I am concluding a semester-long experiment in incorporating a theory/policy writing simulation of sorts into my doctoral level "Human Security" seminar. This struck me as important both because my own doctoral training left me unprepared for writing for practitioners,...
The conversation on last week's tragedy in Tucson has gone from the absurd to the absurd to the absurd. The late George Gerbner who was the long-time Dean of the Annenberg School of Communication at...
Robert Farley has written a veritably excellent post on the need for liberals (er, "progressives") to get serious about defense policy.I only wish to add that it is time for international-relations...
Courtesy of our friends at The Economist:PhD graduates do at least earn more than those with a bachelor’s degree. A study in the Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management by Bernard Casey...
Apparently, three protestors dressed like clowns (no, literally, circus clowns) broke into a nuclear launch facility in North Dakota and, I am not kidding about this, used a sledgehammer to disable the lock on the personnel entry hatch of a Minuteman III missile that provides access to the warhead and then hammered on the silo lid that covers the 300 kiloton nuclear warhead.The three staged the event in part "to call for national repentance for the Hiroshima and Nagaski A-bombings in 1945."The three have been charged with criminal tresspassing. Duh. They are lucky they are still...
Today's maxim seems particularly appropriate, given recent discussions about Iraq and the potential for military conflict with Iran and North Korea.The worst enemy of someone who begins a war is his belief in easy victory. For no matter how simple and certain it appears, a war is subject to a thousand accidents. And the confusion these accidents create will be even greater if they happen to someone who has not prepared his mind and his forces for them--preparations he would have made if he had considered the war difficult from the start. (Series C, 180)Carter and Perry, I think, should take...
In case anyone had any doubts about the moral relativism of certain segments of the right-wing anti-terror warrior-punditry, Wretched provides a useful reminder. Sleep Management, Stress Positions, Change of Scenery, Dietary Manipulation, Environmental Manipulation and Sensory Deprivation have already been acknowledged as unacceptable treatment, even for the hard core of the enemy. But surely these tiny cells were as bad as anything the Nazis were capable of?Well, gee, we aren't as bad as the Nazis. The contemporary US also looks pretty good in comparison to Stalin, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, the...
I don't like to discuss domestic political races on the site, but this is such blatant misinformation I really couldn't resist, especially given its relation to US foreign policy debates. I guess this is what you get when your poll numbers look like this:Santorum (R) 34 (36)Casey (D) 52 (49)Filed as: Santorum, Misinformation
Previously, I've pointed out the overt hypocrisy of American non-proliferation policy. The U.S. continues to seek new nuclear weapons and maintains a very large arsenal of these weapons; yet, it tries very hard to prevent many other states from acquiring these same armaments.Since the U.S. position is that states like Iran, Iraq, and North Korea should abide international norms about nuclear proliferation, this hypocrisy could be viewed as a fairly serious problem. Many realists, however, note that this sort of hypocrisy is normal in international relations.In any event, the contradictions...
One rule of international politics: when something interesting happens, look to see what else is going on because sometimes the they are related.In other words, perhaps the North Koreans read the news too and aren't as irrational as the Bush Administration would have you believe. Or, context matters. Take your pick.Lets review: The North Koreans are preparing to launch a Taepo-Dong II missle into the Pacific Ocean. They are demanding direct bilateral negotiations with the US as the entry price for halting the launch, and the US has rejected such a meeting. Today, former Secretary of Defense...
Yesterday Germany handily won Group A of the World Cup, defeating Ecuador 3-0 (their third straight victory) and advancing to the next round of competition. This wasn't a huge surprise; Group A wasn't exactly the strongest of groups this year, and the German team is quite the powerhouse behind stars like Miroslav Klose. So on march the Germans into the round of 16, facing Sweden on Saturday.The press coverage of this has been very interesting. Everyone seems to feel the need to comment on the fact that the German public is celebrating and waving flags, displaying various symbols of the...
Much has been made of the activation of the nascent US-based missile defense system seemingly in response to North Korea's imminent test of what we believe (but do not know) to be a long-range ballistic missile. The DPRK is obviously looking for attention given that the focus of the West has shifted drastically towards Iran recently. US officials are denying that they are considering shooting down a North Korean missile should it be launched. However, this scenario raises an interesting question; should the US have turned on the system at all in response to the North Koreans? This question...