The Duck of Minerva

Peter

Dr. Peter Howard focuses on US foreign policy and international security. He studies how the implementation of foreign policy programs produces rule-based regional security regimes, conducting research in Estonia on NATO Expansion and US Military Exchange programs and South Korea on nuclear negotiations with North Korea.

Recent Posts

Goodbye….

by Peter | 14 September, 2009 |

So, I guess this is goodbye-- for now at least, for a while.Starting tomorrow, I'll be officially joining the State Department's Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs as an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow. For the past 2 weeks, I've been going through AAAS orientation, a program designed to introduce scientists to Washington.This fellowship process has been quite the experience. I'm in a class of over 180 fellows--all Ph.D.'s in the sciences--who will be joining various agencies of the federal government as well as Congressional offices. There are a few social scientists, but I'm pretty...

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The Practice of Diplomacy

by Peter | 23 August, 2009 |

David Rothkopf has a nice piece in today's Washington Post giving a positive review to Hillary Clinton's tenure as Secretary of State. He makes the prescient point that she has revitalized US Diplomacy by revitalizing both the department and its approach, taking on important yet not headline grabbing issues that will have a profound impact on the relationships that define the US role in the world in the coming decades. While the White House and DoD focus on Iran and Afghanistan, Rothkopf notes how Clinton is able to address:Which nations will be our key partners? What do you do when many...

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Rememberification

by Peter | 21 August, 2009 |

During any Presidential Administration, there are heated debates, accusations of horrible mismanagement, and political intrigue, but they are actively papered over and downplayed by a powerful White House communications operation dedicated to protecting the image of the President. Once everyone leaves office, however.....It seems the floodgates of insider accounts that "make news" and tell heretofore unknown details about the good old days of the Bush Administration are opening, and the stream of details might be more interesting than most.Tom Ridge, the first secretary of Homeland Security,...

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Ipod Touch Bleg

by Peter | 4 August, 2009 |

I just purchased a 16gig I-Pod touch. Its a fun new toy, and a more than ample replacement for my overflowing 2gig nano. I also added the new operating system. The benefits of a blog being the ability to crowd-source stuff like this, I ask loyal duck readers with a touch or iphone if they have any suggestions on how to get the most out of my new device. Any favorite uses, applications that are must-gets, or other cool things that can be done besides the standard music, photos, and the like?

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This vote really matters!

by Peter | 22 July, 2009 |

Today the Senate voted to cap the Air Force's purchases of the F-22 at 187 planes by stripping the funding for further purchases of the plane from the Defense budget. This is a very significant vote for several reasons:1. Its a big political win for the President. Obama threatened to veto a defense bill. That just Does Not Happen--no one vetoes money for DoD.2. This is the first major cut to a major weapons system in recent memory. The military industrial complex is mighty powerful, and a vast range of interests lined up to defend the F-22, led by its manufacturer and the congressional...

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We chose to go to the moon–not because it was easy but because it was hard

by Peter | 21 July, 2009 |

Forty years ago today, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first humans to set foot on the Moon. Michael Griffin, former NASA Administrator, observed:What is most striking about this 40th anniversary of the first human landing on the moon is that we can no longer do what we're celebrating. Not "do not choose to," but "can't."By the 40th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the Oregon Trail was carrying settlers to the West. By the 40th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, a web of rail traffic crisscrossed the continent. By the 40th anniversary of...

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40 years after One small step

by Peter | 17 July, 2009 |

40 years ago today, Apollo 11 blasted off from Cape Kennedy on its way to the moon. Monday will be the 40th anniversary of the first moonwalk. In celebration, NASA has released restored footage of the moonwalk, revealing in incredible clarity the amazing steps of Armstrong and Aldrin.Its a fascinating moment for reflection on one of the most incredible accomplishments of the 20th century. The Space Program revolutionized America, revolutionized the world. It thrust us into the computer age, and it provided one of the most famous images of our world, reminding us of our shared home.To put...

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Palinology

by Peter | 4 July, 2009 |

By now you've probably seen the news of Sarah Palin resigning as governor of Alaska. My first reaction was Whaaa?????? Since I too am aware of all internet traditions, my second reaction was to cruise over to LGM and see what DaveNoon had to say about things. My third reaction was to scan the blogosphere for newsy-political gossip. TPM, employing the patented Duck methodology of analysis, had as good a take as anyone:It looks like a duck and quacks like a duck. Either Palin is resigning ahead of some titanic scandal (which should emerge in short order if it exists) or her resignation was...

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Revisiting Skocpol on Iran’s Revolution

by Peter | 25 June, 2009 |

I happened to be consulting the triangle on page 83 of Skocpol's Social Revolutions in the Modern World for an article I'm drafting, and came across her chapter "Rentier State and Shi'a Islam in the Iranian Revolution." I decided to take a closer look to see if there were any insights that might help put recent events into a broader context. Indeed there were.Now, Skocpol, a leading scholar of social revolutions before she was a scholar of health care reform, was commenting on the 1979 Iranian Revolution in 1981. It is striking how many of her insights could be useful today. On the context...

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Do you hear the people sing?

by Peter | 22 June, 2009 |

Three important steps in Iran over the past few days. Much of this is distilling the obvious, I think. Nevertheless...1. The State has decided to confront the People directly, with violent force. In 1979, the Shah fled rather than order the security forces of the state to turn on the people as they revolted. Revolutions can fail and repressive often states survive uprisings through the use of repressive force. This raises the stakes considerably, as people will and have died to advance the cause of revolution.It is at this point where the numbers really matter. Armed thugs can turn back a...

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