With apologies for the shameless self-promotion... My co-authored article on "Nuclear Protected Terrorism" is out in this month's Pragati: The Indian National Interest Review My co-author and I argue:"The prospects for an end to the protracted conflict between India and Pakistan appear as remote as ever. In fact, it is likely that there will more deadly provocations in the future by terrorist groups based on Pakistani soil. In a recent op-ed...
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Debates in Canadian Foreign Pol… Wait! Don’t leave!
I’m in Edinburgh, Scotland this week for the Political Studies Association Conference so my attention to all things blogging and internet is a bit short. However, as the Duck’s official Canadian ex-pat guest-poster, I did want to post this video (transcript here) of Robert Fowler, a former senior Canadian diplomat who gave a rather scathing critique of Canadian foreign policy at a conference this past weekend in Montreal.No wait – don’t leave!...
Speaking of (half-hearted) apologies…
General John S. Sheehan (U.S. Marine Corps, retired) appears to have reconsidered his views on the role of gays in the Dutch military at Srebrenica. He issued a formal apology today -- but only for his inaccurate "recollection" of the views of General Henk van den Breemen, then chief of staff of the Dutch military. Apparently he still doesn't like gays....
What’s in an apology?
Serbia's parliament is debating a resolution expressing sympathy for Srebrenica's victims and apologizing for not doing enough to prevent the massacre. Bosnian Muslims are not likely to be happy because the resolution does not apologize explicitly for the crime of genocide -- it only reads that it condemns the massacre as "the crime as it is described" in the European Parliament's resolution passed last year. As expected, much of the human...
The Problem With Online Petitions
At LGM, I recently suggested that readers support a Department of Justice Rule-making process on prison reform. I probably should have added that it's not enough - not nearly enough - to simply log into the Change.org site and click "send" on the form letter they offer. That's because DoJ doesn't care how many individual constituents support or oppose prison reform per se. They couldn't care less, in fact. All they care about is how to create...
Epistemethodology (and Feeling?) in IR
I spent the last day and a half at a workshop on epistemology and method that we hosted at the University of Florida. A lot of interesting conversations took place during the workshop, which I felt fortunate to be able to be a part of and hear. Fellow Duck Patrick Jackson was also here. The one(s) that I have selected to talk about (this time) were not the central ones, but intersect themes with a couple of projects I have been working on this...
Operation Omaid in Kandahar
The southern Afghan city founded by Alexander the Great (and which still bears a Pashto version of his name) is the latest target of the US/NATO/ISAF military forces. Initial efforts to secure key roads into Kandahar began last week. "Operation Omaid [Hope]" as it has been dubbed aims to gain control of this city which is the original home of the Taliban movement. The operation is expected to take several months to complete.The Taliban (i.e....
Cyber-War: Emerging Threat or Phantom Menace?
Apparently the ruckus between Google and China amounts to a "cyber war."This sounds familiar. In late February, former director of national intelligence Michael McConnell declared on the WAPO opinion pages that we are losing some sort of "cyberwar." Then earlier this month Obama administration cyber-czar Howard Schmidt announced "there is no cyberwar" at the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco. At Government Computer News, William Jackson...
“Girls Don’t Do Math Past Algebra”
Today, a group of articles in the Washington Post, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the New York Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and other newspapers, comment on the AAUW (American Association of University Women) report which will be webcast this Thursday. These articles reminded me of a teacher that I'd had when I was young, who, despite my stellar performances in math courses, told me that girls don't do, or need to do, math past...
Seeing the whole board on financial reform
Clive Crook does: The problem is not just that specific rules – higher bank capital requirements, for instance – threaten profits and are therefore opposed. It is that all governments see themselves as partners of their industries in world competition. Regulators seek not a level playing field but one tilted to their own groups’ advantage. This is not a hidden bias. It is proudly advertised. A government that did less than stand up for its own...
What is the status of CIA drone operatives in international law? (Short answer: I don’t know, but that shouldn’t matter.)
Despite our modern ideas about a separation between civilians and soldiers in international law (and then complain about the breakdown of the legal distinction in counterinsurgency conflict or situations like Pakistan), civilians have almost always accompanied military forces into the field. These include journalists, clergy (not within the armed forces of an army) and “camp followers” which may have included cooks, tailors, menders,...
Digital Burqa
A few days ago, Charli pondered "whether or not the Internet and social media empowers civil society or instead simply offers states new tools of repression and governance." And she provided a link to an excellent video about Iranian bloggers. I haven't been able to get the question or the video out of my head. This is not my topic/area of research, but I will offer a few tentative thoughts to see if it will spark some discussion...What color...