This is a guest post by Philip Martin, PhD student in the Department of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In a recent op-ed in the New York Times, columnist David Brooks advises a U.S. approach to Iraq which uses military force to arm-twist Iraqi elites into forming an inclusive new government, since “if you get the political elites behaving decently, you can avoid the worst.” At Political Violence @ a Glance,...
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Friday Nerd Blogging
Context here. On proper dragon-chaining technique, see this must read.
Sex, Bugs and Violence on Game of Thrones’ Epic Fourth Season
In the same weekend that parents around the nation watched their high-school and college students graduate and spread their wings for brighter shores, Game of Thrones served us up a season finale that was both about passages out of childhood, and about the shadow of parent-child relationships that follow people into their young-adulthoods. Similarly, it is safe to say Game of Thrones as a series came of age this season in its richness and...
Is All of This Focus on Transitional Justice Really Worth It?
[Note: This is a guest post by Geoffrey Dancy, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Tulane University] Nearly every civil war negotiation or democratic revolution is now accompanied by a consideration of how to publicly address previous human rights abuses—what practitioners refer to as transitional justice. Over the last week, Juan Manuel Santos was narrowly reelected president in Colombia on a peace platform. His government must now...
Obama and ISIL
President Obama announced that the U.S. will send up to 300 military advisors to assist the Iraqis in the fight against the Sunni Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, but there will be no American troops on the ground and no air strikes for now. “Ultimately, this is something that is going to have to be solved by the Iraqis” said Obama, urging Iraqi leaders to find a solution. Since the Iraqi foreign minister formally asked the U.S. to...
What the Public Heard/Saw in the Headlines for the ‘Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence’
If you haven't read Pablo K's piece on Angelina Jolie, celebrity, and the Global Summit on Ending Sexual Violence in Conflict, you should. There has been some broader discussion about the pros (see 'Hollywood can actually help solve complex global problems') and cons of celebrity 'endorsement' (the foreign secretary was 'starstruck') of humanitarian issues- the Angelina Jolie 'effect', if you will. One thing that is certain, the headlines were...
Announcement: Interpretive Methods Workshop for Grad Students
Graduate students interested in interpretive methods may wish to sign up for this workshop at ISA-Northeast in November. Complete details are below the fold. “Interpretive and Relational Research Methodologies” A One-Day Graduate Student Workshop Sponsored by the International Studies Association-Northeast Region 8 November, 2014 • Baltimore, Maryland The field of International Studies has always been interdisciplinary, with scholars...
What do we want? Labor Day! When do we want it? Soon!
I'm sure most of you have seen this nice Change.Org petition concerning the dates of the annual APSA meeting. I really like all the reasons given for changing the date of the meeting and am glad we are having this discussion. Any thoughts, Duck readers? Is it worth changing the dates of the meeting? If so, when would you recommend?
The Waste Pickers of Brasilia
Two weeks ago as part of our class, we visited Brasilia's landfill site, known as Lixão, which again underscored some of the incredible contradictions in the country. It is a vast site, with six open dumping sites, this is one of the largest landfills in all of Latin America. Controversy surrounds this landfill, as it is slated to be closed and moved some 45km away. The government is shutting down landfills like this one in favor of lined...
Why Mass Shootings Make Gun Control Less Likely to Pass Congress
**This is a guest post by Dr. Christopher Neff, Lecturer in Public Policy at University of Sydney.** This past week President Obama marked one year since legislative efforts at gun control failed in the Congress. He lamented at the normalization of school shootings in the United States, noting, “my biggest frustration is that this society has not been willing to take some basic steps to keep guns out of the hands of people who can do...
New Report from Brazil on Global Civil Society and Small Arms Control
For a perspective on how global civil society might better mobilized for armed violence reduction read this new report, by a Brazilian humanitarian disarmament NGO, Instituto SoudaPaz. "What's Next?" is both an up-to-date manifesto on the importance and political tactics by which small arms advocates might more meaningfully influence global debate and policy, and a reflection on the nature, challenges and promise of global civil society...
Blogging from Brazil: Problems of Connectivity
So, at this point, I've been all over Brazil, though that's like saying I've toured the United States in five weeks. That said, I've been in five or six cities all over the country (I'll load a better map soon), and the internet speed has invariably been crap, even in pretty expensive hotels. I'm not sure what that tells you about the country's fortunes in the 21st century, but it does mean access to information and commerce in Brazil is...