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

Iran update

by Rodger Payne | 24 January, 2007 |

I didn't watch the "State of the Union," but I skimmed much of it already and will read it soon. I noticed that President Bush has again somewhat ambiguously suggested that Iran has provided "support" for Shia militias in Iraq. Rumors have been flying in Washington that the administration is making the case for war against Iran -- and preparing for it militarily too.Here's the kind of hearsay the President has apparently heard about Iran in Iraq. General Casey to CNN's Wolf Blitzer, March 19, 2006: We have very good information that improvised explosive device technology is coming from the...

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The politics of Iraq’s violence

by Rodger Payne | 15 January, 2007 |

How many innocent people have died in Iraq as a result of the war?That number is a political hot potato -- and not merely for the reasons you probably think.The Bush administration asserts that the violence in Iraq, "particularly in Baghdad," has reversed the political gains that were reflected in the 2005 elections. By stabilizing the situation in and around the capital, they assert, the U.S. can help the current government control Iraq -- and then presumably prepare to bring American troops home. President Bush, in his speech last week said:The most urgent priority for success in Iraq is...

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The price of failure in Iraq: my 2 cents

by Rodger Payne | 11 January, 2007 |

The President was on television last night, selling the Iraq war.**As he has often in the so-called "war on terror," the President relied upon fear appeals: Failure in Iraq would be a disaster for the United States.The consequences of failure are clear: Radical Islamic extremists would grow in strength and gain new recruits. They would be in a better position to topple moderate governments, create chaos in the region, and use oil revenues to fund their ambitions. Iran would be emboldened in its pursuit of nuclear weapons. Our enemies would have a safe haven from which to plan and launch...

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The moonbat in moi?

by Rodger Payne | 30 December, 2006 |

Are you desperate for some Duck of Minerva action?Well, I've been engaged in an exchange with someone named "Red Stater" (or perhaps "Red's Tater") on his/her blog. It's mostly been in the comments thread...and I wouldn't say anything except that he's practically convinced that I'm Ward Churchill's evil twin, capable only of partisan spin and student indoctrination.If you are truly in need of something to read, see the comment threads attached to several of his recent posts. I'm mentioned in the text of all those posts -- he's even included my photo and called me a moonbat.Unfortunately, I...

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Bush “We’re not winning”

by Rodger Payne | 20 December, 2006 |

At an October 25 news conference, not long before the midterm elections, President Bush was asked a fairly simple question about Iraq: "Do you think we're winning, and why?"The reporter asking the question pointed out that the Iraq war had lasted nearly as long as World War II, at least for the US, and that October had been the deadliest month of the war in quite some time.The President offered a fairly long answer that was not directly on point to the reporter's query. Here's an excerpt: This is a war against extremists and radicals who kill innocent people to achieve political objectives....

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Pakistan on the hot seat, again

by Rodger Payne | 15 December, 2006 |

Over the past few months, more and more analysts have noticed that Afghanistan is looking more and more like Iraq. That's not good. Talk has turned from how best to build a nation to how to counter insurgency and stop suicide bombings.Earlier this week, Afghan leader Hamid Karzai reacted in this way to a suicide bombing in a governor's compound: "The problem is not Taliban. We don't see it that way. The problem is with Pakistan," Karzai told foreign journalists.He said the Taliban took power with support from Pakistan, calling it "more than a boss.""The state of Pakistan was supporting the...

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Conservative dead pool

by Rodger Payne | 10 December, 2006 |

If you had Milton Friedman in the dead pool, then his passing last month may have put you in position to win this macabre game.But Friedman and Augusto Pinochet? That shows some foresight.Did anyone have Friedman, Pinochet and Jeane Kirkpatrick?For those interested, I wrote a bit Saturday about Kirkpatrick on my blog.Dead pool-related questions: In the future, will anyone remember that Salvador Allende was killed on September 11? Does ESPN provide the on-line software to monitor a dead pool? Will Saddam Hussein be sort of the like the bingo free space in 2007 dead pools? Filed as: dead...

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Friday maxim

by Rodger Payne | 7 December, 2006 |

This was the fortune cookie message from lunch yesterday: "For a good cause, wrongdoing may be virtuous."I told my assistant that it sounded like a license to steal...but many other dark ideas came to mind.In any case, since this is an IR blog, I might note that numerous scholars and diplomats would likely agree with the advice offered by that fortune cookie.Here's one.Given that I have a very large stack of papers to grade, I will put this one to the readership. Comments?Note: this is apparently a fairly common fortune, but yesterday marked the first time I ever received that message.Yes, I...

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Film class — week 15

by Rodger Payne | 2 December, 2006 |

Film #15: "Hotel Rwanda" (2004). We viewed it Tuesday.Reading for Thursday: Gareth Evans, “The Responsibility to Protect: Rethinking Humanitarian Intervention,” Address to The American Society of International Law, 98th Annual Meeting, Panel on “Rethinking Collective Action”, Washington DC, 1 April 2004. The class returned to the question of humanitarian intervention (HI) in this final week of the semester. Back in week #5, we viewed "Black Hawk Down," which was the story of a military mission in Somalia gone horribly wrong. The Battle of Mogadishu featured in the movie actually followed a...

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2007 Grawemeyer winner

by Rodger Payne | 29 November, 2006 |

University of Ottawa professor Roland Paris has won the 2007 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. The prize is worth $200,000. One of the members of the final selection committee outlined the main argument of Paris' book in Tuesday's local paper:Charles Ziegler, chairman of U of L's political science department, said Paris' "institutionalization before liberalization" theory is an important contribution to international thinking about post-conflict peace missions."His proposal is for a new peace-building strategy," Ziegler said. "It has real applicability to a lot of conflicts...

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