The Duck of Minerva

I spent last weekend with the International Organization editors and editorial board at their retreat. As a newcomer to the board, I didn't know what to expect and was happily surprised by the depth and richness of the conversations that took place for a full day and half, mostly around how to more fully realize the academic principles to which we're all committed - rigor, equity, transparency, methodological pluralism - in the context of a publishing environment that is constrained by the business model of publishing houses and the ever-changing landscape of social media. One of the most...

Syria New evidence of mass atrocity in Syria sets a bitter tone as peace talks kick off in Geneva. IRC's David Miliband in WAPO on why humanitarian issues must be a priority at Geneva. Speaking to the NYT, HRW's Kenneth Roth concurs. Stephen Heydman in FP on whether justice could undermine peace at Geneva. Human Security Locals and expatriates in Kabul commemorate the loss of Kamal Hamade, whose iconic Kabul restaurant was destroyed by a suicide bomber last week. AidDatablog: new and improved methods for adjudicating conflicting reports on the efficacy of development aid. Nicholas Kristof:...

That is the justification made by senior lawmakers last week for adding a secret provision into appropriations bill that would block President Obama's efforts to place the CIA's drone program back under military control. As reported in the Washington Post: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee, said last year that she had seen the CIA “exercise patience and discretion specifically to prevent collateral damage” and that she “would really have to be convinced that the military would carry it out that...

The new and quite awesome-looking Season 4 trailer promises "war, death, hell," or as the Christian Post puts it, "action and intrigue." Duh. But it also hints at many more diversions from the books to come. Here is a breakdown. For Game of Thrones book fans, this may be appropriate:

Digital Media and Human Security At Lawfare Blog, Jean Marie Simon's review of Robert Nickelberg's Afghanistan: A Distant War explores the role of digital photography in constructing wartime imaginaries. At Reductress, Andi Sharavsky describes the "Cutest Ways to Photograph Yourself Hugging Third-World Children." Is there no end to the damage caused by Edward Snowden? Iranians are now privy to the US' most important national secret: that America is actually run by space aliens. HP: "Facebook wages war on the nipple" in reaction to new anti-topless-law documentary Free the Nipple. Human...

Also, disturbing rumors are circulating about Darth Vader's involvement in the annihilation of the Death Star.

Ever since Wikileaks hit the headlines with the release of its Collateral Murder video I've been thinking (and sometimes blogging) about what kind of actor it is, what kind of politics it represents, what this means for global governance. But I could never for the life of me figure out how to really tackle these questions using IR theory. So I was thrilled to see Wendy Wong's and Peter Brown's piece in a major polisci journal, Perspectives on Politics, exploring these questions in the context of what the discipline has to say about transnationalism. Kudos to Jeffrey Isaac for publishing this...

Greetings readers! And apologies for my slap-happy blogging record of late. Among my several resolutions this year is a return to blogging at the rate of at minimum one substantive post per week, in addition to my bi-weekly linkage posts. We'll see whether I can sustain or (more hopefully) exceed this while managing the transition of a teen from home to college, just as we'll see whether I can keep up my regimen of 7-minute workouts, my plan to learn tango and get scuba certified, and my pledge to send one random thank-you note to some individual every week this year. (If you're looking for...

Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Rights groups criticize incendiary attacks in Syria. Important new report on Syrian child casualties. On corpse-counting in former war zones. "Terminator ethics" discussions among autonomous weapons proponents. Momentum among humanitarian stakeholders how to curb explosive violence. 972 Mag on tensions between animal rights and human rights movements. Time on how trauma journalism worsens relief efforts in the Phillipines. Killer Apps on US military basing and humanitarianism. Drone Wars Obama Administration is under fire again on drones after drones hit...

I realize I am putting my Twitter standings at great risk by potentially appearing to make light of an important social issue.* But when I found this treatise on the importance of tighter regulations for dragons I couldn't resist sharing. Happy Friday! Game of Thrones - Dragon Control by TheShortsShow *Though I hate to disagree with anyone whose work I admire so greatly, and though no one can really argue with Katee Sakhoff's call for gun safety, as a political scientist I must say that Sakhoff is wrong on gun control. First, there is important evidence from experimental studies that on...