American Dove makes pragmatic case for a dovish foreign policy. The use of force is a terrible foreign-policy instrument: it’s expensive and hardly ever works.
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Thoughts (for “both sides”) on the academic boycott
In the wake of the failed attempt at passing a boycott resolution (of Israeli academic institutions) at the recent MLA conference, here are some thoughts. (Readers of the Duck might be aware that...
Twenty-Five (or so) Questions for Senate Hearings on Trump National Security Appointees
I used to be a Senate staffer, and one of the most interesting parts of my job was helping Senators prepare for hearings. If I were a Senate staffer now, here’s hearing questions I’d recommend for...
Never Too Early for a Crisis in Civil-Military Relations
To be clear, the latest news is "intra-civilian" but is likely to cross over given the stakes. Remember the old days where the "smart" Bolsheviks left the personnel and other boring issues to...
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Classroom Activity: Coordination and Collaboration Problems
This fifth activity comes after students are to have listened to lectures about coordination (slides) and collaboration (slides) problems. I led off with a coordination problem that might not have been too difficult to overcome even if I didn't allow them to confer, but was trivially solved given that I did. (If you're wondering, I allowed that precisely because it would allow me to draw a contrast between coordination problems and collaboration problems. Though the former are not trivial, I don't think, they're certainly easier to overcome.) Then came the tricky part. The dominant strategy...
Post-Kristof Monday Links
Good morning Ducks, here are your links from South Asia... (I am not even going to pretend I know what's going on in the Ukraine, Syria, Somalia, or Venezuela.  I'll stick to what I sort of know...). Vasundhara Sirnate at The Hindu writes passionately in defence of the offensive. While Indian liberals will (rightfully) continue to be upset at Penguin India's capitulation to the so called "offended" feelings of a small and obscure group of Hindu fanatics, the liberals fail to realize that the increasing pressure to censor and protect the sentiments of various religious communities is actually...
Friday Nerd Blogging: Super-belated version
Why are we late with Friday Nerd Blogging? Because we were too busy celebrating all that is awesome:
Classroom Activity: Comparative Advantage
Editor's note: this post previously appeared on my personal blog. This fourth activity comes after students are to have listened (slides) to a lecture on how states are currently leaving a lot of money lying on the ground by failing to cooperate more fully. The examples I used all concern economic cooperation—specifically, how there'd be a whole lot more stuff to go around if states changed their trade, exchange rate, and immigration policies—though I discuss other areas where states fail to reap all the available benefits of cooperation in other lectures. Look below the fold for details....
Thursday Linkage – Ukraine Crisis Edition
I arrived in Geneva yesterday morning to give a couple of talks, and I pulled up Twitter on my phone to see events in the Ukraine exploding. I can't say I fully understand what's going on and the implications. Reflexively, I'm supportive of the protesters and their desire for tighter ties to the European Union. But, as one person said on Twitter, the Ukrainian president may be taking a page from Assad on this one. All I know is that this could get even more nasty without some diplomacy to negotiate a softer landing. I'm curious what Erica Chenoweth might have to say about this. Increased...
Ungated Reviews Exchange on Michael Levi’s The Power Surge
International Politics Reviews is a new reviews journal bundled by Palgrave with International Politics. Michael J. Williams of Royal Holloway is the editor, and I’m an associate editor. I recently curated a recent roundtable exchange on Michael Levi’s book The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future with contributions by me, Jesse Jenkins, Emily Meierding, regular Guest Duck Johannes Urpelainen, and a response from CFR's Levi himself. Palgrave has granted us ungated access to the reviews (right here), which will be up for several months. I wanted to continue...
Tuesday Linkage
Academica Prominent academic Stephen Hawking has weighed in on a public debate. Humanitarian Disarmament Chicago PhD Candidate John Stevenson writes in Slate about why ceasefires don't protect civilians. Momentum last week towards a treaty abolishing nuclear weapons: Mexico leads charge. Anti-killer-robot campaigners on the new Robocop. Human Rights and Armed Conflict UNHCHR's report on North Korea denounces human rights condition in country. Mark Kersten on whether DPRK could be referred to the ICC. Guernica on death and resistance in Camp X-Ray. Want your loved ones to know you survived...
A Fan Letter to Nicholas Kristof.
Dear Mr. Kristof, Since you're getting so much hate mail from political scientists this week, I thought I'd send you a fan letter. I teach international relations at University of Massachusetts. I am an avid reader of your columns, especially on human rights advocacy. You have put issues like fistula on the global agenda. You put privileged young people in touch with global issues. You are a master at boiling down complex issues to accessible human interest stories. What I have admired most about your work is that you so rarely limit yourself to complaining. So many pundits write atrocity...