by Charli Carpenter | 27 Aug 2008 |
What you are looking at is Wordle's representation of 282 survey answers to the following question: "Name three or more specific issues that come to your mind when you think of human security today. An issue means something that human security specialists are actively concerned about."The survey was disseminated this summer to 6,000 individuals who subscribe to mailing lists of "hubs" in the human security network such as the Liu Institute, as...
by Dan Nexon | 26 Aug 2008 |
I would run a series of ads called "Friends." Each would begin with rapid cuts of McCain repeating his "My Friends" catchphrase. Then the screen would ominously fade to black, and the voice talent would read "Just who are McCain's friends, anyway?" The first add would feature of lobbyists in his campaign. The second would feature "people who brought you the Iraq War." The ads would conclude: "John McCain: his friends... are no friends of ours."...
by Dan Nexon | 26 Aug 2008 |
That was quick. So much for the resolution simply serving as "leverage" for Putin and Medvedev in negotiations with the US and NATO.As predicted, Moscow's rationale borrows directly from the west's argument in favor of Kosovo independence.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said in a televised broadcast Tuesday he had signed decrees to recognize the independence of Georgia's breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia."This is not an easy...
by Dan Nexon | 25 Aug 2008 |
Rob Farley suggests that the Patterson school can deter Fletcher and the School of Foreign Service by acquiring some new Russian blow-up sex toys "S-300 SAMs, along with a couple of inflatable Su-27s and maybe a Hind or two."Unfortunately for Rob, Georgetown no longer has an active "Team B", and so we are unlikely to respond by invading the University of Kentucky, dismantling its basketball team, and supporting its College of Agriculture's...
by Dan Nexon | 25 Aug 2008 |
Because one good Kosovo deserves another (or two)?Russia's parliament has backed a motion urging the president to recognise the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.Both houses voted unanimously in favour of the non-binding motion, which analysts say could help President Dmitry Medvedev in talks with the West.The UK, Germany and Italy were among the nations expressing concern that the vote would further...
by Dan Nexon | 25 Aug 2008 |
Is Pakistan returning to pre-Musharraf political patterns? Nawaz Sharif's decision to break with the PPP and pull his party, PML-N, out of Pakistan's governing coalition, certainly suggests so. The story of the last months reflects, however, more general dynamics associated with democratization in competitive authoritarian regimes, i.e., those characterized by elections in which opposition groups have some ability to challenge an autocratic...
by Peter | 25 Aug 2008 |
The Olympics ended about 12 hours ago, but NBC is giving us the tape-delayed broadcast this evening. One last set of semi-structured Olympic thoughts…Its pretty clear that these games had massive political undertones. China viewed this as a coming out / coming of age celebration and invested accordingly. The infrastructure was impressive (gotta love that water cube), and their performance was impressive, with the top gold medal haul, though the...
by Dan Nexon | 22 Aug 2008 |
Peter Baker contributes a rather odd story to The New York Times about all the ways Russia can make life difficult for the United States. Baker's central discussion, which chronicles how a revisionist Russia can really mess with US interests, is excellent. For example:f Russia’s invasion of Georgia ushers in a sustained period of renewed animosity with the West, Washington fears that a newly emboldened but estranged Moscow could use its...
by Peter | 22 Aug 2008 |
Stories like this aren't good for Sen. Hillary Clinton.With Obama's lead slipping (McCain now wins half the time, according to Nate), The latest NBC/WSJ Poll offers a very compelling narrative for the Democrats looking to start the Blame Game:“It is not a dead heat, but it is close.”The survey also shows that both presidential candidates face their share of challenges. For Obama, he receives the support of just one in two voters who backed...
by Dan Nexon | 21 Aug 2008 |
Go to any major left-wing website, and you'll find an lengthy chorus of commentators ranting against Harry Reid for his failure to kick Lieberman out of the Democratic caucus. "Lieberman's speaking at the Republican convention!" they say. "He's a shill for some of McCain's worst attacks on Obama!" they exclaim. "The Democrats won't need him to retain the majority in the next Senate!"As Theda Skocpol puts it:I am sorry, but this is ridiculous....
by Dan Nexon | 20 Aug 2008 |
There's a well-known joke about a beautiful young student's attempt to trade... um... favors for grades.I suppose it's inevitable that the real-life variant would neither cast a positive light on the professor nor, in all likelihood, end at all happily. Scratch that; really unhappily.... Good hearsay and war stories about the general phenomenon over at LGM.... He's now considered a "missing person."... Back to the original suspected outcome:...
by Dan Nexon | 20 Aug 2008 |
No matter what their take on culpability for the Russo-Georgian War, almost all commentators in the west agree that Russia emerged the undisputed victor: Georgia lies prostrate at its feet, a divided NATO issues empty and inconsequential threats against it, and no one has any doubt that the Russian Bear is back. A number of observers note that Russia lost the "propaganda war," but present that fact as more of a consolation prize than anything...