May the bard be with you. See also "The Empire Striketh Back."
May the bard be with you. See also "The Empire Striketh Back."
So the IR blogosphere and twitterverse are in the process of exploding over this new proposal from the ISA Governing Council, which would ban those contributing to IR blogs from holding positions on...
Steve has a nice roundup of many of the central concerns with ISA's misguided policy proposal to limit those involved in editing ISA journals from blogging. I'd like to focus on one additional...
The International Studies Association Executive Committee has forwarded a proposal to the Governing Council that meets at the Association's annual meeting that addresses blogging. The proposal and...
Good mornin' Ducks! Here are your links: Oliver Steunkel discusses "The Death of IMF Reform?" at the Post-Western World Blog. The US Congress' rejection an IMF funding request by the Obama administration "... leaves the 188-nation group without additional resources and blocks an increase in voting power for China, India, Brazil and other emerging markets." Stephen Harner explains "Why China's ADIZ is Necessary" at the China-US Focus blog. He argues, "The calculation and timing of China’s move may also evidence a reluctant realization that military-to-military dialogue with the United...
If there is an Obama Doctrine in the realm of foreign affairs, it comprises robust multilateralism—being multilateral when the U.S. can, unilateral when it must. Subjected to scrutiny, however, the Obama Doctrine can only work if the U.S. has capable and willing partners. Yet under conditions of widespread fiscal austerity among western allies—and the political austerity of skeptical western citizens—meeting the challenge of securing their joint interests is formidable. While the U.S. has begun to shore up the security of its allies in Southeast Asia via its rebalance to Asia, despite...
So, your humble blogger found himself subsumed by first week of class duties and fell behind on the job! To make amends, I've flagged some stories that caught my eye, which should make for some welcome weekend reading. My eye this week was mostly trained on energy and environment stuff (U.S. greenhouse gas emissions on the rise again - boo!), with a dash of global health (spending up by USG on global health up slightly - yay!) with a side of Springsteen and Fallon (Christie may not be born to run - classic!) Enjoy. U.S. Energy and Environment Aside from the chemical spill that contaminated...
We're a week behind, but the nominees are in and voting is now open. We sent out ballots today to those who registered for voting. If you did not receive one or if you haven't registered yet, please email us for a ballot. Voting runs through February 7. As with last year, we will use a Borda-count process to create a list of finalists and then proceed to a second round in which a panel of judges (last year's winners and Duck permanent contributors) will determine the winners in each category. We ask voters to choose three (3) finalists for the Best Blog category, six (6) for the Best...
The new and quite awesome-looking Season 4 trailer promises "war, death, hell," or as the Christian Post puts it, "action and intrigue." Duh. But it also hints at many more diversions from the books to come. Here is a breakdown. For Game of Thrones book fans, this may be appropriate:
When you do not know what to say, “summon up this word and then you've got a lot to say! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!” says Marry Poppins. I wish I could quote her when I do not know what to say to an MA student who wants to get a Ph.D. but perhaps should not. I think I am not alone. Engaging a student who may be better served by a non-academic career must be difficult for anyone. Yet anecdotal evidence suggests that it may be harder for junior faculty. A new leaf has been turned, graduation is around the corner. Students begin to request letters of recommendation right around this...
Digital Media and Human Security At Lawfare Blog, Jean Marie Simon's review of Robert Nickelberg's Afghanistan: A Distant War explores the role of digital photography in constructing wartime imaginaries. At Reductress, Andi Sharavsky describes the "Cutest Ways to Photograph Yourself Hugging Third-World Children." Is there no end to the damage caused by Edward Snowden? Iranians are now privy to the US' most important national secret: that America is actually run by space aliens. HP: "Facebook wages war on the nipple" in reaction to new anti-topless-law documentary Free the Nipple. Human...
For the last few years in particular, there has been a marked increase in the number of sessional, casual, teaching-only, adjunct, fixed term, temporary job 'opportunities' listed and circulated in the usual IR job venues. These various titles and categories point to one reality: precarious labor is a permanent reality within academia. The trend has been quantified and well documented: in US in the last 30 years the percentage of positions held by tenured or tenure-track faculty members fell from 56.8% to 35.1%. In an excellent post in the Chronicle, Peter Conn declares "Full-time tenured...