by Steve Saideman | 15 Sep 2011 |
I had a nice life imitating art (or science) today. I was lecturing about identity and the stuff we political scientists have borrowed from social psychology to explain ethnic conflict today. The idea is to get my IR of Ethnic Conflict class exposed to the basics before we move on to the international relations issues that are the heart of this course.So, today, I am quite aware of my identity and how my self-esteem depends on how I see my...
by Charli Carpenter | 14 Sep 2011 |
Joshua Goldstein's book on peacekeeping is now out, and in this promotional video he shows us what the future of conference presentations could look like. ;)
by Jon Western | 12 Sep 2011 |
I just got this note in my Inbox from the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Boston: In a little more than a month, the Palestinian delegation to the United Nations will seek a unilateral declaration of statehood in the General Assembly. Israel and its friends around the world, including the United States, are urging the Palestinians to reject unilateralism. Only face-to-face negotiations will bring true peace. In the letter, CJP uses...
by Vikash Yadav | 12 Sep 2011 | Featured
A few thoughts from Jay Smooth on Rick Perry's favorite superhero:
by Dan Nexon | 11 Sep 2011 |
Counterfactual theses:Absent 9/11 or a 9/11-style attack, the US would not have invaded Afghanistan but might very well have used force against Iraq. Rationale: despite the Bush campaign's repeated condemnation of "nation-building" and calls for a more "humble" foreign policy (remember that?), Cheney and others were already singling out Iraq as a policy failure of the Clinton administration.Absent 9/11 Bush would not have been a one-term...
by Dan Nexon | 11 Sep 2011 |
Chris Clayton Joyner, aka "Dr. J," passed away last night. He was one of the nicest people in Georgetown's Government Department and the School of Foreign Service. He'll be missed, not only by his colleagues, but by thousands of his former students. Although I got the email this morning, Erik Voeten provides the impetus to post.
by Dan Nexon | 11 Sep 2011 |
I wasn't going to post this (again), but the thread below is starting to turn toward reminiscence; a cut-and-paste job seems easier than rewriting. On the morning of September 11, 2001, I drove my wife to the Nanuet train station. We said goodbye and she got on the train to begin her commute into Manhattan. I went home and took a shower.Sometime later that morning I went downstairs to the basement of our townhouse, which doubled as my office. I...
by Charli Carpenter | 11 Sep 2011 | Featured
by Charli Carpenter | 9 Sep 2011 |
Alcohol (Battlestar Galactica) from Anno Superstar on Vimeo.Though by right this post should be pure casual Friday nerd filler (as opposed to genuine literary commentary on representations of military affairs in science fiction), I feel compelled to point you to this highly academic and substantive essay by Jason T. Eberl and Erik D. Baldwin, "How to Be Happy After the End of the World" in which it is argued:"Fans of BSG are sometimes...
by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 9 Sep 2011 |
I am going to try writing down pieces of advice that I give to students all the time, in the hopes that they might be useful for people who can't make it to my office hours."Spelling out your theoretical and methodological assumptions -- the contours of your conceptual equipment, so to speak -- is a vital part of doing good social science, because if I don't know what your assumptions are then I really can't fairly evaluate your results. In...
by Dan Nexon | 9 Sep 2011 |
If you're interested in how the syllabus turned out, you can read it here.I must say that I am very much enjoying teaching the class so far. Thanks to everyone for their comments and suggestions.
by Brian Rathbun | 8 Sep 2011 |
We have gone almost a month without talking about zombies, and you all must be in need of a fix. Instead of thinking how various theories of international relations might expect us to cope with a zombie epidemic, I thought it might be fun to think about how leading public figures – elected officials, pundits, etc. – might respond to a zombie attack. This is in keeping with my general belief that we would see many different responses by...