I am scheduling this for Friday, as I think that mid-APSA is the best time for some Star Wars medley mash. I could be wrong, of course.
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Make Love and War? Sex and Syria …
Among the more famous anti-war slogans in the US is the 1960s' declaration of "make love, not war." I found myself thinking about that phrase when a student sent me a link to the Daily Show on Monday - where Jon Stewart made some insightful comments about sex, gender, and the presumably impending military action in Syria. And yes, I used the words "insightful comments" to describe something Jon Stewart said. Those of you who know me know how...
Thursday Morning Linkage
It's morning somewhere right? With military action possibly pending in Syria amidst a horrible ongoing civil war, I needed a more hopeful photo to accompany this post of news links (hence the duck and the kitten). But, the news out there is pretty grim so here are some links on Syria, the links between drought and the war in Syria, climate change and violence, and what happened to Al Gore on climate change. Aaron David Miller makes the case...
Special Event: “The End of IR Theory” Symposium
It is with great pleasure that I announce the start of a special collaboration among the European Journal of International Relations, SAGE Journals, and the Duck of Minerva: The "End of IR Theory" Symposium. A number of developments over the past few years spurred Colin Wight, Lene Hansen, and Tim Dunne to dedicate a special issue of EJIR to the subject of the state of International Relations (IR) theory. If all goes smoothly, that issue has...
Ducks Ducks Everywhere
To help offset the departure of two permanent contributors, we would like to welcome a few extra additions to our guest blogging pool. Burcu Ayten Bayram is Assistant Professor at University of Texas-Arlington, specializing in international organizations, political psychology, identities and global justice. She works with quantitative methods including survey and experimental methods. Her current research project examines when and why...
Does it Pay to Divide and Conquer?
The intuition behind the maxim divide et impera is clear. If they're busy fighting each other, they not fighting you. And that's obviously in your interest (assuming, that is, you are some sort of occupier or metropole seeking to extract rents from a local population.) Devious and underhanded? Sure. Morally repugnant? If you're inclined to view politics through such a lens. But effective? Self-evidently. Or so you might think. Brenton...
New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy Interview with Ben Hatke
In addition to phasing out of the Duck of Minerva, I've also been slowing down my activities at New Books in Science Fiction and Fantasy. The channel has a new host, Michael Zummo, who has taken over most responsibilities. Still, I'm not entirely done. I have a new interview up with Ben Hatke. Hatke is the author and illustrator of the very successful all-ages graphic novels, Zita the Spacegirl and Legends of Zita the Spacegirl. There's a story...
Wednesday Addams Linkage
There's linkage! Allies release details of alleged Syrian chemical attacks. There have been many of them and they have killed a lot of people. [The New York Times] As Charli mentioned yesterday, congressional debate on Syria shows new support for an attack. Poignant: Kerry invoking his and Hagel's votes for Iraq as evidence that they would not mislead Congress based on faulty intelligence. [The New York Times] Egypt's interim government...
Belated Tuesday Linkage
Syria Boehner is backing Obama after this briefing. via CIVIC, the unclassified version of the USG's assessment of the Ghouta attack. Drezner on IR theory in practice. Academica The politics of academic salaries. Via. Rising star Dara Kay Cohen is featured in the Chronicle of Higher Education for her pathbreaking work as a scholar/public intellectual of wartime sexual violence. Unfortunately article is paywalled. I skipped APSA but learned via...
The Strategic Signaling Dynamics of Assistant Professor Office Decorating Decisions
Having all read the canonical signaling literature within International Relations, new faculty members in IR are faced with a crucial and excruciating dilemma: how best to decorate their academic office. The following blog post examines this dilemma in detail and is intended to create an inter-university dialogue and research agenda on the issue. While some may say that an office is just a place to put your desk/computer and hold office...
Monday Linkage
Buzzfeed reports Internet memes about Obama's Syrian policy are 10-1 negative. And some are pretty funny. Will Imboden on why professors don't make good presidents. The Arab League has endorsed international action on Syria. Human Rights Watch points out that as norms go, the civilian immunity norm is also worth "reinforcing." The Economist has a write-up about how chemical weapons came to be so much more taboo whose authors actually seems to...
Syria: in Defense of a Broad Military Authorization
Editor's Note: as per my earlier announcement, I am phasing out of the Duck of Minerva. But my blogging won't officially end for around another two weeks. That means that, although administrative inquiries should be sent to other team members, I have not gone cold turkey on the writing front. I remain uncertain as to the wisdom of any kind of US-centered military action in Syria. But if the Obama Administration is going to act, then it needs a...