The University of Chicago’s Paul Poast claims that G. Lowes Dickinson is was the OG “modern” theo…
Episode 26: Anarchy vs. The Anarchy
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Featured
Do Policy Recommendations = Policy Relevance?
Whether scholars embed policy recommendations in their work is a flawed measure of whether work is policy-relevant. Across a series of articles and book chapters, Michael Desch...
The “Dual-Use” Dilemma in Policy Engagement
Photo courtesy of the European Union. Used under Creative Commons License. This is a guest post by William Akoto, a postdoctoral researcher jointly appointed at the Sié Chéou-Kang Center...
The Book Nook: Diversity, Violence, and Recognition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz4nVxxllTo This entry in the Bridging the Gap Book Nook series comes from Elisabeth King and Cyrus Samii of New York University. In their new book, Diversity,...
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The Rule of Three
While it is hard to do and particularly hard to do while starting out, the general conventional wisdom (and wise it is) is that one should try to have three pieces under review at most/all times. Why? Because academic review is a capricious enterprise that often takes much time. Journals have gotten much better about shortening review times, with many journals averaging something like 40-60 days... which is actually more like two to three months (do weekends count?). But that is an eternity for junior faculty, and the reality is that rejection means that one goes through this spin cycle...
How stories matter: Thoughts on contextuality, temporality, reflexivity & certainty
In early September, the circulation of the now iconic picture of Alan Kurdi, the little Syrian Kurdish boy who drowned along with his mother and brother in the attempt to cross the Aegean Sea, prompted me to write a post reflecting on what 'we' as academics might do. I argued that we could, possibly, use "our knowledge of global affairs to connect the dots and lay bare how Alan's story" is emblematic of so many themes we touch upon in our research - and indeed, the moment created by the (ethically difficult) circulation of the picture became an opening to provide depth and nuance for those...
Duck, Duck, Nominate!
The Duckies have moved from here to the Online Media Caucus, but that does not mean that readers of the Duck should not participate. Indeed, it means that the DoM is now eligible for nominations. So, wander over to the OMC and nominate for a variety of categories, including best blog, best visual post, best podcast, best twitter account and more!
Men’s Unexpected Erections are a Liability on the Battlefield (and other ways men’s bodies put female soldiers at risk)
In the follow up to Defense Secretary Ash Carter's recent announcement that all combat jobs will be open to women, there have been several articles highlighting men's fears about working with women on the frontline. In particular, a survey of Special Operations men found that the majority would prefer not to work with women, and that some held serious "fears" and "concerns"- especially in relation to women's apparently unpredictable bodies. That's right, the Special Forces- the tip of the spear, the elite of the US military- are scared about the three P's: periods, pregnancy and PMS. Most...
The Practice Turn in International Relations Theory
Thanks to PTJ, ISQ Online is running a debate about the scope and nature of the 'practice turn' in the study of world politics. The symposium centers around a recent International Studies Quarterly article by Christian Bueger and Frank Gadinger, "The Play of International Practice."* From PTJ's introduction: The challenge, then, is to develop an adequate conceptual vocabulary for practice-sensiblity scholarship. Christian Bueger and Frank Gadinger's ISQ article suggests that International Relations scholarship in a practice mode would be enhanced by a broader examination of the philosophical...
Thoughts on DA-RT
For background on DA-RT, see Jarod Hayes' post at the Duck of Minerva, as well as John Patty's response to the petition to delay implementation (as well as its related website) and Jeffrey Isaac's response to Patty and Isaac's latest post. Roundups and responses abound. I drafted a longer piece on DA-RT, but now realize that I will probably never finish it. So, instead, some brief comments: I have neither signed the DA-RT Journal Editors' Statement (JETS), nor the acronym-challenged petition to delay it's implementation. My basic reasons are straightforward. The journal that I...
Beyond “Rejection”
The following is a guest post by Jeffrey C. Isaac, who is James H. Rudy Professor of Political Science at Indiana University and editor in chief of Perspectives on Politics: A Political Science Public Sphere. “I reject this paper.” “I recommend that this paper be rejected.” “I am sorry to inform you that your paper has been rejected for publication.” Social practices are constituted in large part by the words we regularly use and the meanings these words typically convey. Political science is a social practice. And variations of the sentences above are commonly employed by political...
Duckies Keep Quacking But In A Different Nest: Nominate
The new ISA caucus, the Online Media Caucus, has taken over the Duckies, and it is now nomination season (much safer than Duck Season). So, head over to the new OMC blog and nominate your favorite blogs, posts, tweets, and other online media for the next round of the Duckies, to be awarded in Atlanta in March at the next ISA meeting. As always, the Duckies will be sponsored by SAGE. The big difference for Duck of Minerva fans is that now that the DoM is not running it, it will now be eligible for the competition (officers of the OMC are not eligible).