Grad students who weren’t schooled at elite universities face real challenges in a squeezed academic job market. But many talented grad students do reach tenure when they receive the same support and guidance offered in elite universities.
There is a lot to think about in the aftermath of Trump's win. Lots of early hot talks will be wrong. One of the first reactions has been to wonder about the value of political science (which is...
In the wake of the shocking US election results, what sometimes seems like an agreed-upon virtue has become controversial: the demand for empathy. Writing in the New York Times, longtime Democrat...
An American first lady is about to make history. No, not that one. Nicaragua’s November 6 election has drawn few headlines internationally, but this week the New York Times ran a profile on Rosario...
People may have wondered why spend so much time thinking about what pop culture says about international relations. They have have pondered whether dedicating entire class sessions to Harry Potter and the International Relations of Ethnic Conflict might be misguided. I can now officially and completely say to such un-named people: feh! Feh, I say! Why? Because the Sino-Japanese dispute is now an exercise in Harry Potter-one-ups-man*-ship! The only winner in all of this? J.K. Rowling, of course. What is so very striking about this, besides justifying my time spent reading/watching/writing...
Hi, Ducks! Happy New Year! I'm back after a semester wandering across northern India. Did you miss me? Well, here are your links anyway... Professor Ole Wæver argues for "open science to fight big threats." Senator Bernie Sanders has asked the NSA a simple question that may finally make a difference. (Okay, probably not.) This year will mark the 100th anniversary of World War I. The New Yorker's archive has an excellent review of recent historical interpretations of the causes and consequences of that great cataclysm. It is worth a read. The Broadsword blog notes that global defense...
What is better than one Nazi Zombie movie? Two of them! Yes, we have a sequel:
We're going to kick of 2014 right with our morning linkage. I'd like to say the stories coming out from around the world are festive and joyful, but I suppose the habit in the profession is to be drawn to difficult news from around the world. Here are some interesting stories that caught my eye this week. The New York Times ran an extended story trying to come to grips with the real reasons for the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Abdul Mohammed and Alex de Waal, experienced hands when it comes to South Sudan, provide their take on what's gone wrong there. And will Russia's efforts...
Greetings readers! And apologies for my slap-happy blogging record of late. Among my several resolutions this year is a return to blogging at the rate of at minimum one substantive post per week, in addition to my bi-weekly linkage posts. We'll see whether I can sustain or (more hopefully) exceed this while managing the transition of a teen from home to college, just as we'll see whether I can keep up my regimen of 7-minute workouts, my plan to learn tango and get scuba certified, and my pledge to send one random thank-you note to some individual every week this year. (If you're looking for...
I really like the point of this brief little article on a “cyber attack” against a power plant. The money quote highlighted from the Foreign Policy article, “A shooter could get 200 yards away with a .22 rifle and take the whole thing out…A metal sheet that would block the transformer from view…[is] a lot cheaper than billions the administration has spent in the past four years beefing up cyber security of critical infrastructure.” A quick and dirty point can be made about waiting for the facts to come in before jumping to conclusions, but this tact is evident every time there is a...
One week left for nominations. Please send us your nominations -- you can email us a nomination directly or post in the Comments thread below. Here's what we have so far for each category: Best Blog (Individual) Deborah Brautigam at China in Africa Jay Ulfelder at Dart Throwing Chimp Kan Opalo at An Africanist Perspective Tom Pepinsky Blog Lawrence Haddad at Development Horizons Michael Levi, at Energy, Security and Climate at CFR Bruce Whitehouse at Bridges from Bamako Ari Kohen at Running Chicken Daniel Serwer at Peacefare.net Stephen Walt at Foreign Policy Gerard Toal at Critical...
January for academics is like September for the fashion industry. Rather than fresh lipstick shades and new boots, 'tis the season to start fresh, to organize your office, shake off the pre-Christmas crumbs from your desk, and try to tackle the year with enthusiasm and a fresh perspective. Time to forget about the academic resolutions you didn't keep last year and start fresh with some new (and hopefully more realistic) objectives. Feel free to add some of your own to the comments section. 1. Stay away from Political Science Job Rumors. (www.poliscijobrumors.com) Seriously, why does anyone-...