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

What to watch for

by Peter | 17 June, 2009 |

As the incredible events in Iran unfold--in the streets of Tehran and on Twitter--the obvious question is: is this the 'Green Revolution' or something else for which we don't have a pre-fab category.I would call your attention to two outstanding posts that give a very good insight into what to watch for. The unifying theme was perhaps best articulated by an anonymous Iranian commentator at Salon: "Legitimacy, much debated by social scientists, actually turns out to matter. It's not just force that rules..." (h/t). In short, this is a moment of contentious politics* where the legitimacy of...

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Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando

by Peter | 10 June, 2009 |

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cFormidable Opponent - Don't Ask, Don't Tellwww.colbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorStephen Colbert in IraqThis week the Colbert Report is broadcasting from Camp Victory, Iraq as part of a USO tour. Sporting a suit made of cammo, a regulation haircut, and swinging a golf-club Bob Hope style, he has been entertaining the troops, reminding people that there is still a war in Iraq, and offering some rather brilliant and bold meta-satire of the entire operation.If you haven't been watching, you really need to. Right now.Last...

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Balancing Behaviors?

by Peter | 10 June, 2009 |

I was listening to a CFR podcast of a special conference call on North Korea's nuclear weapons test yesterday during my much longer than usual commute. One key part of the discussion centered around Japan's response to the nuclear test and missile launches. Japan, it seems, is taking steps to improve its military capabilities in response to North Korea's actions. Even the most extreme option--Japan going nuclear--seems to be lurking near the table. The conference call participants saw China as a key to the North Korean situation, with greater action possible this time in part because China...

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Oh Deer, what can the matter be?

by Peter | 7 June, 2009 |

A deer has been wandering around the neighborhood over the past week, frequently sojourning in my fenced-in back yard. Sometimes the deer has a baby with it. After a while, they will hop the fence into the neighbor's yard. Because its one of those Sundays, a few photos, of a deer in my back yard below the fold.You can see the baby in the 2nd picture.

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Your life’s work

by Peter | 4 June, 2009 |

To respond to Patrick (and then I promise this will be the last I’ll say on this until late August…), I largely agree with important parts of what he says, but as a friend pointed out to me, to be able to occupy the position required to realize such a vocation requires a certain degree of luck and privilege. Moreover, I think it is perhaps time to apply some of Patrick’s own ontological commitments to the notion of a vocation itself.As Patrick points out, the idea of a vocation, a calling, is explicitly religious. But our understanding (and his) of that concept is filtered through...

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North Korea explodes nuclear device

by Peter | 25 May, 2009 |

Breaking news: North Korea has conducted a nuclear test, this one more successful and powerful than its initial test back in 2006.You can read some (very) instant analysis, but the short story is that this move seems puzzling, out of context, which is to say that it doesn't fit North Korea's existing pattern of telegraphing its moves and using its nuclear program to extract maximum bargaining concessions from the United States. An initial and early read might be that this test does quite the opposite, confronting a new US administration broadly committed to diplomacy and alienating other...

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ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

by Peter | 24 May, 2009 |

Sesame Street really has changed the way we think about our ABC's. My 2-year old is quite the fan, he's particularly into Ernie and Bert (though in our house, his Ernie has a special relationship with the teddy bear for some reason, not sure how Bert feels about that). Thanks to YouTube, we can spend a good half hour learning the ABC's. For your own entertainment, my current playlist:Elmo and India Arie do the alphabetSesame Street ABC’s Ray Charles and celebritiesTilly and the Wall sing the ABCsA very young Billy Joel does ABC’sKermit the Frog and Ladysmith Black Mambazo AlphabetLena Horne...

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The War that Matters

by Peter | 19 May, 2009 |

There is a massive fight simmering just below the surface here in DC, one that looks to get really ugly, really quick, and with major long-term consequences for national politics. No, its not the pending SCOTUS confirmation fight, but the battle over the Pentagon budget. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has taken on one of the most powerful and entrenched political forces in Washington, the Defense spending lobby, and as Eisenhower had warned, "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the...

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Un-Realist-ic Walt

by Peter | 13 May, 2009 |

Stephen Walt asks a very interesting question: why does the US overspend on defense? This is a very smart question, the kind you need to be contrarian theorist to ask. Given the global downturn in the economy, you'd think defense spending would absorb its fair share of pain.As is well documented, the US spends more on its military than the rest of the world combined. And yet, worried that China may be less than 5 years away from sending a sub as far as Guam, there is a well developed narrative and lobby in US politics that we aren't spending enough. So, defense spending continues to go up...

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No (tt) Job for You

by Peter | 12 May, 2009 |

As if there wasn't enough depressing evidence about the poor state of the academy, Inside Higher Ed covers a new report documenting the disappearance of tenure track jobs. (H/T to Craig)Take home point: Only 27% of all higher education faculty jobs are tenure or tenure-tracked positions.The overall number of faculty and instructor slots grew from 1997 to 2007, but nearly two-thirds of that growth was in "contingent" positions -- meaning those off of the tenure track. Over all, those jobs increased from two-thirds to nearly three-quarters of instructional positions.The growth in these jobs --...

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