by Dan Nexon | 2 Sep 2012 |
Some commentators have suggested posts that pose questions to our readers. I think that the discussion on Peter Henne's piece, "A Modest Defense of Terrorism Studies," provides just such an opportunity.In Remi Brulin's most recent comment, she asks:... I am very much interested in better understanding why Peter (and others of course) do believe that the distinction between state and non-state "terrorism" is so important and necessary from an...
by Dan Nexon | 1 Sep 2012 |
If you have never heard Chris Knox's "Not Given Lightly" -- one of the best modern love songs like, ever -- watch the video:Then watch this live performance (or skip to it if you already know the song):Consider buying Stroke (2010), the tribute album for Knox, which features some pretty awesome artists.
by Steve Saideman | 1 Sep 2012 |
Charli was moving, and I was occupied with #APSA2012Hunger Games, so no Friday Nerd Blogging yesterday. Well, to make up for it, how about some Saturday Poli Sci Silliness:Ok, that is too easy.How about this instead:Ok, way too easy.How about this story about the Quebec Maple Heist? I have already raised the Breaking Bad possibilities, but is this really about the stickiest case of collusion? After all, is there a great need for keeping a...
by Dan Nexon | 1 Sep 2012 |
Luke Perez's #virtualAPSA2012 page now has more presentations. Check it out.In a backlash of sorts, people are having fun taking about #oldtimeAPSA on twitter. The China declinisms debate: Minxin Pei writes that the US needs to adjust to a declining PRC, while Daniel Larsen argues that Washington would run roughshod over Beijing in such a scenario.Chinese reporter "embarrasses" Victoria Nuland over the legal status of disputed islands in the...
by Dan Nexon | 31 Aug 2012 |
A partial panel, via Luke M. Perez, who has set up a page for the #virtualAPSA2012 project.
by Robert Kelly | 31 Aug 2012 | Featured
My North Korean VisaIn August, I visited North Korea for the first time. It was the most unique travelling experience I’ve ever had. I’d certainly recommend it to political scientists and Asia experts, but it wasn’t anything close to a ‘vacation’ or break or anything like that. (Yes, some of the sites marketing tours of NK actually call it that.)At a bookstore devoted to the works of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il, I stumbled across an essay, from...
by Dan Nexon | 31 Aug 2012 |
Here is a word cloud of the speech's foreign-policy content:In this case, the cloud adds virtually nothing to our understanding, as the entire section is only 202 words long.Below is the section itself. It appears that the speechwriters pulled random posts off of PJ Media, stuck them in a blender, and were satisfied with the results. I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had...
by Dan Nexon | 31 Aug 2012 |
Bruce Jenltleson and Charlie Kupchan critique Romney foreign policy. Bill French piles on.James Lindsay complains about the lack of foreign-policy content in Romney's speech. "Wave" of cyberattacks hit energy companies. Lionel Beehner: "the realist case" for intervening in Syria. Hayes Brown on the UN arms-trade treaty.The history of the @, via 3QD.An evenhanded assessment of my disagreement with Fioretos [ed. for typo] over historical...
by Dan Nexon | 30 Aug 2012 |
Rob's panel was "Abolish the Air Force," scheduled for 10:15am on Sunday.
by PM | 30 Aug 2012 | Featured
Dear Leader Kim Jong Un addresses the ruling partyI didn't watch the Republican Convention last night, because I'm not getting paid to do so. I understand that conservatives think it was a hit and liberals a travesty, although the Romney-Ryan campaign's invocation of AC/DC to prove their cool guy credentials strongly suggests the latter.So it wasn't until I read Kevin Drum's blog post this morning that I saw this section of Congressman Ryan's...
by Dan Nexon | 30 Aug 2012 |
It's a beautiful day in Washington; not so beautiful in New Orleans. Some of this text comes from PM.At political science's other prominent animal-themed blog, Erik Voeten wonders how stupid diffuses.Kate Almquist wonders if the DoD is doing the right thing by sponsoring development in Africa.Via Marc L., an update on Hamas and the Arab Uprisings.David Brooks's infamous Romney column.Americans to Cloud Computing: Y U NO IN THE CLOUD?Jonathan...
by Dan Nexon | 29 Aug 2012 |
Phil Arena was supposed to present his paper, "Crisis Bargaining and Domestic Opposition" at APSA. If you are reading this on an RSS feed, you should see the audio. His slides are not integrated, as his audio presentation is in mp3 format. This is the first of what I hope will be more of these. If you need an APSA fix, or are just interested in the topic, take 10-15 minutes to listen to Phil's presentation and leave feedback.If and when we...