Coup d’états are less likely to succeed against rulers who “counterbalance” their militaries with presidential guards, militarized police, and other security forces outside of military command. But there may be downsides.
Hi all, Today's the day! The ISA Online Media Caucus (OMC) Online Achievement in International Studies Awards Reception is TONIGHT. It's the best party in town with the best people. Food and drink...
Many of us are Baltimore bound for ISA, and other than the Duckies this Thursday night, what are you looking forward to? What panels, receptions, events, new books have caught your attention? Mike...
This is a guest post by Paul Beaumont, PhD Candidate at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Previously, he worked as an academic writing advisor at NMBU and as a Junior Research Fellow...
Like Scott, I found my results in the "Which American Cities Best Fit You?" survey a little surpring: American Cities That Best Fit You:80% Chicago75% Philadelphia70% New York City65% Boston45% AtlantaMy real list is NYC; Boston; San Francisco; Washington, DC; Chicago; and Minneapolis.I suppose...
Bill recently argued that, contra left-wing grumbling, the Bush administration has consistently embraced democratic enlargement as an element of its grand strategy. His post struck a nerve with some commentators, generating the kind of debate I hope happens more often as the readership of this...
It looks like I'll be the "senior scholar" on this blog. Less formally, that makes me "the old fart," trying to avoid becoming "deadwood." My academic career began in the '70s, as I started college at the University of Kansas in 1979. Back then, Dan and Patrick were probably trading baseball...
A big "hello!" (or should that be a "quack"?) to those of you dropping by via Crooked Timber. We've only been doing this for a few days, so any comments or suggestions are very much appreciated.Feel free to come back from time to time. The owl may fly at twilight, but the Duck's usually around.If...
Because you, the readers, want to know -- or at least because we, the writers, think that you, the readers, want to know. (I'm fascinated by the fact that a name and a personal biography improve the credibility of a piece of writing; there's something very interesting there about the way that we...
Hello all. As promised, here is my intro post. I will keep it short.I am a doctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania in the Political Science department. As far as subfields go I am mostly interested in International Relations Theory and Security--however, I find it increasingly difficult...
The Duck of Minerva is now a collaborative endeavor. Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, an assistant professor at American University, and William Petti, a doctoral student in international relations at the University of Pennsylvania, have agreed to join the staff.They will be introducing themselves shortly.
Because everyone is doing it. I mean everyone. Even John Ikenberry is going to be blogging at TPMCafe.com.1 Plus, all the cool kids are non-anonymous now.2Who am I? I'm an Assistant Professor in the Department of Government and the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. My official...
Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.