by Dan Nexon | 15 Apr 2009 |
I would be negligent if I did not call attention to three important developments on the nuclear proliferation front.First, the Ukrainian government claims to have arrested three of its citizens--including one local politician--who were trying to sell radioactive material.The metal cylinder supposedly contained eight pounds of plutonium 239, a highly dangerous radioactive material that could be used in a nuclear weapon or a dirty bomb. The...
by Charli Carpenter | 15 Apr 2009 |
As some of you may recall, I began my blogging career on the Duck by commenting on the political impact and appropriation of YouTube. Back then it was citizens using YouTube to ask questions of the Presidential candidates. Now President Obama is doing with YouTube what FDR did with radio. Good thing my colleagues up here in the Pioneer Valley have organized a conference on the way YouTube is impacting US politics, so that I don't have to divert...
by Peter | 14 Apr 2009 |
Joe Nye has an op-ed in Monday’s Washington Post decrying the gap between theory and policy in political science. You should read it, in part because its the most press our discipline is likely to get this year, which almost proves his point. I am largely sympathetic to his view, and I lament the fact that our profession, which professes to understand how the world works, has seemingly so little to offer in terms of useful insight to those who...
by Dan Nexon | 14 Apr 2009 |
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issues a report warning that the current economic and political climate bears some resemblance to the early 1990s and, therefore, the government should be concerned about an increasing threat from right-wing extremists, including the possibility of domestic terrorism. Someone leaks the report.The right-wing blogsphere collapses in a paroxysm of rage and paranoia. "Look!" various notables shout, "The...
by Charli Carpenter | 13 Apr 2009 |
OK, in between wrapping up my tenure statement draft and taking my daughter to the orthodontist, finally a moment for some Monday pirate blogging. As Peter notes, the big news story since Sunday was the rescue of Captain Richard Philips off the coast of Somalia: as I implied earlier, the capture of American hostages was bound to be a game-changer in the region and globally. A few thoughts:1) First, irrespective of any further US leadership on...
by Peter | 13 Apr 2009 |
The dramatic conclusion of the Maersk Alabama Pirate encounter is now a wrap, and this screams for a movie. My only question is who will buy the rights to Capt. Phillip's story? NBC? Lifetime? I happen to think its bigger than a made-for-tv production, worthy of like Michael Bay or John Woo. Staring Bruce Willis as Captain Richard Phillips, Mark Wahlberg as first officer Shane Murphy, Keifer Sutherland as Special Operations commander Jack...
by Charli Carpenter | 10 Apr 2009 |
This quarter I'm serving as a guest author on a series of roundtables published on University of Denver's Human Rights and Human Welfare website. The first of these is online this week, a panel discussion of Joel Brinkley's Foreign Affairs piece in this issue, "Cambodia's Curse." My opening paragraph:"Joel Brinkley has written a heartbreaking piece in Foreign Affairs about Cambodian society thirty-five years after Pol Pot. We are presented with...
by Rodger Payne | 10 Apr 2009 |
I just returned from the 47th Annual International Affairs Symposium at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. Events were organized as debates -- the students developed the topics and invited academics and people from the policy world to participate. My debate was on this topic: "Jumping the Gun? The Legitimacy of Preemptive War." The application of offensive war as a defensive measure raises debate over the legality and legitimacy of such...
by Peter | 8 Apr 2009 |
I have a mental queue of about 3 or 5 post that I've been meaning to get up in the past couple of days, but the demands of a new baby in the house are leaving me sleep deprived and somehow unable to find time to construct the posts I want to write (go figure...). So, in lieu of that, a couple of scribbles from my mental notebook that merit your attention and our discussion.--SecDef Gates unveiled his defense budget. This could be one the most...
by Charli Carpenter | 8 Apr 2009 |
From the AP:"Somali pirates on Wednesday hijacked a U.S.-flagged cargo ship with 20 American crew members onboard, hundreds of miles from the nearest U.S. military vessel in some of the most dangerous waters in the world.It was the sixth ship seized within a week, a rise that analysts attribute to a new strategy by Somali pirates who are operating far from the warships patrolling the Gulf of Aden.In a statement, the company confirmed that the...
by Dan Nexon | 7 Apr 2009 |
Rob Farley argues, contra Ed Morrissey, against deploying a partially effective>ballistic missile defense (BMD) system:Ed, let me explain something to you, slowly and carefully. Missile defense, at least when conceived as a response to the threat of nuclear attack on the United States, needs to be "complete and perfect." Otherwise it's useless. There are virtually no foreign policy goals that a President will consider worthwhile if there's a 5%...
by Charli Carpenter | 7 Apr 2009 |
In an effort to keep up with Dan, I'm happy to report that Columbia University Press has just agreed to publish my book Constructing Rights and Wrongs: How the Human Rights Movement Forgot Bosnia's Children Born of War.I'm less happy about the fact that they are demanding I change the title. OK, anything with "Constructing" in it is probably too jargony to attract a wide audience. But my goal is to keep reference to my very interesting case...