The Duck of Minerva

Jon Western

Jon Western has spent the last fifteen years teaching IR in liberal arts colleges at Mount Holyoke College and the Five Colleges in western Massachusetts. He has an eclectic range of intellectual interests but often writes on international security, U.S. foreign policy, military intervention, and human rights. He occasionally shares his thoughts about professional life in liberal arts colleges. In his spare time he coaches middle school soccer, mentors the local high school robotics team, skis, and sails.

Recent Posts

Dissing Biden

by Jon Western | 12 March, 2010 |

OK, so not only did the Israeli Defense Ministry announce the permit for 112 new apartment units at Beiter Illit on the eve of Biden's visit (which the Americans were reluctantly willing to overlook), but then the government announced the approval of construction of 1,600 new Jewish homes in East Jerusalem. I'm not sure which is more surprising -- the stupidity or the brazenness of the Israeli actions. I realize there are bureaucratic procedures in place for new settlement permits, but announcing the expansion of settlements not once, but twice, with the American Vice President in country is...

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Got the post-Olympic blues?

by Jon Western | 2 March, 2010 |

Not to worry, the World Cup in South Africa is only 100 days away. It's been six years since FIFA awarded the World Cup to South Africa and there is a lot of excitement about an African nation finally hosting the World Cup and how the event has the potential to be a transcendent event. (I still wonder how things might have been different in the Balkans if the unified Yugoslavia team had defeated Argentina in the 1990 Quarterfinals shoot out and advanced...but I digress...) It's been less than twenty years since the end of the apartheid regime and, if the event goes smoothly, with more than 1...

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Sudan’s Truce: A turning point or a simple pause?

by Jon Western | 26 February, 2010 |

Last weekend's signing of the truce between Omar al-Bashir's government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebels in Darfur is a good first step. The government will commute the death sentences of some of the JEM rebels and will release several others. The JEM will hold to a truce and the two sides will resume more comprehensive negotiations in March. However, the problem is, as Laura Heaton from Enough Project notes, this is essentially a bilateral agreement between the government and JEM. It does not include the dozens of other rebel groups that have been fighting over the past...

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ISA — Katrina’s Legacy

by Jon Western | 25 February, 2010 |

I'll have more to say about the ISA conference in a few upcoming posts, but let me begin with some comments on the host city. ISA was held in New Orleans, in part, to provide a lift for the city after Hurricane Katrina five years ago. Somewhere around 5,000 folks descended on the city with cash in hand to help the local economy. The conference started the day after Mardi Gras and came less than two weeks after the Saints' Super Bowl victory. A lot of locals commented that the previous two weeks really were the best two weeks for the city in years. Indeed, walking around the French Quarter,...

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Who Wants to Bomb Iran?

by Jon Western | 12 February, 2010 |

David Kenner posted an interesting list this week at FP.com: "Who Wants to Bomb Iran?" Kenner cites the views of Pipes, Bolton, Podhoretz, Muravchik, McInerney, and Boot. I like Kenner's use of "Perch," "Justification," and "Money Quote" to set-up and frame the piece. But, given that this is a standard cast of hawks that we've known for thirty years or so, where's the "Track Record" category? Seriously, when have these guys been right? Remember, this was the crowd that blasted Reagan for giving away the store when he negotiated the INF Treaty with Gorbachev. Throughout the 1990s and in the...

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Overcoming Fears of Unicorns and Rainbows

by Jon Western | 9 February, 2010 |

U.S. Southern Command (SOCOM) is using a new transnational information sharing system in the All Partners Access Network (APAN) to coordinate its efforts with hundreds of NGOs and dozens of IOs in Haiti. It is a one-stop coordination platform that allows real-time questions/requests on resources and Information Sharing. SOCOM has been sharing imagery of bridges, transportation networks, and even public disturbances to facilitate responses and coordinating communication among NGOs and other relief agencies. Likewise, dozens of NGOs and other networking organizations like Crisis Mappers have...

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Obama’s Lesson on Audience Costs

by Jon Western | 2 February, 2010 |

One line that caught my attention in Obama's Q/A with the House Republicans last Friday was his rationale for toning down the demonization of one another. He argued, for example, that when Republicans portray him as someone out to destroy the country (i.e., health care reform is a Bolshevik plot), it radicalizes their constituencies and ultimately limits their ability to engage in any bipartisan efforts with him to deal with the country's problems -- lest they be accused of being an accomplice with a socialist.Audience costs don't come as a surprise to many of us in IR. James Fearon's 1994...

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Congratulations to “Kinshasa Symphony”

by Jon Western | 22 January, 2010 |

Congratulations to Claus Wischmann, Martin Baer, and the performers of the Kinshasa Symphony Orchestra for their work on the documentary of the “Kinshasa Symphony.” The film has been selected to premier at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival “Berlinale Special” on February 17th 2010, 21:45h (rerun February 18th, 18:00h, Cubix 8) This is a beautiful project about the only symphony orchestra in central Africa - the “Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste.” The film will be shown in cinemas all over Germany later this spring. I hope it migrates over here to the US soon. Here's a short clip...

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Scott Brown and the end of the Transatlantic Security Community?

by Jon Western | 21 January, 2010 |

One thing that hasn't really been addressed about our little election here in Massachusetts this week is the degree to which Scott Brown openly campaigned on his support for waterboarding, his opposition to any constitutional rights for terrorists, and his opposition to closing Guantanamo. His main campaign commercial ended with the line "I believe the constitution was designed to protect our nation and does not give rights to terrorists." Brown is a Lt. Colonel (Reserve) in the Judge Advocate Generals (JAG) Corps (National Guard) but apparently he didn't subscribe to the views of his...

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