The Duck of Minerva

Josh Busby

Joshua Busby is a Professor in the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin. From 2021-2023, he served as a Senior Advisor for Climate at the U.S. Department of Defense. His most recent book is States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security (Cambridge, 2023). He is also the author of Moral Movements and Foreign Policy (Cambridge, 2010) and the co-author, with Ethan Kapstein, of AIDS Drugs for All: Social Movements and Market Transformations (Cambridge, 2013). His main research interests include transnational advocacy and social movements, international security and climate change, global public health and HIV/ AIDS, energy and environmental policy, and U.S. foreign policy.

Recent Posts

What Does Trump’s Victory Mean for the Environment?

What Does Trump’s Victory Mean for the Environment?

by Josh Busby | 15 November, 2016 |

Much has already been written about the significance of Donald Trump's victory for the environment, with particular emphasis on climate change. There is some speculation that Trump, based on campaign promises, will try to undo some of President Obama's signature achievements, namely some scuttle that he's looking for a fast exit from the 2015 Paris climate agreement that recently entered into force. The noted climate denier Myron Ebell was named to lead Trump's transition at the EPA. President Obama in his press conference today made a vigorous case for why his efforts to green the economy...

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Processing this Election

Processing this Election

by Josh Busby | 11 November, 2016 |

So this is ostensibly an academic blog, though there is something quite confessional and personal about the blog format. I suspect many readers of the Duck are experiencing what I'm feeling, which is profound heartache over the election results. I've been writing on Facebook and trying to grieve and process with others, but I've got to stop. Life has to go on, and other urgent writing and work require my attention. Still, I thought I'd share some of those reflections here, for what it is worth. I've refrained from partisan blogging here, though was profoundly opposed to the kind of campaign...

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Some New and Old Guests and Permanent Ducks

by Josh Busby | 7 October, 2016 | ,

We're happy to announce some new guest Ducks, some old guests staying on, and additions to our permanent contributors. In reverse order, Jarrod Hayes and Heather Roff-Perkins have joined us as permanent contributors. They have brought keen insights on a range of topics so we're happy they have agreed to stay on in a permanent capacity! Maryam Deloffre, Jeffrey Stacey, and William Kindred Winecoff continue on as guests with important insights on global health, security, and IPE respectively. Our thanks to our guests from last year -- Annick, Cai, Seth, Tom, and Wendy -- for their valuable...

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Open Thread on International Development Syllabi

Open Thread on International Development Syllabi

by Josh Busby | 27 September, 2016 | , ,

In previous posts on the environment and health, I highlighted lacunae in the field, which I attributed in part to there being few courses in those substantive areas. By providing a few exemplar syllabi, I thought more of us might find it easier to offer courses on those topics. At the very least, some might find inspiration for courses and mine these syllabi for readings. Another potentially under-studied area is international development. Here, there may be more course offerings and crossover with IPE, but I'm going to start an open thread with development syllabi because I can. Again,...

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Global Health Governance Syllabi Open Thread

Global Health Governance Syllabi Open Thread

by Josh Busby | 24 September, 2016 |

So, I noted in a post a few weeks ago during APSA that I thought the discipline doesn't pay enough attention to global environmental politics. Part of this is a function of training. I didn't have a global environmental politics course to take during graduate school, but I teach one now. I posted a few syllabi in the post and comments thread. I think the same thing is true of global health. Politics abound with global health whether it be the Ebola virus, Zika, pharmaceutical prices, the on-going HIV/AIDS crisis, the rise of non-communicable disease, the challenges of health systems...

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It’s That Time Again: A Call for New Guest Bloggers

It’s That Time Again: A Call for New Guest Bloggers

by Josh Busby | 16 September, 2016 |

We're kicking off a new school year, and we wanted to send out an invitation for a new crop of guest bloggers. We're really hoping the Duck will continue to be a place for diverse perspectives on international relations. As you may recall from our last call to arms, here is our policy on a guest blogging stint on the Duck: So here’s the new policy: anyone with a PhD in IR, plus some expertise in some substantive global policy issue area, and a willingness to post at least 200-500 words, at least once a week, can apply to become a guest for a six-month rotation. If you’re interested in a...

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Is there a connection between the Northwest Passage and the South China Sea?

Is there a connection between the Northwest Passage and the South China Sea?

by Josh Busby | 13 September, 2016 | ,

This is a guest post from Hannes Hansen-Magnusson, a Lecturer in International Relations at Cardiff University (contact by email: Hansen-Magnusson”at”Cardiff.ac.uk or via twitter: @HansenMagnusson) For centuries the political struggle over the legal status of global oceans was presented as one of mare clausum vs. mare liberum. These concepts concerned the possibility of movement as well as rights and responsibilities of seafaring nations and coastal states which had sometimes been the subject of small-scale physical confrontations at sea, such as the so-called Cod or Turbot Wars, but also of...

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Remembering 9/11: Open Thread

Remembering 9/11: Open Thread

by Josh Busby | 11 September, 2016 | ,

What were you doing 15 years ago on 9/11? What do you remember? How should we remember that day, given the momentous impact the event had on the direction of U.S. foreign policy and global politics? I woke up in my Adams Morgan basement room in the house where I was living to the sound on the radio of a hip hop station. Suddenly, they broke into news about the attack of the first plane on the World Trade Center. And, given that this station's morning programming was kind of joke-y programming, I was at first incredulous. I think I soon after turned on the TV and then woke up one of my...

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Global Environmental Governance Syllabi – Open Thread

Global Environmental Governance Syllabi – Open Thread

by Josh Busby | 3 September, 2016 | ,

As I blogged earlier today, climate change has not gotten sufficient attention from political scientists. Part of the problem is that few people teach graduate classes on the environment. I didn't take one in graduate school and basically had to teach myself the topic. This past spring, I taught a full 15 week graduate class for MA students on global environmental governance, expanding a previous global health and environment class in to two separate classes. There are potentially large start-up costs for someone who wants to teach a class in this space. So, I'm going to start an open thread...

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