by Dan Nexon | 21 Jul 2012 |
Lots of people are talking (e.g.) about the McKibben climate-change article in Rolling Stone. China Defense Blog points to reports that the PRC will deploy a military garrison in the South China Sea.Kieran Healy compares rates of violence in the United States to those found in the rest of the OECD countries.Jamestown's China Daily Brief carries a report on Uzbekistan, China, and balance-of-power politics in Central Asia. Jason Fritz provides...
by Steve Saideman | 21 Jul 2012 |
A friend posted this on FB. Too good not to share for those who remember the least dark Batman fondly:On a day like today, we could use all the comic relief we can get.
by Dan Nexon | 20 Jul 2012 |
Jennifer Lind argues that the recent scuttling of a Korean-Japanese security cooperation treaty stemmed from Seoul's misgivings about a US-led balancing alliance aimed at the PRC. Richard Jensen has a powerpoint analysis of wikipedia's War of 1812 entry (via H-Diplo). Jeffrey Lewis ask "do we need ICBMs?"Ken Payne writes a second post on Chimpanzees and strategy (first one here). Bernardo Teles Fazendeiro at e-ir on Uzbekistan's suspension of...
by Steve Saideman | 20 Jul 2012 |
As a change of pace for Friday Nerd Blogging, I thought this nicely combines a kid's imagination with Joss Whedon in entirely unpredictable ways. Oh, and as long as Joss is involved, I think this counts for FNB, right?Yes, we miss Charli.
by PM | 19 Jul 2012 | Featured
Today I gave a lecture on the environment and the dilemmas of collective action in my course on Introduction to International Relations. Despite the best efforts of St. Elinor (the patron saint of political science and my alma mater), I'm still a fairly pessimistic adherent to Mancur Olson's diagnosis of public-goods provision. Consequently, the environmental lecture ("Saving the Sunlit Earth") is probably my most depressing canned talk. (The...
by Dan Nexon | 19 Jul 2012 |
Josh Rovner argues that AirSea Battle is a "myth" that threatens nuclear escalation with China.Henry Farrell writes up a recent piece by Alex Downes and Todd Sechser attacking the notion that democracies issue more credible threats than non-democracies. The comments (excluding mine) are worth reading as well. The Rising Powers Initiative highlights regional commentary on the ASEAN forum debacle. As always, Justin Gengler is worth reading on...
by Dan Nexon | 19 Jul 2012 |
In my previous post I mentioned the recent broadside against Brave for its anti-Pictish discourse and representations. I'm not being fair, of course, as its author, Melissa McEwan, doesn't use the term "Pict" any time during her essay. Which is interesting, insofar as Brave is saturated with Pictish symbols. As an astute commentator notes:The Scots are represented not as a homogeneous group but as a diverse people, including ethnic differences...
by Dan Nexon | 18 Jul 2012 | Featured
by Steve Saideman | 18 Jul 2012 | Featured
Romney apparently said today "we've been 'turning to the United Nations' to 'raise our kids.'"I don't know if this is true,* but it raises a variety of questions/thoughts:Does the UN have stock in ink? Kids today seem to like tattoos. What is the curriculum include at UN Day Care?Learning How to Circumvent Your Parents' Vetoes? Membership 101: You can join any club you want as long as your name is ok (Taiwan, Macedonia) even if you fall short...
by Dan Nexon | 18 Jul 2012 | Featured
I have bowed to popular demand responded to a small number of requests by creating a page (also accessible via a tab above) to host PDF versions of working papers posted at the Duck of Minerva. The page currently has links to three pieces, including compilations of Stuart J. Kaufman's and Patrick Thaddeus Jackson's recently serialized posts.I hope the section will grow with the responses people have planned to Stuart's piece, as well as with...
by Dan Nexon | 18 Jul 2012 | Featured
A majority of Americans support a no-fly zone in Syria. I expect that "no-fly zone" comes across as a relatively anodyne, costless policy to the US public. And, indeed, most of the policies that would be required to make such a zone work poll considerably less well. UPDATE: (via) Daniel Larson makes the same point, but with more words.
by Dan Nexon | 18 Jul 2012 | Featured
Photo by AuthorI didn't find it terribly surprising that Scotland's National Museum presents the industrial revolution as an important component of Scottish national identity. After all, what better way to combat the anti-Pict stereotypes peddled in such racially insensitive works as Brave than to present the Scottish people as industrious and innovative by nature? Because that in no way would ever contribute to offensive stereotypes, now would...