The Duck of Minerva

Rodger Payne

Rodger A. Payne is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Louisville. He serves on the University’s Sustainability Council and was a co-founder of the Peace, Conflict, and Social Justice program. He is the author of dozens of journal articles and book chapters and coauthor, with Nayef Samhat, of Democratizing Global Politics: Discourse Norms, International Regimes, and Political Community (SUNY, 2004). He is currently working on two major projects, one exploring the role of narratives in international politics and the other examining the implications of America First foreign policy.

Recent Posts

Is Obama channeling Bush?

by Rodger Payne | 25 June, 2009 |

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says that Barack Obama is behaving just like George W. Bush. Reuters, June 25: Obama said on Tuesday he was "appalled and outraged" by a post-election crackdown and Washington withdrew invitations to Iranian diplomats to attend Independence Day celebrations on July 4 -- stalling efforts to improve ties with Tehran."Mr Obama made a mistake to say those things ... our question is why he fell into this trap and said things that previously (former president George W.) Bush used to say," the semi-official Fars News Agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying."Do you...

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Joking cousins

by Rodger Payne | 19 June, 2009 |

The most recent Utne Reader includes a short piece from Katie Krueger about the practice of "joking cousins" in Senegal:This means that whenever we meet, as a sign of friendliness, we insult each other without hesitation. Every ethnic group in Senegal has at least one or two joking cousin groups, so meeting one is rare enough to be a delight but common enough that it is protocol.Professor Brett O'Bannon of DePauw University (a former graduate student of mine) has written an academic paper arguing that such "joking relationships" are threatened by the forces of globalization. Yet, he notes,...

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Domestic terror

by Rodger Payne | 11 June, 2009 |

Remember the controversy in April when someone leaked a report from the Department of Homeland Security warning against the threat of right-wing extremism and domestic terrorism? Fox News, for example, reported that the intelligence document was aimed at Republicans -- and military veterans. Look at the report yourself (using the pdf link above). It warns specifically against "Threats from white supremacist and violent antigovernment groups." A bit later, the DHS report says: Anti-Semitic extremists attribute these losses to a deliberate conspiracy conducted by a cabal of Jewish “financial...

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Ire of Newt

by Rodger Payne | 20 May, 2009 |

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has declared war on current speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Why? Well, Gingrich says Pelosi lied when she claimed that the CIA withheld information from her about waterboarding in 2002 briefings.Here's Gingrich on Fox News, May 17: I was really surprised and even stunned by her comments yesterday, where she alleged that the American intelligence agencies routinely lied to the Congress. I know it's false. I know that it demeans every person who's working to defend this country....I think Speaker Pelosi's in enormous trouble. I think that lying to...

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KSM: NIMBY?

by Rodger Payne | 20 May, 2009 |

Republicans say they don't want terrorists in their backyard -- even if their backyard is a federal maximum security prison. Apparently, Democrats in Congress are somewhat frightened by this stance because they have refused to provide $80 million to finance the closing of Gitmo. They will deny funds until the Obama administration provides a plan to provide justice for the prisoners at Gitmo. While that use of leverage might make some sense, the Republican argument against moving prisoners to the US is purely political theater. It simply doesn't stand up to basic scrutiny. Consider:1. U.S....

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Neorealists as Critical Theorists: Film Edition

by Rodger Payne | 29 April, 2009 |

On Monday, neorealist IR scholar and Foreign Policy blogger Stephen M. Walt posted his top ten list of "movies that tells (sic) us something about international relations." He was looking for broad insights, beyond what might be offered in genre war films or spy flicks. He also excluded documentaries and overt propaganda exercises. Long-time Duck readers may recall that I previously wrote a series of blog posts about an IR film class I taught in fall 2006. Since that semester, I've taught the course another time (and changed a few film selections). I'm also scheduled to teach it during fall...

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The flu: context

by Rodger Payne | 29 April, 2009 |

Though I've previously blogged about the potential serious human security threat of bird flu, I'd like to counter the current media hoopla with a little context (from a CNN report): There had been no confirmed deaths in the United States related to swine flu as of Tuesday afternoon. But another virus had killed thousands of people since January and is expected to keep killing hundreds of people every week for the rest of the year.That one? The regular flu... But even if there are swine-flu deaths outside Mexico -- and medical experts say there very well may be -- the virus would have a long...

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Can recession cause regime change?

by Rodger Payne | 21 April, 2009 |

Joshua Kurlantzick recently argued that the global economic downturn might spell doom for a number of autocratic governments around the world. Most, he argues, have staked their legitimacy on economic performance. Dramaticaly reduced world demand for consumer goods and energy threatens states like China, Russia, and Venezuela (and perhaps also Iran and other OPEC states): Modern autocracies are very different from those of the past. Rather than ruling by strict ideology, ruthless internal police, and tight control of information, authoritarian regimes like Beijing and Moscow have remained in...

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Iraq: The Undead and the Dead

by Rodger Payne | 19 April, 2009 |

For some time, the media has been losing interest in America's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Portland at the International Affairs symposium I previously mentioned, Washington Post journalist Thomas Ricks named a handful of news agencies covering Iraq -- and then claimed that no others remained in-country. He named his own paper, the New York Times, CNN, and McClatchey. He may have mentioned one or two more that I've forgotten, and he may have overlooked an outlet or two, but Iraq is clearly not receiving all that much coverage in the American media.The blogosphere has largely followed...

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Symposium Report

by Rodger Payne | 10 April, 2009 |

I just returned from the 47th Annual International Affairs Symposium at Lewis and Clark College in Portland. Events were organized as debates -- the students developed the topics and invited academics and people from the policy world to participate. My debate was on this topic: "Jumping the Gun? The Legitimacy of Preemptive War." The application of offensive war as a defensive measure raises debate over the legality and legitimacy of such campaigns. While purely defensive warfare is often accepted as legitimate, there is broad disagreement over the line between aggression and self defense....

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