The Duck of Minerva

Steve Saideman

Steve Saideman is Professor and the Paterson Chair in International Affairs at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs. He has written The Ties That Divide: Ethnic Politics, Foreign Policy and International Conflict; For Kin or Country: Xenophobia, Nationalism and War (with R. William Ayres); and NATO in Afghanistan: Fighting Together, Fighting Alone (with David Auerswald), and elsewhere on nationalism, ethnic conflict, civil war, and civil-military relations.

Recent Posts

Tuesday Morning Links

by Steve Saideman | 25 February, 2014 |

Will this morning's links betray my grumpiness?  I hope not but today's meme that the US and the West are in danger of losing Ukraine drives me a bit crazy.  It wasn't in my pocket... was it in yours? Anyhow, the big news out of Washington, DC is about the big defense cuts proposed by SecDef Hagel.  Lots of choices being made, including controversial ones like eliminating the A-10s for a plane that is still mostly air (the F-35) and so on.  How much of this will actually happen?  No idea.  But it has produced some interesting thoughts including Lt. General H.R. McMaster on the fallacies of...

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The Great Poli Sci Portfolio

by Steve Saideman | 16 February, 2014 |

In the dustup produced by Nick Kristof, one of the basic misperceptions keeps being repeated--that the American Political Science Review is not influential or readable enough.  The job of the APSR is not to be read by policy-makers but by political scientists.  Really?  Yes.  Let me explain. The academic journals have their place in the profession just as those aimed at outreach do. Why have academic journals?  So that political scientists can do the science that is necessary for the generation of knowledge: developing arguments in reaction to and building on pre-existing work (that would be...

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NYT and Poli Sci Public Engagement

by Steve Saideman | 15 February, 2014 |

The ISA mess is the gift that keeps on giving.  Now Nicholas Kristof has written a piece in his NYT column that "addresses" the controversy.  The problem is that the column is out of date.  Not just in focusing on the ISA proposal that has been beaten back by the forces of reason (that would be me and other bloggers?), but that other canards get lumped in.  While some noted bloggers have been denied tenure, it is highly unlikely that their blogging did them in.  Indeed, there is more pressure by lots of folks (presidents, provosts, deans, grant agencies) to do more outreach. And there is...

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Tuesday Noon-ish Linkage

by Steve Saideman | 11 February, 2014 |

As it is my turn again for Tuesday links, heaps of NATO and security stuff dwell below. I am most NATO-obsessed these promoting my new book with Dave Auerswald so I was interested in seeing that NATO is the preferred organization for peace-keeping a potential Israeli-Palestianian agreement. Speaking of NATO, the Balkans continue to be a mixed outcome.  The Serb Prime Minister said that reconciliation with Kosovo is possible but not recognition of its independence. Syria, where NATO has not deigned to go, continues to suffer.  And the pain may be shared as Salehyan and Gleditsch extend their...

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Tenure Letters: To Sling or to Shoot Arrows?

by Steve Saideman | 5 February, 2014 |

This piece has been making waves in the academic world (for a much better set of recommendations, see this piece).  It gets much attention because it both identifies a real problem and then suggests awful ways to handle it.  The latter is easier to deal with quickly.  However, first let me be clear--what I am talking about here are the letters that universities ask outside scholars to write as they evaluate candidates for tenure and/or promotion.  The basic idea is that these letters serve two purposes (at least): so that folks who do specialized work can be fairly evaluated if their work is...

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Online Media Caucus at the ISA: The Time Is Now-ish

by Steve Saideman | 31 January, 2014 |

The events of the last week within the International Studies Association indicate that there is much ignorance about social media and its role in 21st century IR scholarship and teaching.  On the bright side, the reactions to the ISA's misguided proposal demonstrated that there is a vibrant community of scholars who rely on "web 2.0" in a variety of ways.  This has led myself and others to conclude that the time has come for an Online Media Caucus to be formed within the ISA.  The head of each Caucus (like each section and region) has a seat and a vote at the meetings of the Governing...

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Tuesday Morning Linkage: ISA and Blogging Edition

by Steve Saideman | 28 January, 2014 |

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 my take on it are discussed at my blog.  The essence of it is to prohibit those involved in the editing of journals from blogging.  The text of it goes beyond that, assuming/asserting that blogging is inherently unprofessional.  That is not a message that the ISA should be sending out now or ever, really. Will Moore takes a swing at the policy as well.  I am sure others will do as well here and...

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Friday Nerd Blogging: Mocking the New and the Old

by Steve Saideman | 24 January, 2014 |

Because we are late with Friday Nerd Blogging, we have a two-fer--one that is mocks a TV program to come and one that mocks an old show but lovingly so: And for the kids out there, Bosum Buddies is among the very best short-lived TV shows. No spaceships (Firefly) but realistic portrayal of the desperation that is apartment hunting in NY

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