I haven’t been posting much lately. I blame many developments for my paucity of quality commentary here. I’ve been grinding away at my book manuscript, maintaining blogs for my classes, dealing with some final revisions to various articles and chapters, getting a series of research assistants up and running on what will probably be my next major project, and so forth.

For the last week, however, I’ve had a new excuse: the premature seizure of my desk by Georgetown facilities and management prior to the arrival of my new work surface. Since my home office is now by daughter’s playroom (or, as she calls it, “her living room”), this presented a bit of a problem for me. But, at last, my desk arrived. Now all is well in my self-referential world.

One reason I’ve had difficulty blogging actually stems from an unlikely set of circumstances. A publisher contacted me about including one of my old posts in a point-counterpoint textbook, which prompted me to go back and read my older posts; I realized how much more substantial, and true to the reasons I started this blog, these posts were compared to what I’ve posted in the last six months or so. At the same time, many of my blogging hobbyhorses have transmogrified into other-published material. My first major piece on my empire work is coming out this year, and I’m working on a review essay on the state of “Balance of Power Theory” which picks up where that old series petered out.

But I do promise that I’ll be putting in my fair share here shortly. All of us here actually owe some book reviews, and I’ve got a few more I’d like to do. Meanwhile, we’re seeing a number of events that suggest the development of some pretty major international trends, particularly across Eurasia.

Plus, I’ve got a new, big, desk to spread out on!