In the last post, I discussed gender as a system of symbolic meanings. People understood to be "men" are often expected to be "masculine" and associated with masculinity/ies; while people understood to be "women" are expected to be feminine, and associated with femininity/ies. Traits associated with masculinities and femininities are often also transposed onto ideas, concepts, and things, in everyday life and in global politics. Masculinities...
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Wikileaks and the global public interest
A couple of observations on the Wikileaks diplomatic info-dump as seen from London. First, European governments have been unanimous in their condemnation of Wikileaks, disgraceful undermining of diplomacy etc etc. But what do they really think? I’m sure they will be philosophical about the content of the US cables. These are the sort of assessments that every diplomat makes, and is supposed to make; I would bet a year’s salary that the sort of...
“Diplomatic Shockers”
Wow. Iran's neighbors are threatened by its rise! Many governments think Pakistan may not be able to secure its nuclear arsenal! The US attempts to use its leverage with its allies to achieve its political objectives! China has engaged in a cyber-campaign against Google and other American companies! Yemen approves of US' targeted killings on its soil (but claims otherwise to quell domestic opposition)! Also, governments routinely spy on United...
Feminist IR 101, Post #1 … definitions of sex and gender
(disclaimer: this is my attempt to define/illustrate; mistakes are mine, not to be assigned to feminist IR as a whole)sex (noun?): traditionally used to refer to the biological characteristics of bodies based on their internal and external sex organs, where persons with "female" organs are "women," and people with "male" organs are men. It can also be divided on the basis of chromosomal characteristics, where people with "XX" are "women," and...
DPRK’s attention-deficit disorder (updated)
Pyongyang's "pay attention to me! right! now!" routines seem calculated to convince the United States, South Korea, and Japan of one thing: that military force is the only effective long-term solution to North Korean intransigence. Which means, naturally enough, that Pyongyang's recent rounds of "WTF" are most likely driven entirely by domestic DPRK politics. World history is flush with with examples of more prosperous states repeatedly buying...
How George Mitchell relaxes on his days off
Will no one think of the bacon?Hat tip to Robert Farley
A (not so) open letter to a journal editor (or five): Part II
Dear Dr. Journal Editor, As I mentioned in "Part I" of this letter, I "lost" this battle, and it matters to me.Why? Because it's not just "work" to me that happens to be on a particular topic because it is an interesting question. I believe all knowledge has a politics, acknowledged or not, and I acknowledge mine. I do feminist work because I'm interested in deconstructing gender hierarchies in IR as a discipline and in global politics more...
BMD and NATO not quite BFD, but a step in the right direction
NATO agrees to missile-defense mission. Somewhat paradoxically, this is true even if you're lukewarm on ballistic missile defenses (BMD) in general, or the Phased Adaptive Approach in particular. Why? The more NATO presents a united front, the more likely the Russians are to cooperate on BMD and BMD-related issues, which not only reduces an irritant in relations but mitigates against some of the potentially destabilizing implications of BMD...
The Transition
In discussing the planned handover of security responsibilities to the Afghan National Army, Vice President Joe Biden stated:"Daddy is going to start to take the training wheels off in October -- I mean in next July -- so you'd better practice riding," he said of the plan that will be outlined at the NATO summit in Lisbon. (ABC News Radio)The undiluted mix of imperialism and paternalism, while embarrassing from a public relations standpoint,...
A (not so) open letter to a journal editor (or five): Part I
(a letter I've thought about writing a dozen times over the last decade of being a feminist researcher)Dear Dr. Journal Editor, I submitted an article to your (big) journal in my (general) field. I don't know if it was of the quality to be published in your (spiffy) journal or not, but, to be honest, I was trusting you to figure that out. You betrayed my trust, and in spades. Your journal presents a pluralistic face, and lets in the occasional...
Latest Data on Drone Casualties
A study published in the Jamestown Foundations' Terrorism Monitor a few days ago claims it sheds "New Light on the Accuracy of the CIA's Predator Drone Campaign in Pakistan." (Never mind the fact that as civilians, CIA agents are not entitled to wage war and would have to be considered 'unlawful combatants' if brought to justice.) The question addressed here is a simple but very important one from a jus in bello perspective: what is the...
BBC spy miniseries upsets China, but how real is it? Let’s play Spooks bingo!
The BBC has offended the Chinese government because its primetime show Spooks (Mi5 in North America) has depicted Chinese intelligence agents in an unflattering light, reported here and here in the last few days. The plot saw MI5 trying to prevent an ‘ethnic weapon’ falling into Chinese hands, with much chasing around London and a few sinister and, perhaps, stereotypically Chinese baddies (judge for yourself in the Guardian screenshot here). As...