Debate over NATO's military intervention in the Libyan civil war has reinvigorated discussion among observers of international relations on the merits (or demerits) of the United Nations's Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. You can find links to important entries in the current debate at the end of this post, but I'm going to react here to one part of it. In a rejoinder to her critics, including IR student and Slouching Towards Columbia...
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Conflict prevention and early warnings: closing the gap through communications?
The catastrophes of Rwanda and Bosnia led to a debate in the 1990s about the warning-response gap. Conflict prevention and early warning systems did not seem up to scratch. Third parties intervened too late, if at all. Spending was skewed towards mitigating the effects of conflicts, not on stopping them happen in the first place. The spread of satellite television brought conflicts into more immediate public vision. It was feared this created a...
Friday Nerd Blogging
Now that Blood and Chrome appears to be at risk of demotion from upcoming TV show to series of webisodes (!) BSG fans among the readership can at least geek out on this documentary. (Because most of us have so little better to do with the start of the term and all.)
Post-revolution Walk of Shame in Libya: women asked to ‘go home’ in the afterglow of the revolution
The exciting and tumultuous eve of the revolution in Libya has achieved many of its objectives: the power balance has swung in the rebel's favor, many national governments around the world now recognize the Transitional National Council (TNC) as the legitimate leadership, and most (though not all) of the country is under their control.In many ways, this week can be described as 'the morning after' the revolution in Libya. Rebels drunk on gun...
New Statistics on Civilian Targeting
In a new paper, Michael Spagat and a number of collaborators explore the determinants of intentional civilian killing in war. Using sophisticated regression analysis they claim to have found "four significant behavioral patterns":"First, the majority (61%) of all formally organized actors in armed conflict during 2002-2007 refrained from killing civilians in deliberate, direct targeting.Second, actors were more likely to have carried out some...
Life Imitiating Political Science and Vice Versa
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...
Giving Peace a Chance
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. ;)
Palestinian Unilateralism
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...
On Rick Perry and Superman
A few thoughts from Jay Smooth on Rick Perry's favorite superhero:
Ten Theses (Mostly Concerning Foreign Policy) About 9/11
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...
Another Sad Event around 11 September
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.
Repost: September 11 – a blogging personal history
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...