It’s our first “actual” installment of Whiskey & IR Theory in Space! We discuss Star Trek: Th…
Episode 30: A Long, Strange Trek
read more
Recent Posts
Episode 6: Philip Cunliffe
Philip Cunliffe, Senior Lecturer at the University of Kent, on his book, The New Twenty Year’s Crisis.
Episode 16 – Aida Hozic
Professor Aida Hozic discusses her journey from Sarajevo to studying, writing on, and teaching IR in the United States.
Want to Improve Equity and Inclusion in Political Science? Address White Supremacy
Last week, the American Political Science Association released a milquetoast statement on the January 6 white supremacist attack at the U.S. Capitol that got buried in the onslaught of news...
More Recent Posts
How ISA is Like a Kansas Family Reunion
As Megan noted, ISA is coming up. I hope to see all of you at the blogging reception on Thursday evening, March 27th. As I’ve been preparing for the conference these last couple of weeks, I’m also preparing to be “blessed” with an unexpected visit from my grandparents in-laws today.[1] One of the...
Countdown to ISA: heal the world, make the ISA a better place
It's that time of year again. IR freaks, geeks, superstars, and fans flock to the International Studies Association Annual Conference (except those wimps that avoid the cold Canadian destinations). Over the next week I'm going to write a few short, fun posts as we countdown to the jet lag,...
Economic interdependence as a facilitator of war?
Note: This is a guest post by John Mueller of Ohio State University. The ongoing crisis/standoff in the Ukraine relates in some ways to a long-standing debate about the potential connection between economic interdependence and war. The debate is over the idea that the decline in interstate war has...
Thursday Linkage
We're on spring break here in Austin, Texas so this will be a short post as I'm just back from some SXSW events (trying to steer clear of the drunk drivers). Mostly, I'll link to some news from the blogosphere, including changes at the Monkey Cage (4 new additions) and Foreign Policy (Drezner and...
Failing at Football Diplomacy
There has been a bit of recent news lately suggesting international football* considerations are making the divisions between states greater, supporting the idea that sports might not be the path to peace and reconciliation. While a few cases cannot disprove an idea, recent moves point in a...
Classroom Activity: Globalization and Inequality Within and Between Countries
This activity comes after students are to have listened to a lecture (slides) on political economy, a considerable focus of which was on identifying the winners and losers from economic cooperation. In that lecture, I argued that trade tends to enrich the owners of, employees of, and investors in...
Monday Linkage
Okay Ducks, here are your links from South Asia and Beyond! Marshal Mohammad Qasim Fahim, the Vice President of Afghanistan, has died of natural causes at age 57. Marshal Fahim fought along side the Lion of Panjshir, Ahmad Shah Massoud, during the Soviet Occupation. After Massoud's...
8 Unanswered Political Questions from the Oscars
I know it has already been a week, but I'm still thinking about the Oscars. Not the fashion (boring!! predictable!!), or the hostess (boring!! predictable!!) or the winners (boring!! predictable!!), or the speeches (ok you get my point)- but rather a short list of questions I still need help with....
Of Polls and Public Engagement in International Relations
This is a guest post by Idean Salehyan. There has been a lot of hand-wringing and debate lately as to whether or not academics are engaged enough with important policy questions (See Nicholas Kristof’s article in the New York Times and just a few responses, here and here). As this conversation...
Pakistan’s Democratic Progression and the Impending Changes in Afghanistan
This is guest post by Professor T.V. Paul* On March 5, 2014, the Nawaz Sharif government completed nine months in office, despite Pakistan’s continued economic crisis, chronic power shortages, and escalating sectarian violence. The military and the ISI are yet to show any inclination to wrest...
Classroom Activity: Institutions as Epiphenomena and Screening Mechanisms
This activity comes after students are to have listened to a lecture (slides) on how international institutions promote cooperation. In that lecture, I presented the epiphenomenal critique, which I think establishes an important baseline, then went on to discuss specific mechanisms by which...
“A Social Science of Human Rights” – Some New Social Science
This morning, I woke up with a very nice notice about the 50th Anniversary Issue of Journal of Peace Research in my inbox. The issue is worth checking out – there’s some good stuff in there. As a human rights scholar, I was really interested in the “A Social Science of Human Rights” piece by...