Before you say it: the World Cup probably won’t increase US soft power
Like everyone else, I’m enjoying the World Cup. I’m not a fan of soccer/football, and honestly...
The Uncanny Effects of the UK Court of Appeal’s ruling on the Proscription of Palestine Action
In July 2025, the UK government designated Palestine Action as...
What Politics and IR can teach AI pedagogy
[Editor’s Note: This is a write-up of a workshop proceedings. It is posted under my name, but the...
How Russian economic policy is gender
Every year I make my third year Bachelor students read Carol Cohn’s article “Sex and Death in the...
New
The Vision Thing: More on the New Duck
Is there still room for a traditional academic international-relations blog? An overview of relevant history and the Duck’s approach to blogging.
From “Wilsonian” to “Rooseveltian” Liberalism
Daniel Deudney and John Ikenberry recently published a ‘big think’ article in Foreign Policy. They note that the Biden administration’s approach to foreign and domestic policy – including its particular understanding of the relationship between them – is best understood as “Rooseveltian” in character. What should we make of this?
The New Duck of Minerva: Preliminary Details
The Duck of Minerva is getting a reboot. What’s changing, and why? This posts begins the process of providing answers.
Featured
On Indigenous Political Thought in Video Games
In something of a departure from my typical work, I recently published an article in...
What’s at Stake in the Indigenous Empire Debate
I have a new open-access article out in Global Studies Quarterly, “What’s at Stake in the...
The Best and Worst of U.S. Foreign Policy(?)
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) recently published results of a survey of historians on the...
Recent
How the Iran War harms U.S. deterrence
President Donald Trump’s decision to attack Iran may weaken the U.S. ability to deter great power...
6+1 Questions about Resilient Statehood
Why did some states successfully avoid conquest by European empires? Logan Cochrane’s new, co-edited volume tackles this puzzle.
Rest Well, Raul Pacheco-Vega
Our community lost the inimitable Raúl Pacheco-Vega this week. Someone who knew him better than me...
ACADEME
Watching Scientific Progress in Action
Reacting to a recent event on the study of religion, conflict and peace
Was I wrong on the Gulf states and Iran? An exercise in academic humility
When I was in graduate school, my training included the methods and theories of international...
6+1 Questions about Exit from International Organizations
What is the name of the book and what are its coordinates? The book is Exit from International...
6+1 Questions About “The Social Construction of Christian Persecution through Quantification in International Religious Freedom Advocacy”
What is the name of the journal article (or book) and what are its coordinates? Miray Philips....