I just came back from eight days in Israel and Palestine, as I participated in a program, Academic Exchange, that has already taken something like 600 scholars (mostly IR but also other political scientists, lawyers [including my brother-in-law], and some economists)...
Much ink has been spilled over the last few days concerning President Obama’s speech on Wednesday evening regarding ISIS, as well as how his strategy will face many challenges going forward. Some...
Well, this semester is off to a brisk start, and I can't say I'm fully recovered yet from #APSAOnFire, though the subsequent events near AU added considerable intrigue to what transpired. I watched...
As a grad student, I used to the think longingly about the day when I would finally hold a tenure-track job. I could almost taste the thrill of the teaching and the joy of faculty resources. You...
One point that I'd like to see made a little bit more clearly is that political scientists should try to reframe this. I doubt that we have much sympathy among members of other disciplines; that quote about "first they came for the X" is troubling precisely because, well, nobody stands up for the Xs as Xs. Besides, academics don't have much sympathy for anyone outside of their discipline: would political scientists rally behind a struggling Anthropology? And the jerks at Freakonomics encouraged their readers to support icing both poli sci and sociology, so I doubt we can count on much deep...
A very restricted number of links today: Jennifer Victor lays out the strategy for an effective lobbying effort for political science. [The Mischiefs of Faction] Phil Schrodt delivers a sensible assessment of the state of play, including a warning about vitriol and a savage critique of the APSA. My thoughts are mixed: Vitriol is probably counterproductive, but some form of targeted shaming is probably justified---a vote against NSF independence is a vote against knowledge---but Schrodt is definitely right that the NSF won't play games with projects if Congress gives it clear instructions....
Much ado. Investors keep getting burned in betting on the exit of members of the Eurozone, let alone the breakup of the currency/monetary union of the EU. And econ/business experts keep getting their predictions wrong. The simple reason: the EU, from its econ/financial area to the vast array of its other policy areas, at heart is a political project. Events continue to show that despite the painful strains of major economic duress, this commitment remains intact. Despite the messy manner in which its member state governments deal with crises--largely explained by institutional reasons,...
This is a guest post by Konstantinos Travlos of the University of Illinois and Brandon Valeriano of the University of Glasgow. The mark of the ten year anniversary of the beginning of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 has been, as such anniversaries tend to be, a chance for scholars, pundits and politicians to take stock of the past and evaluate the present. Reactions have ranged from a stubborn support of the war  to quasi-celebrations on the side of opponents of the war. For all sides, the causes of the war have been a major point of contention. We concern ourselves with this part of the...
Todd Sechser and Matthew Fuhrmann argue that possessing nuclear weapons confers few benefits for coercive diplomacy.
Matt Kroenig argues that states should strive for nuclear superiority as it confers strategic advantages.
Catch my prescient NCAA prediction at the beginning.
Good morning, Duckaroos! Â Here's your Monday linkage from... "Dixie": The South will rise again - according to the UN. Â No, not that South, the Global South. Â For the first time in two centuries, Brazil, India, and China's combined GDP is nearly equivalent to the combined GDP of the leading powers of North America and Europe. Â What lessons can the US learn? Himadeep Muppidi's "Reflections on Narrative Voice" in IR is a smart, "must read" article over at the Disorder of Things blog. Â He writes, "After soaking oneself in the nuance and complexity of narratives, conventional accounts of IR...