by Steve Saideman | 26 Jun 2011 |
The Realist tradition in International Relations long ago won the big battle by getting the best name. By calling itself Realism, the realist tradition makes all other approaches to IR seem idealistic, based in dreams but not realities. Anything but grounded in hard, cold calculations of how things really are. But the joy of realism is how often its acolytes indulge in fantasy. Ah, but only if we could have the good old days of the cold...
by Megan MacKenzie | 26 Jun 2011 |
The CEO of the Employers & Manufacturers Association, an association that promotes New Zealand businesses, Alasdair Thompson sparked a heated debate last week when, during a discussion on equal pay, he publicly claimed that women’s productivity was impacted by their periods. He claimed that women “take the most sick leave” and explained “ you know, once a month they have sick problems. Not all women, but some do.” He later went on to say “Men...
by Rodger Payne | 25 Jun 2011 |
Cross-posted from my personal blog, by suggestion of a Vikash Yadav tweet.I've now watched the first two parts of "Carlos," a three-part French-produced television miniseries that was broadcast on Sundance this past month. Édgar Ramírez is terrific in the title (star-making) role, though his character is hardly sympathetic. The notorious terrorist is portrayed as an unusual killer -- part playboy, part-diplomat, and part-frustrated...
by Charli Carpenter | 24 Jun 2011 |
I was recently asked whether Game of Thrones was going to become "the cult IR series of 2011." My initial response, spouted on a FB update was, "it remains to be seen," not least since by next Spring GoT will of course be competing with Blood and Chrome.)As of today, however, "seen" it has clearly been, with multiple IR bloggers posting on various "IRGoT" themes. So I guess that answers that. We can look forward to a veritable bevy of...
by Patrick Porter | 23 Jun 2011 |
Must strategy be named to be practiced? Nowadays we tend to look for strategy as something that folk write down and codify. We live in logocentric times, where strategy is linked to formal declaratory documents, advisory councils and institutions dedicated to thinking about how to relate our power and our commitments, our resources and our goals.Of course, that dubious definition would disqualify all sorts of states from having a grand...
by Steve Saideman | 23 Jun 2011 |
Charli Carpenter has thrown down the gauntlet. She has pondered (on facebook) whether/why IR folks have not been blogging about Game of Thrones. Why? Because we are tired. Every episode is such great TV that we are left in awe. Our brains are so focused on getting the names straight, understanding the dynamics within each family and between them, that we no brainpower left to use.Spoilers lurk below: Ok, that was an excuse. The real...
by Alana Tiemessen | 21 Jun 2011 |
Foreign Policy magazine has just released their yearly Failed States Index ("A Year in Misery: The 2011 Failed States Index"), which also includes their photo essay called "Postcards from Hell."This photo essay raises the ire of those who criticize it as "poverty porn." This criticism is usually directed at aid organizations (see here and here) that exploit and misrepresent people's poverty and insecurity through shocking images to generate...
by Kate Weaver | 21 Jun 2011 | Featured
This week, the Independent Evaluation Office at the International Monetary Fund released its report on the relevance and utility of research at the Fund (see also today's Financial Times article on the report). The report itself echoes an earlier IEO report on the Fund's performance running up to the 2008 financial crisis, which found that the Fund's failure to foresee the crisis was in part due to pervasive groupthink within the...
by Dan Nexon | 20 Jun 2011 |
Michael Lind treats Niall Ferguson to the contempt he so richly deserves (via). A sample:The right-wing British historian Niall Ferguson seems to have conquered America: pushing his latest perishable book, "Civilization," this one based on the trendy and quickly dated conceit of the six (or is it seven?) "killer apps" of Western civilization; writing cover stories for Newsweek; debating foreign policy on TV with Zbigniew Brzezinski; and pouting...
by Charli Carpenter | 20 Jun 2011 |
Among the books I'm digesting this month as I work on my manuscript is this gem from Thomas Richard Davies - a case study of the transnational disarmament movement in the interwar period. I especially like two things about this book. First, it deals with a case of campaign failure, as the movement clearly did not meet its goals of general disarmament. This sets Davies' book apart from most of the transnational advocacy literature that focuses...
by Charli Carpenter | 17 Jun 2011 |
1: A mysterious little Father's Day gift for certain Dads among us. Speculation here.2: Your GoT satirical post of the week. (H/T Steve.)3: No, I haven't read it yet, though this is definitely on my summer beach-book-list. Judging by the critical reviews (Robopocalypse is being compared to World War Z) my immediate sense is that the zombie craze of which Drezner speaks may be coming to its end, and that Glen Weldon's new novel may be the start...
by Charli Carpenter | 17 Jun 2011 | Featured
A Guest Post by Jonathan Caverley in reply to Dan NexonThe irony of being accused of taking texts in directions their original authors might not have intended by the scholar behind Harry Potter and International Relations is too delicious to pass up. Plus I am sensitive to accusations like Nexon’s (might as well confront that elephant head on).I am not slighting Professor Nexon’s excellent TNR piece and book. In fact our approaches are quite...