Alyssa Rosenberg has a good discussion of the anti-torture themes in the Harry Potter series. But she neglects two other ways in which J.K. Rowling critiques the US conduct of the war on terror: Azkaban and arbitrary detention. Harry's disdain for the ministry in The Half-Blood Prince focuses on their detention of Stan Shunpike in Azkaban -- Stan's obvious innocence doesn't deter Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour from scapegoating the young...
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Osama Dead: Are We There Yet?
My reaction to the news was essentially that of a five year old after a long car ride -- can we be done now? I am very tired of the war on terror, on multiple levels.First, the obvious irritations. The airport security with two children, whose liquids must be regarded a priori as toxic substances. The shoes and the belts. Can't I at least keep my coat on? Don't we have scanners that can pick out an explosive device from my inside pocket? This...
First Reactions to the Big News, Steve’s turn
There will be a lot of time to think about Bin Laden's death, but I thought I would add a few quick thoughts while I catch up on the coverage online. There are a bunch of surprises and non-surprises.First, in retrospect, the non-surprises are:Seal Team 6 (the super-special operations forces) did the job, not a drone. This is not a surprise, because the US always wanted to have complete proof that it was Bin Laden and that he was dead. A...
White House: Osama Bin Laden Is Dead.
POTUS speaking to the nation this evening:11:40: "They took care to avoid civilian casualties." Hmm. No word as to whether they succeeded.11:41: "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader. He was a mass murderer of Muslims." That was good.11:43: "Today's achievement is a testament to the greatness of the American people." I see. Killing this individual is on par with walking on the moon. We can all be very proud. The "war" will continue. My immediate...
The 2011 Canadian Election: Lessons Learned and Mindless Amateur Speculation
Canadian democracy rests in this man's hands. Yesterday I provided a fully superficial background and survey of developments regarding the 2011 Canadian Election. The short version is 1) We’ve had a series of minority governments. 2) Stephen Harper probably thought he could get a majority, and now that does not seem likely though it is still possible. 3) The NDP has ‘surged’, probably at the Liberal’s expense, but also very much at the expense...
“Too Fat to Fight”
Mission: Readiness, a collection of retired generals, admirals and other senior military officers issued their latest report this week and the accompanying press release should draw the attention of IR scholars interested in the Copenhagen School and securitization: "Childhood Obesity Endangers National Security." The news was particularly bad for my state: ...obesity rates among children and young adults in Kentucky are significantly higher...
Holy Degrees of Freedom Problem, Batman!
Or, how do we compare the not so nearly like? There is an obvious temptation to compare Libya to Syria and ponder why the US has not jumped into the fray now that Syria has started killing lots of people (to be fair, the piece does show how different the cases are). Now, I am not a Middle East expert (and I avoid playing one on TV), but this is a handy opportunity to think about how we do comparisons and then maybe we can figure out what is...
The 2011 Canadian Election: I don’t even know
Last year I was much better at blogging about the UK General Election. I thought it was going to be incredibly boring, but then there was the rise of a third party in an unexpected way which changed the balance of power. This year with Canada’s turn to re-stack the deck, I thought the election was going to be incredibly boring, but then there was the rise of a third party in an unexpected way which very well may change the balance of power....
North Waziristan: Drones and Compellence
North Waziristan has witnessed 20 drone strikes in the first four months of this year, which is a relatively lower number than the previous year (in 2010 there were a record setting 104 drone strikes in North Waziristan or 8.67 strikes per month). The relative "silence of the drones" this year is mainly attributed to a lull following the imprisonment of a CIA agent, Raymond Davis, who was accused of murdering two men in Pakistan on 27 January....
New Breed of Chicken Hawks?
John Bolton writes in the LA Times, which unlike the rest of the world I read because where else could I find out who died in my neighborhood recently, that we must stay in Afghanistan forever! Until the job gets done. I have no particularly informed opinion about this, which is kind of sad, but I was amused by the response of a Times columnist, complaining that Bolton had no right to make such a proclamation given his dodging of the draft back...
Most Entertaining IR Scholar? None of the Above?
Steve Walt has a challenge: ...who are the most amusing, entertaining, or witty writers in the field of international relations and foreign policy? I don't mean books or articles that are "funny" because they are wildly off-base; I mean scholars who are a joy to read because their prose is lively, they offer amusing asides, and maybe even manage a laugh-out-loud witticism on occasion. And to narrow the field a bit more, let's exclude...
A Beast in the Heart of Certain Small Units
Excellent in-depth discussion of the Stryker Brigade in the New York Times. What's great about this piece is that the author goes into considerable depth to understand the structural context behind the so-called "Kill Team"'s campaign of recreational murder against civilians, and resist the seductive and typical "bad apple" story.That said, I think this piece over-determines the impact of simply being in a conflict zone and under-emphasizes the...