homeland Security since 9/11 -- compared to an inflation-adjusted $500bn for the entire New Deal. On-going stress in India about Pakistan's nuclear capabilities and new developments in India's own capabilities. A basic primer on Iran "One of the most bizarre relationships in international relations?"...
I'm going to be filling in with some morning linkage in the coming weeks/months, so you'll probably see some posts with a smattering of U.S. foreign policy, global health, climate change, and whatever strikes my fancy such as the following: - the triennial meeting of CITES, the Convention on Trade in Endangered Species, opens in the next few days in Thailand (preview in Nature here) amidst a global crisis in rhino and elephant poaching; here is a podcast by Julian Rademayer, author of an expose on the illegal rhino trade; and another two on sharks and manta rays from the Pew Environment...