About a month ago, the symposium on my book over at The Disorder of Things that I mentioned in an earlier post reached a critical stage: posts by Paul, Joe, Nick, and Meera were up, and it was now my turn. And then life intervened, and lo and behold it's been almost a month and I haven't put up a reply. I finally got a chance to start work on a reply this weekend, but it's grown so large in conception that I am going to have to split it into...
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Exercises in Futility
Four days ago I suggested that time is running out in Libya. With news that Brega has now fallen to pro-Gaddafi forces, it seems more likely than not that the end is nigh for the rebels. And yet France and the UK are still trying to build support for a no-fly zone, now with a major assist by the Arab League. The problem: a no-fly zone isn't going to save the rebellion. An air campaign against Libyan forces, combined with indirect assistance to...
“Also, It Turns Out Mubarak is a Cylon.” #BSG #Egypt @RT “So Say We All!”
I was fascinated to learn while working on my Battlestar Galactica "research project" that Adama's quote from the scene above was floating around the Internet for some time during the Egyptian Revolution. The statement "This quote now applicable to Egypt" appeared in a Reddit thread, was reposted on at least one Facebook site, quickly attracting 6,000 likes and over 1800 comments, while like-minded tweets exploded across cyberspace. This one...
Feminist IR 101, Post #6, War and Security (In Practice)
(after a long hiatus, which you don't even want to know about) When we last visited "Feminist IR 101," we were talking about the ways that gendered lenses reformulate the way(s) we think about what security is and how it is practiced (empirically and normatively) in the global political arena - and I promised to put gendered lenses to work to talk about a "real world" security problem - what Feminist Security Studies might look like in...
Libya: West Running Out of Time?
If recent reports are correct, NATO is running out of time if it wants to use a no-fly zone to tilt the balance in favor of the rebels. The Russians and Chinese may eventually agree to a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution authorizing a no-fly zone, but efforts to secure their agreement will take time. And it is not at all clear that a no-fly zone will prove sufficient to overcome Gaddafi's better-trained and equipped forces.Thus,...
ISA blogging
Steve Saideman has some good advice and useful resources for those unfamiliar with Montreal.
International Women’s Day Film Fest: The lady characters helping and hindering the cause.
The 15th Century take on ShrekA friend of mine linked to a fabulous post by Lindy West at the Guardian “The Five Most Pathetic Female Film Characters of All Time”. Okay, not the most inspiring International Women’s Day post. But if I’m honest with you, I think she’s spot on with her list (although I haven’t seen Twilight so I can’t really judge that... but it seems to confirm everything I’ve heard about Bella.)There is nothing worse than a...
New Executive Order on Detainees: Guantana-No, but action on the 1977 Additional Protocols (kinda)
Not so much.Lawfare blog has a post on today’s Executive Order on Guantanamo Bay. (Link to the Obama administration's fact sheet PDF here). Lawfare tends to be more conservative than most international law blogs, but it’s excellent and an absolute must-read for keeping up-to-date on all things law, national security and the war on terror. (Or as I like to call it, Saturday night!) There’s some good commentary on the refusal of Congress to help...
Brief Questions Concerning Possible U.S. Responses to Libyan Civil War
Is NATO headed for all the attendant risks (via) of a Libya no-fly zone, but with implementation after it would prove most effective? Also, at what point does a Civil War last long enough that it is okay for a third party to start directly arming its preferred side?
“As An Educator It is My Responsibility to Turn You In To Your Professor. Thank you For Your Cooperation. Good Luck With Your Studies.”
To me, the high point of academic blogging is putting out a request for insight to readers on a specific problem and crowd-sourcing a wealth of useful feedback that helps me be better at what I do than I would have been had I gone with my gut. Sometimes these blegs are about research and sometimes about teaching, and sometimes about how to wade through the backwash of scholarly life without getting too dirty. I want to thank everyone who...
Open Thread on Responding to Academic Dishonesty by Celebrity College Students Not At One’s Own Institution
So this email arrived my mailbox yesterday:Hi Mr. Carpenter, I am a fourth year college student and I have the honor of reading one of your books and I just had a few questions... I am very fascinated by your work and I am just trying to understand everything. Can you please address some of my questions? I would greatly appreciate it. It certainly help me understand your wonderful article better. Thank you very much! :) Sincerely, [NAME...
Cause and Effect in the “War on Terror?”
It is impossible to know at this point whether there is any connection between these two disturbing events reported yesterday: NATO forces’ mistaken killing of nine boys gathering firewood in Afghanistan; and, a few hours later, the killing of two American soldiers at Frankfurt airport, apparently by a Muslim man of Kosovar origin. We do know that other terror suspects have stated that they acted in response to U.S. policies in the GWOT, in...