This post is the first in a four part symposium on the Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the the most studied cases of IR. With the release of documents in recent decades, historical revisions have challenged the received wisdom informed by mainstream...
This is a guest post from Dr. Joshua R. Moon is a Research Fellow at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex, researching biomedical research global health security policy....
This is a guest post by Summer Marion, a Pre-Doctoral Fellow at Harvard Humanitarian Initiative and Northeastern University, where she is a PhD candidate in Political Science. Her research examines...
A quick update to my series from last week. The coronavirus has not been contained to China, and there are now nearly 1000 cases in South Korea, 270 in Italy, and 60 in Iran. Health experts and...
In case you don't know, the PRC has censored searches for "Big Yellow Duck." The reason? You can see a larger version here.The arrival of Florentijn Hofman's yellow duck in Hong Kong harbor sparked a great deal of excitement in China, where the duck has become incredibly popular. A number...
We are still mucking around with the official page for the Theory Section. In what I hope will be a temporary expedient, I've created a dedicated page at the Duck of Minerva. There you will find: Links to posts directly related to the Theory Section; General Information about the section; Vital...
A few unconnected recent happenings have reminded me that I've meant to do a short post on Charles Tilly, bellocentric (or "bellicist") theories of state formation, and where all of this stands in 2013. If you mention "Charles Tilly" and "state formation" to knowledgeable social scientists, their...
Good morning Ducks. Hope your summer is off to a good start. Here are some links to start off your week... Joshua Foust argues that a technology ban on lethal autonomous weapons systems (e.g. autonomous drones) will not work. (I agree but then again I am putting all of my money down on...
A twitter friend of mine was trying to figure out how to put together his proposal for the International Studies Association's Annual Meeting. The ISA has gotten into a nasty habit of having a really early deadline. So, folks are thinking about it today since the deadline is tomorrow. I have...
Alright folks, I don't really have much to say here. Instead, I'll provide a link (PDF) to a copy of the bid we submitted nearly a year ago. Be warned that it includes some egregious typos and other fun* stuff. Why do I think this will be of interest? For some time, I've been making noises about...
Elvis Duck because I'll be drinking Bourbon in Memphis tomorrow night. Julien Barnes-Dacey and Daniel Levy want de-escalation, not more arms for Syria Unintended consequences? The Syrian conflict has been good for American-Turkish relations. An "ancient" U.S. weapon makes an appearance in...
The lesson apparently is that Lucasfilm still exists? This is the second year that the Nerdist folks have combined with Lucasfilm to raise money for charity. How so? By having a relay of folks carrying a lightsaber to Comic-con in San Diego. Oh, and posting a series of silly youtube videos. ...
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Tobias T. Gibson, an associate professor of political science and security studies at Westminster College in Fulton, Mo. In the buildup to President Obama’s speech at National Defense University on May 23, the administration suggested that the speech would...
I understand that there's been some recent blog-chatter on one of my favorite hobbyhorses, peer review in Political Science and International Relations. John Sides gets all 'ruh roh' because of an decades-old old, but scary, experiment that shows pretty much what every other study of peer-review...
Millennium. Journal of International Studies Annual Conference "Rethinking the Standard(s) of Civilisation(s) in International Relations" 19-20 October 2013 London School of Economics and Political Science Deadline for abstracts: 7 June, 2013 The theme of this year's conference will focus on the...
If you are like me, you are pining for your next installment of Game of Thrones (and the Memorial Day week off was cruel, though not as cruel as the torment we have seen of late). In the meantime, I give you your weekly dose of Thursday Morning Dinklage. Top stories this week: Steve Walt puts the...