I think I'm speechless:
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The Afghan Detainee Abuse Scandal in Canada
For those of you who may be following the issue of detainee abuse of prisoners of war in Canada (or any other country than America), I have an editorial piece with Dr. Grant Dawson (Deuputy Director of the David Davies Memorial Institute at Aberystwyth) in the Ottawa Citizen today.A quick summary is that two different detainee scandles (one in the aftermath of the Somalia Intervention in the 1990s and the current Afghan one) are being confused....
Defining Corruption
So the U.S. Supreme Court has decided that limits on direct corporate spending for political campaigns violate the First Amendment rights of corporations (hey, corporations are people too!). The New York Times has a good overview, plus links to the actual decision. Since I've done some work on corruption in the past, and regularly teach a seminar on Corruption and Global Governance, this decision has resonated with me and I can't help being...
Hamiltonian Failure?
Yesterday, my class on U.S. Foreign Policy considered Walter Russell Mead's Hamiltonian School -- ostensibly an American realism grounded in the aligned interests of the state and business. The Hamiltonians have their roots in Alexander Hamilton. They have always believed that the American national strategy should be modeled on the British system: use your trade to make money through commerce; government should support large business; your...
Sam Eagle: The Original Neo-Con
If you’re asking me if I’m a little upset right now, you’d be right. The Economist has just reported what I’ve been saying for years. The Muppets have a secret conservative agenda.“What?!” You must be exclaiming. “Miss Piggy is a Palin Predecessor?”No. It’s not so simple. Jim Henson was no fool and I’m sure Kermit does not believe that Obama is a secret communist socialist muslim agent. Or at least I really hope so.According to the article...
Congratulations to “Kinshasa Symphony”
Congratulations to Claus Wischmann, Martin Baer, and the performers of the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra for their work on the documentary of the “Kinshasa Symphony.” The film has been selected to premier at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival “Berlinale Special” on February 17th 2010, 21:45h (rerun February 18th, 18:00h, Cubix 8) This is a beautiful project about the only symphony orchestra in central Africa - the “Orchestre Symphonique...
Scott Brown and the end of the Transatlantic Security Community?
One thing that hasn't really been addressed about our little election here in Massachusetts this week is the degree to which Scott Brown openly campaigned on his support for waterboarding, his opposition to any constitutional rights for terrorists, and his opposition to closing Guantanamo. His main campaign commercial ended with the line "I believe the constitution was designed to protect our nation and does not give rights to terrorists."...
Online Security Jam
I know I was asked to comment here on international political economy issues, but how can I pass up the opportunity to point you all to the Online Security Jam?Yes, on February 4, you too can participate in an online discussion of important security issues. You will "help make the world a safer place...online." The Jam is being co-produced by the European Commission and NATO, who are just so..so..cutting edge, yes? Well, ok, it's actually being...
“What to Read on Gender and Foreign Policy”
Over the break, Foreign Affairs posted my picks on which gender literature the foreign policy community should take seriously. Here's how the piece begins: Feminists have long argued that it is wrong to ignore half the population when crafting policies meant to secure a stable world order. Now foreign policy experts are beginning to grasp a different point: a "gender perspective" is relevant not only to those concerned with making the world...
Politics and Infographics
Cliff Kuang at Fast Company points to a short, interesting talk by Alex Lundry of TargetPoint Consulting.Lundry quickly runs down the importance of infographics and data visualizations in the political realm. Bottom line: people are hard wired to learn through visualization, and infographics can be very powerful tools in political battles over ideas and policy:It amazes me that we haven't seen a faster uptake among professional politicians of...
Breaking News: ISA Enters 21st Century With New Powerpoint Policy
Amazing but true. Social scientists presenting at the International Studies Association's "Theory v. Policy" Conference this winter will be able to use Powerpoint projectors without shelling out for and packing their own. And not only will you be able to use a projector free of charge (unheard of as late as last year) but ISA will provide projectors and laptops in every room to actually make this easy! (In an exciting twist on this story,...
Academics Probably Make Bad Spies
This is off-topic from Haiti, and while I am very much concerned about the situation there, an article in the Times of London yesterday raised an issue important enough that I thought I should blog about it. I am generally a fan of the Times, but I was very disappointed to wake-up and read this article declaring that an “Extreme preacher lectures at the LSE”.This, sadly, is not a new issue. The government and the media have been concerned about...