Up front, I'll admit that Michael Moore movies appeal to me. My politics lean left, I embrace populist sensibilities on many issues, and I strongly believe that humor can be employed to levy an effective critique of politics."Roger and Me," which told the dismal story of the relationship between General Motors and Flint, Michigan, was a personal story for Moore since it concerned his hometown and was a strong beginning for his career as a...
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I’m For Europe
Since Jon started this, I too must share one of my favorite Yes, Minister clips. Strikes me as timely.
And Justice for All?
Gary Haugen and Victor Boutrous have a useful article in the new print version of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that all the human rights standards in the land mean nothing if they're not translated into practical justice for every human being. Particularly, they point out how the ability to enjoy one's legal rights is related to wealth. Efforts by the modern human rights movement over the last 60 years have contributed to the criminalization...
The (Final!) Johnny Foreigner’s Guide to the UK Election: (Insert ‘well hung-parliament’ joke here.)
Well, the entire UK General election and transition came and went in less time than it took to do a US Presidential transition. While the ending was a little bumpy with the “hung parliament” result but a full, formal coalition government has been formed and it is no longer ‘anarchy in the UK’. (Bad pun, yes. Could I stop myself? No.) So today the UK has a new Prime Minister and a coalition government. What can we say in the last JFGTUKE post?...
Young men who don’t have anyone to screw blow themselves up?
While I am generally respectful of the journal International Security's clear effort to publish more gender-related work, Bradley Thayer and Valerie Hudson, in "Sex and the Shaheed" have managed to write about gender while missing the conceptual foundations and research insights of decades of work in feminism, gender, and IR. This article ranges from factually partial at best and inaccurate at worst. It focuses on male suicide terrorists when a...
Is It Time to Ban Explosive Weapons in War?
UK-based NGO Landmine Action says yes. In a recent report, the organization points out that we do not consider explosive bombs an acceptable tool in police operations, and proposes they be stigmatized as tools of counter-insurgency and military operations other than war as well - at least when used in populated areas. The report cites evidence of the civilian consequences of explosive violence used in populated areas, an argument with which...
How Wars End: V.E. Day 65 Years On
I will be writing more on the outcome of the British election soon, but for now I thought that I would post in recognition of the fact that it’s the 65th anniversary of V.E. Day. (You know, in that whole World War II thing that pretty much allows Britain - and most of Europe - to have elections in the first place.)Today there was a ceremony marking the occasion in central London. Interestingly, the focus on the event seems to be on the average...
British diplomacy…a classic tutorial
After Stephanie's posts, I watched a few old episodes of Yes, Minister (and why I love Netflix). Hung parliament or not, Sir Humphrey's British diplomacy is on the verge of success....
Peace Settlements May Do More Harm Than Good.
This is according to a new policy brief out from the Belfer Center at Harvard, in which Monica Duffy Toft details a study of 137 civil wars fought from 1940-2007. Toft finds that more civil wars are ending in negotiation these days than in stalemate or in victory by one side over the other, possibly reflecting the diplomatic norms promulgated across the globe by the conflict prevention sector. But:Does the trend toward negotiations correlate...
America’s resource curse
With much of the country focused on the oil disaster in the Gulf, it's clear that America's energy policy is a wreck. My native state of North Dakota is booming from a major oil find. But, it too, is realizing the costs and curse of oil. The Bismarck Tribune is running an excellent series on the changing landscape of western North Dakota and worth a read.
Watching Hunger
I finally took the time (and found the courage) to watch Steve McQueen's "Hunger" (2008). It is the story of the events that led to the 1981 Irish hunger strike at Maze Prison in which Bobby Sands and nine other men died. The film is hauntingly beautiful from an aesthetic standpoint and horrifying intellectually. There are very few films which actually merit the adjective "powerful," this is one of them. (I am still processing this film in my...
Threat inflation: intergalactic edition
Should IR scholars worry about material threats emanating from outside the confines of earth? IR scholars Alexander Wendt and Raymond Duvall sort of tackled that question in a 2008 article in the journal Political Theory. They discussed the "UFO taboo," which essentially prohibits "the authoritative public sphere" from "taking UFOs seriously." Dan gave the scholarly response some attention at the time.In any event, here's a summary of the Wendt...