The Duck of Minerva

Peter Henne

Peter Henne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global and Regional Studies Program at the University of Vermont. His research focuses on global religious politics and the Middle East. His first book, Islamic Politics, Muslim States and Counterterrorism Tensions, was published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press and he is currently working on a book analyzing how states try to use religion in foreign policy. His scholarly research has been published in International Journal of Religion, International Studies Perspectives, Journal of Church and State, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Politics and Religion, Religions, States and Societies, and Terrorism and Political Violence. In addition to the Duck, he has written for the Washington Post's Monkeycage, Political Violence at a Glance and The Huffington Post.

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Peter Henne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and Global and Regional Studies Program at the University of Vermont. His research focuses on global religious politics and the Middle East. His first book, Islamic Politics, Muslim States and Counterterrorism Tensions, was published in 2017 by Cambridge University Press and he is currently working on a book analyzing how states try to use religion in foreign policy. His scholarly research has been published in International Journal of Religion, International Studies Perspectives, Journal of Church and State, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, Politics and Religion, Religions, States and Societies, and Terrorism and Political Violence. In addition to the Duck, he has written for the Washington Post's Monkeycage, Political Violence at a Glance and The Huffington Post.

Recent Posts

Renee Goode and the limits of false terrorism charges

Renee Goode and the limits of false terrorism charges

by | 9 January, 2026 |

On 7 January, US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents opened fire on Renee Goode, killing her. To be honest, I wanted to write a post on just how sad and terrifying this murder was. How wrong it is that ICE agents are targeting opposition-led cities and using brutal tactics against people suspected of being in the US illegally and protesters, including clergy who take part in protests. How unjustified it was that an ICE agent fired three times at someone who did not present any threat to him (see this good breakdown by a former FBI agent). How predictable it was that this...

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Trump, US foreign policy and Venezuela: Aberration or Honesty?

Trump, US foreign policy and Venezuela: Aberration or Honesty?

by | 5 January, 2026 |

In my international relations classes, I encourage my students to not just express their (mostly negative) views of Trump’s foreign policy. I also ask them to reflect on the extent to which Trump’s actions are in line with the history of US foreign policy. Some see the United States as adhering to liberal international norms, with Trump a major break. Others argue the United States was always domineering and aggressive, so Trump shouldn’t be much of a surprise. I thought of that as I read the news about the US intervention in Venezuela this weekend. I started out shocked; this feels like a...

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Do you want a religious war? Because this is how you get a religious war

Do you want a religious war? Because this is how you get a religious war

by | 26 December, 2025 |

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said;"For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men! Thanks for reading The Duck of Minerva! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. -Henry Wadsworth Longfellow My family and I go to our church’s Christmas morning service, in addition to the Christmas eve service. It’s a short service, with light attendance, but it helps to remind of us the point of the holiday. When I heard about Trump’s air strikes on Nigeria—meant to help Nigerian Christians—the Christmas carols we sang were...

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Ceasefire NOW (but not *now*)

Ceasefire NOW (but not *now*)

by | 23 October, 2025 |

After years of calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, a ceasefire was recently announced and…those calling for the ceasefire are upset about it. There are some valid reasons to hold off on celebrating, but I worry this represents a deeper issue with how we conceive of peace and how we study the Middle East. And this will only hurt the Palestinians these voices claim to champion. The ceasefire The ceasefire the Trump Administration negotiated—or pushed on Netanyahu, which may be more accurate—is supposed to be step one of a “20 point” peace plan. The immediate steps involve Israel withdrawing from...

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Will the recognition of Palestine matter? What IR scholarship says

Will the recognition of Palestine matter? What IR scholarship says

by | 29 September, 2025 |

The UN General Assembly meeting has seen a growing number of states recognizing a state of Palestine, including Western powers like France, the United Kingdom and Canada. Debate has swirled over why they are doing this: is it a principled stand, an attempt to gain international or domestic clout, etc.? But there's a bigger question over whether this matters and when it may matter: that is, at what point does the informal recognition of an entity as a state lead to actual changes in international relations? A few scenarios are possible. Maybe there is a tipping point, where enough countries...

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How do we think about 9/11 in 2025?

How do we think about 9/11 in 2025?

by | 11 September, 2025 |

I used to feel compelled to write something on 9/11. Some of this was just to participate in the discourse, some out of fear that failure to do so would mean moving on and forgetting. In 2009--back when I provided free labor for The Huffington Post--I wrote this on the shadowy but still serious threat posed by al-Qaeda. More recently, I wrote this on the failure of security studies to adapt in response to 9/11. But I wasn't sure what to say this year. It's partly an issue of sensory overload. I've started and stopped multiple posts in the past few weeks as new events come up before I have a...

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Is there a strategy behind Rubio’s State Department cuts?

Is there a strategy behind Rubio’s State Department cuts?

by | 22 July, 2025 |

The foreign policy world is still making sense of the Trump Administration's massive cuts to the US State Department last week. Under Secretary of State Marco Rubio, nearly 1500 employees--most of them civil servants--lose their jobs. In some ways, this isn't surprising, as Trump began his second term with a massive, Elon Musk-led, gutting of the federal workforce. But it's still catching some by surprise, given Rubio's reported clash with Musk over these reductions and the (maybe naive) belief that Rubio would be a more responsible official than the rest of the Trump cabinet. Given this,...

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Resisting a narrative on Israel and antisemitism

Resisting a narrative on Israel and antisemitism

by | 22 May, 2025 |

I've had four potential posts on Israel, anti-Israel actions and antisemitism this week. As new events occur, the old post falls to the wayside. I was stuck on whether I should pick one, or try to weave the events together into some kind of narrative and draw conclusions. I've decided I can't, or don't want to, do either. And I wonder how much of the morass Israel-Palestine discourse feels stuck in is due to our compulsion to create such a narrative. A horrifying terrorist attack The first, and most recent, incident, was the tragic murder of Sarah Milgrim and Yaron Lischinsky by an...

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Joseph Nye’s other big idea

Joseph Nye’s other big idea

by | 15 May, 2025 |

Renowned international relations scholar and practitioner Joseph S. Nye passed away last week. Numerous tributes have been written, noting his high quality scholarship and influence on US foreign policy. While most have discussed his major idea--soft power--I'd encourage today's IR scholars to look into his work on complex interdependence as well. Soft power and Nye's legacy Many have noted his specific contributions to our understanding of international relations, the idea of soft power. Indeed, this dominated discussion of his legacy. Top Google results for Joseph Nye The focus on soft...

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The frustrating wisdom of Pope Francis’ international mediation

The frustrating wisdom of Pope Francis’ international mediation

by | 21 April, 2025 |

I was born a proud Protestant. A Lutheran in a town still marked by Catholic-Protestant tensions, with Catholic friends who told me I don't worship right, neighbors who claimed Catholics were polytheists, and a grandmother who wore orange on St. Patrick's Day (I never quite got that, as we had no connection to Ireland). But I also felt drawn to the Roman Catholic church. As I read more theology and myth in college, I appreciated the mysteries in Rome's ancient traditions. Graduate school at the Jesuit Georgetown University made me appreciate how Catholics applied their faith to the world. I...

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