The security dilemma plays a central role in Walt and Mearsheimer’s reading of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But what if they get the security dilemma wrong?
What Walt and Mearsheimer Get Wrong About the Security Dilemma
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Recent Posts
The Coronavirus: Global Health is High Politics
Even if you don't study global health, you've probably been following the coronavirus outbreak in China with a mix of dread and fascination. Li Wenliang, the whistleblower Chinese doctor, who...
Are the liberal internationalists wrong? On “being nice” and US foreign policy
I got an alert from the Foreign Policy app on my phone the other day: Tunisia had fired its UN ambassador after he opposed Trump's Israel-Palestine "peace plan." Tunisian foreign policy doesn't...
Episode 2: Episode 2 – Theory of International Politics, part 2
Patrick and Dan finish out their discussion of Waltz’s classic work, Theory of International Poli…
More Recent Posts
Sorry General, War is a Choice
General David Petraeus advises Americans and their allies to be coldly realistic about what force can achieve. Oddly, he also advises them to prepare for a future where small wars are pretty much inevitable, where America must intervene early to prevent worse things happening later on, and where...
Friday Morning Linkage
Are we headed to war in Syria? The media seems to be going all in on the chemical weapons "red line" justification. How close are we to moving to implement a no-fly zone? Hezbollah is the real Red Line. Drezner: realism trumps liberalism again. Behind yesterday's UN Syrian...
The Challenges of Dissent: A Dissenter’s View
The commentary on Edward Snowden over the past several days and the various discussions on dissent, resignations, and whistleblowing have given me a lot to think about. I'll leave discussion of the merits of Snowden's actions to Dan's thread below. Here I want to think about the process and...
Does Snowden Pass the Test?
As you've probably noticed, I'm working through two competing concerns: (1) the legal and ethical obligations that come with holding a security clearance and (2) the ethical and moral obligation to bring deeply problematic government action to light. In comments elsewhere, I've put forth two...
Abenomics is Not more Dangerous than the North Korean Missile Program
I continue to be amazed at how the Korean government won’t admit that Japan’s revival is really good for democracy in Asia and the prevention of Chinese regional primacy. No less than the SK finance minister (pic) actually said Abenomics is more dangerous to SK than the NK missile program. Wait,...
New Journal: Political Science Research and Methods
Cambridge University Press has un-gated the inaugural issue of Political Science Research and Methods, edited by Cameron G. Thies and Vera E. Troeger. Thies and Troeger have implemented a textbook journal launch, complete with major names in the field and strong articles.Go take a look.
Jarrod Hayes on “Bridging the Gap”
Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Jarrod Hayes, who is is an assistant professor of International Relations at the Georgia Institute of Technology. His research broadly focuses on the social construction of foreign and security policy. It deals with the International Policy Summer Institute,...
Thursday Morning Linkage
There has been plenty of commentary on Edward Snowden (Nexon, Toobin, Roger Simon, interesting counterpoint from Jack Shafer here), but I'm a little bit amazed that important government secrets are entrusted to a 29 year old high school dropout who unilaterally gets the chance to decide what's in...
What Exactly is Rational Choice?
I sometimes surprise people when I say that I have no idea what rational choice is.1 How can a game theorist say such a thing? Especially one who spends so much time on the internet arguing about rational choice? Well, of course I have some idea what it is. The point is that there is no...
Marriage Debate in France Strikes at the Heart of the Republican Consensus
A Guest Post by Michael Bosia, Associate Professor of Political Science, Saint Michael's College In a startling juxtaposition, neofascists killed young leftist activist Clément Méric in the first days when city halls across France opened for lesbian and gay couples to marry. And perhaps the...
Post-Hiatus Killer Robot Blogging and Other Related Questions
Many of you know that I've been traveling (and blogging) much less this past year while completing my book manuscript on neglected advocacy campaigns (and steering a daughter through a tough junior year). However one trip I managed to make recently was the April 22 NGO Conference for the Campaign...
Syria and the Politics of Prudence
According to the Washington Post, the Obama Administration is meeting to "reassess" US policy toward the Syrian conflict. Hezbollah's intervention appears to have tilted the balance in favor of the Assad regime. Sectarian violence is on the rise. This has, naturally enough, led to hand-wringing...