by Peter | 6 Jun 2008 |
SecDef Gates fired both the military and civilian head of the Air Force yesterday. The official reason was the release of a report on the mis-handling of nuclear weapons, though Danger Room suggests that this was merely the culmination of a number of issues that left Gates rather upset with the Air Force. (blog link round up of additional good coverage: here, here, and here).This is a rather big deal. As a number of observers have pointed out,...
by Dan Nexon | 5 Jun 2008 |
Our US readers might be surprised to learn that there are, in fact, happenings not associated with the 2008 Presidential race. So I thought I would point out that:• Sudan is on the brink of renewed war between the north and south.• NATO has issued checks that it probably can't cash regarding the Georgia-Russia "cold" conflict over Abkhazia.• Zimbabwe's "free and fair" second-round elections continue to be, uh, not so free and fair.And in the...
by Peter | 2 Jun 2008 |
In the latest incarnation of the Iraq war issue in the general election, John McCain is criticizing Barak Obama because Obama hasn’t been to Iraq in some time, and therefore, he’s not qualified to comment on Iraq policy because he hasn’t “been there” to “see it for himself.”Rhetorically, it’s a slick move by McCain. Take a widely perceived negative, his support of the war, and turn it into a positive by emphasizing experience and criticizing...
by Charli Carpenter | 30 May 2008 |
John Knox has published a long and dense yet fascinating article, "Horizontal Human Rights Law" in January's issue of the American Journal of International Law. In it, he asks considers whether international human rights law, designed to prescribe how states may and must treat their citizens, also impose human responsibilities on citizens themselves?Thinking that it maybe should, the now-defunct Human Rights Commission took up the issue before...
by Dan Nexon | 29 May 2008 |
I have repeatedly criticized the Bush administration for failing to recognize the Svalbard threat. Its policy of drowning the Polar Bear forces into submission might prove successful, but it also risks provoking an attack--whether via proxies, direct strikes, or bio-engineered sea reptiles--before it accomplishes its objectives.But now there's hope that the administration will take action before it leaves office.Oil and shipping interests are...
by Peter | 26 May 2008 |
Some of us here at the Duck would put ourselves into the "relational" camp when it comes to how we approach Social Science. Among other things, this approach looks at social and political actors based on their relations to other actors and position within a social network rather than as autonomous entities. Dan's work, for example, has made excellent use of social network theory to talk about empires and such.Today's Washington Post points out...
by Charli Carpenter | 25 May 2008 |
Anthony Arend at Georgetown University reports on a new campaign that many of us will want to support. Its promotional video, culled from the film Taxi to the Dark Side:Unlike many anti-torture activists who base their arguments on consequentialism (e.g., we shouldn't torture because it's ineffective, we shouldn't torture because it puts our troops at risk), this campaign reminds us that human rights law forbids torture even if - perhaps...
by Peter | 24 May 2008 |
NY Times: "Worries in G.O.P. About Disarray in McCain Camp"Politico.com: "GOP strategists mull McCain ‘blowout’" (as in he blows Obama out of the water in a huge win by like 50-100 electoral votes)So, which is it? Good year for McCain or good year for Obama?
by Rodger Payne | 22 May 2008 |
Can you tell the difference between the views expressed by a human rights activist who worries mostly about humanitarian emergencies in Asia and those stated by a prominent neorealist American academic? 1: Realist thinking versus liberal talk:A. "...oil and strategic interests are what dictate Western policies, not their professed liberal values. All the talk of humanism or humanitarianism is just for public relations." B. "...public discourse...
by Dan Nexon | 22 May 2008 |
Via Matthew Yglesias and a quick google search I learn that the right-wing blogsphere is all in a tizzy over the fact that the Decemberists played at Obama's Portland speech. This apparently matters because:1. The left-wing mainstream media isn't reporting that some percentage of people clearly attended to hear the Decemberists rather than Obama. Ergo, Obama's not really all that popular. Or something.2. The Decemberists often play the Soviet...
by Peter | 21 May 2008 |
How do electoral politics influence US foreign policy? Look no farther than Miami Dade County and US relations with Cuba. Cuban-Americans remain a highly mobilized electoral block in that state's largest county, and they tend to be single-issue voters, supporting the candidate who is tough on Fidel's Cuba. So, you have a history of candidates talking about the need to crack down on Castro to curry favor in the Cuban community and put Florida in...
by Peter | 18 May 2008 |
If you haven’t heard about or seen the clip of Chris Matthews dressing down one of his guests, a conservative talk show host, you might wan to take a look. Aside from the sheer entertainment value of the thing, it might, maybe, be a turning point for the fall election.Matthews was in his regular Hardball segment where they have a conservative and a liberal radio talk show host to spin the issue of the day. They were discussing the Foreign...