Reacting to a recent event on the study of religion, conflict and peace
Displaying Results for ""
Was I wrong on the Gulf states and Iran? An exercise in academic humility
When I was in graduate school, my training included the methods and theories of international relations but also some of the epistemology and philosophy of science behind the sub-field. We discussed what makes a good research program and how can we tell if we’re making any progress in understanding the world. One of my advisors was a fan of Imre Lakatos’ approach, which looks at whether a research program is uncovering new novel facts or...
The Best and Worst of U.S. Foreign Policy(?)
The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) recently published results of a survey of historians on the best and worst foreign policy decisions in U.S. history. There are few surprises—wars in Vietnam and Iraq fared poorly, and the post-WWII creation of the institutions we associate with the “liberal international order” receives high marks. Among the most striking results to me is the fact that two of the ten worst foreign policy decisions in...
6+1 Questions about Exit from International Organizations
What is the name of the book and what are its coordinates? The book is Exit from International Organizations: Costly Negotiation for Institutional Change. It was published in June 2025 by Cambridge University Press. What’s the argument? Governments leave international organizations — such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) or the World Health Organization (WHO) — in two ways. Some “take their toys...
Felicity Vabulas
Felicity Vabulas is the Blanche E. Seaver Associate Professor of International Studies at Pepperdine University. Her research focuses on the political economy of international cooperation. Specifically, she is interested in when and why states change how they cooperate internationally and the implications this has for international relations. Her research includes examining states’ exit from international agreements, states’ engagement in...
Inken von Borzyskowski
Inken von Borzyskowski is Professor of international relations at Oxford University, a member of the Department of Politics and International Relations, and a fellow at St Catherine’s College. Her research focuses on the domestic politics of international relations with an emphasis on international organizations and their effect on domestic conflict and elections. Specifically, her research falls into three areas: international democracy...
Iran and the shadow of the Kosovo intervention
When I was in grad school in the mid-aughts, one Professor was a die-hard supporter of George W. Bush’s foreign policy. When challenged over the legality of Iraq, he noted that it is inconsistent for any liberal to oppose the invasion of Iraq while supporting the NATO intervention in Kosovo. Both were ostensibly in support of humanitarian goals, and neither received UN Security Council authorization, rendering them illegal. This may be less of...
Rubio’s civilizational appeals will backfire
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s speech at the Munich Security Conference demonstrated he is a better diplomat than Vice President J.D. Vance, although that’s not much of a hurdle to clear. Where Vance gave a bullying lecture, Rubio’s speech focused on emphasizing the importance of transatlantic ties and maintaining the US-European alliance. He argued the goal of this alliance, however, was to defend a common culture against the “threat” of...
“Fair Trade” and the revenge against the “Foreigner”: From Chamberlain to Trump
A century before Trump’s tariff threats, Joseph Chamberlain pitched the same idea: use duties as a “big revolver” to force rivals into “fair trade.” That history helps explain why “unfairness” rhetoric and coercive foreign policy keep returning when hegemonic powers decline.
Tommaso Fonti
Tommaso Fonti is a PhD candidate in International Relations and Political Science at the Geneva Graduate Institute. His research examines how geopolitical shocks reshape business–state relations across different supply chains and sectors, creating new winners and losers as trade policy shifts. He previously worked at Centro Studi Luca d’Agliano, where he studied the historical drivers of globalization and deglobalization, and as a research...
What’s with all the racism?
I’ve been wanting to write this post for some time. But every week just brings more bad news. More terrible examples. In November last year, the Dutch government almost collapsed over racist remarks made by one of the coalition government ministers. December was witness to the horrifying antisemitic attack at Bondi beach. President Donald Trump has called Somalis “garbage.” In the U.K., increasing numbers of his...
An Accidental Academic: 20 Years Later
This is my 20th year at the University of Texas. Although my dad was a university professor, I'm something of an accidental academic. I sought to get my PhD with the hopes of doing something more in terms of public service. I started off my PhD at Georgetown inauspiciously. In the first week of school, I sat down with the legendary comparativist Sam Barnes who asked me what my plans were. I said I wanted to run for Congress and if that didn't...