That's essentially the question Steve Saideman asked here (and which he more explicitly asked on Twitter). His answer, which I find problematic, is But here is the big problem in all of this: perhaps much of IR is not about bargaining and persuasion about commitment and resolve. Perhaps much of IR is a conflict of interests, and that countries engage in conflict when their various interests cannot be resolved. He goes on to say The amateur game...
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Meta-theory and Practical Knowledge: Reflections on Reus-Smit’s ‘Beyond Meta-theory’
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Milja Kurki. It is the 18th installment in our "End of IR Theory" companion symposium for the special issue of the European Journal of International Relations. SAGE has temporarily ungated all of the articles in that issue. This post refers to Reus-Smit's article (PDF). His post appeared earlier today. Other entries in the symposium--when available--may be reached via the "EJIR Special Issue Symposium"...
Beyond Metatheory?
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Christian Reus-Smit. It is the 17th installment in our "End of IR Theory" companion symposium for the special issue of the European Journal of International Relations. SAGE has temporarily ungated all of the articles in that issue. This post refers to Reus-Smit's article (PDF). A response, authored by Milja Kurki, will appear at 11am Eastern. Other entries in the symposium--when available--may be reached...
Friday Afternoon Linkage
It's late Friday afternoon -- here are a few things worth reading: Betcy Jose asks, with all of the attention on chemical weapons, why does it matter how people die in conflict? Sohail Hashmi and I agree we need stronger protection for civilians in conflict, but ignoring the use of chemical weapons is not the way to do it. David Petrasek is moderating and contributing to an excellent discussion of R2P and Syria at OpenGlobalRights. A go-to...
Climate change and conflict revisited: fixed effects or no?
Over at the Woodrow Wilson Center's New Security Beat, I have a new post about a recent Science article by several economists on the connections between climate change and conflict. That article, which featured a reanalysis of sixty studies, sought to unambiguously demonstrate the climate effects contribute to conflict across a range of time periods, levels of conflict, and countries (see my previous Duck post with links to other critiques)....
Russia: Peacemaker
There is an ongoing debate questioning if and how reputation matters in International Relations. The question is important right now in relation to the red line the United States setup regarding the use of chemical weapons in Syria. I am not sure how reputation can matter if Russia is being held up as the mediator in striking a deal with Syria, Russia, and the West. If Russia is the mediator, the source of guarantees about respect for...
Symposium — Of Paradigms and Assumptions
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Phil Arena. It is the 16th installment in our "End of IR Theory" companion symposium for the special issue of the European Journal of International Relations. SAGE has temporarily ungated all of the articles in that issue. This post refers to David A. Lake's article (PDF). His post appeared earlier today. Other entries in the symposium--when available--may be reached via the "EJIR Special Issue Symposium"...
Theory is Dead, Long Live Theory: The End of the Great Debates and the Rise of Eclecticism in International Relations
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by David A. Lake. It is the 15th installment in our "End of IR Theory" companion symposium for the special issue of the European Journal of International Relations. SAGE has temporarily ungated all of the articles in that issue. This post refers to Lake's article (PDF). A response, authored by Phil Arena, will appear at 10am...
Schrödinger’s Cat and the Tenure Vote
As I post this today, senior faculty in my department are voting on my tenure case. I don’t really know how to describe what I’m feeling at the moment. It’s a combination of zen-like calm that I’m finally at this juncture in my career and a feeling of total and utter panic at the small-but-ever-present chance that things could go wrong. The odd thing: it’s not that I’m oscillating between these two states -I feel both at the same time. In a...
Friday Nerd Blogging: Two for the Price of One
This mashup is just delightful (only slightly NSFW) The true test of a nerd is whether they can spout Monty Python and the Holy Grail line for line. Well, this video makes the old movie look new again:
Obama’s Dienbienphu Moment?
We have a pretty good literature on how presidents use and manipulate their information and propaganda advantages to move public opinion toward their positions on the use of force. Both bottom –up, rational public arguments and top-down elite cueing models look at the institutional advantages of the presidency such as the bully pulpit, privileged access to information transmitted though classified intelligence and diplomatic channels,...
Symposium — Maps are Theories, Cartographic Errors Make Flawed Debates
Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Janice Bially Mattern. It is the 15th installment in our "End of IR Theory" companion symposium for the special issue of the European Journal of International Relations. SAGE has temporarily ungated all of the articles in that issue. This post refers to Patrick Thaddeus Jackson's and Daniel Nexon's article (PDF). Their post appeared earlier today. Other entries in the symposium--when available--may be...