by Dan Nexon | 25 Feb 2007 |
I must admit that I find the conservapedia "world history" lectures interesting--but for the same reasons that my wife and I used to collect premillenial dispensationalist pamphlets. I promise this will turn into a more serious set of questions about the appropriateness of vandalizing, or even what it would mean to vandalize, a collective encyclopedia project. But before I do, let me note some of the list of great "homeschooled Christians" that...
by Rodger Payne | 24 Feb 2007 |
Next Wednesday in Chicago -- that's February 28, at 8:30 am -- at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, I'll be presenting a paper called "The Comedy of Great Power Politics in the 21st Century." Warning: that's a pdf, which I posted on my rarely used University homepage.On the same panel, my friend Nayef Samhat is presenting "The 'Comedic Turn' and Critical International Relations Theory." If those titles sound strange...
by Patrick Thaddeus Jackson | 22 Feb 2007 |
I'm on sabbatical, which helps to explain my pronounced absence from this and any other blog of late . . . I promise to return to regular posting sometime in a month or two. (Or is that a threat? :-)But in the meantime I wanted to ask for readers' help with the design of an assignment I am considering for my introductory World Politics class in the Fall. I call it "IR Vocabulary," and the basic idea is to split students into pairs and have each...
by Dan Nexon | 21 Feb 2007 |
The Foreign Policy summary (registration required) of the William and Mary "Inside the Ivory Tower" survey is out (as is the full version).The 2006-2007 survey was conducted by Daniel Maliniak, Amy Oakes, Susan Peterson, and Michael J. Tierney. I participated in a trial run, but I'm not sure if I filled out the final version. No matter.Part of the survey involves ranking PhD, MA, and undergraduate programs in international studies. In essence,...
by Peter | 20 Feb 2007 |
This was just too good to pass up. With immigration a growing political issues, The New York Times looks back and asks-- remember NAFTA, like 14 years ago? Wasn't that supposed to stop illegal immigration by building up the Mexican economy through free trade?Why didn’t Nafta curb this immigration? The answer is complicated, of course. But a major factor lies in the assumptions made in drafting the trade agreement, assumptions about the way...
by Peter | 14 Feb 2007 |
As I was saying about Frenemies (video) ....Its a must watch, especially if you're snowed in this morning like we are.
by Dan Nexon | 13 Feb 2007 |
I'm still reading reports of the North Korea nuclear deal, and I should have more to say as things develop. A few quick thoughts:1. The terms of the deal, at least as currently reported, seem reasonable. North Korea looks to get most of what it wants, but the benefits of a non-nuclear North Korea mitigate against that. The administration should ignore the howls of protest already emanating from hardliners. The US, Japan, and South Korea don't...
by Peter | 11 Feb 2007 |
Parade Magazine--that little thing in your Sunday paper with all the advertisements from Best Buy and office Depot--has one article each year that I think is completely brilliant: Who is the World's Worst Dictator?Its such a simple thing, yet such a powerful statement, I'm surprised more people don't do it. Yet I love that its in Parade magazine--something with such mass circulation in the Sunday paper that people normally look to for celebrity...
by Dan Nexon | 10 Feb 2007 |
On 6 April 1994 someone shot down a plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana of Rwanda and Burundian President Cyprien Ntaryamira at it attempted to land at Kigali Airport. Habyarimana's death sparked waves of killings by Hutu extremists, the Interahamwe militia, and eventually significant numbers of opportunistic collaborators. They targeted not only ethnic Tutsi but also Hutu moderates, particularly supporters of the Arusha Peace Accords....
by Dan Nexon | 9 Feb 2007 |
I assumed the data on Svalbard military spending was a mistake. But now I'm becoming quite concerned. David Johnston uncovers more about the possible threat from Svalbard. The island will soon be home to a Doomsday facility.David questions whether the bunker is really just a seed vault. Given our information about Svalbard's immense per capita military expenditures--which in absolute terms dwarf its "official" GDP--I think he's right to be...
by Peter | 7 Feb 2007 |
Over at Early Warning, William Arkin has generated incredible traffic to his site--over 1500 comments on one post--over his recent posts on the Iraq war. Arkin took on a very central issue in our debate over the war, and in doing so, exposed the continued difficulty we as a nation have in developing a language to debate the war.Arkin's initial column noted how "the troops" in Iraq--the enlisted soldiers who bear the brunt of the fighting in...
by Dan Nexon | 7 Feb 2007 |
The most recent issue of International Affairs (January 2007) includes a review of Harry Potter and International Relations.Harry Potter and international relations. Edited by Daniel H. Nexon and Iver B. Neumann. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefi eld. 2006. 245pp. Index. Pb.: £15.99. isbn 0 7425 3959 8. My first advice for readers of this book would be: do not let the title fool you, this is a serious book. I must admit I requested to review this...