The Duck of Minerva

Seth Weinberger

Seth Weinberger is Associate Professor of Politics and Government at the University of Puget Sound. He received his B.A. (1993) in political philosophy from the University of Chicago, an M.A. (1995) in Security Studies from Georgetown University, and an M.A. (2000) and Ph.D. (2005) in political science from Duke University. He teaches courses on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, international security, terrorism, constitutional law, and political philosophy. His book, Restoring the Balance: War Powers in an Age of Terror was published by Praeger Press in 2009. His recently published articles include “Enemies Among Us: The Targeted Killing of American Members of al Qaeda and the Need for Congressional Leadership” in the Georgetown Global Security Studies Review (Spring 2013) and “Institutional Signals: The Political Dimension of International Competition Law Harmonization” (with Geoffrey A. Manne) in The Anti-Trust Bulletin (57, no. 3). His current research focuses on congressional-executive war powers in the on-going armed conflict against al Qaeda. In 2011, Professor Weinberger received the Thomas A. Davis Teaching Excellence Award.

Recent Posts

An Anti-Trump Call to Arms

by Seth Weinberger | 8 December, 2015 |

Building on Josh's excellent post calling out Donald Trump as a vile racist, the popularity of Trump has been troubling me for some time. As a professor who takes seriously the job of educating students how to think as opposed to what to think, I strive in class not to be partisan or allow my students to know my personal political opinions, lest it affect what they believe or argue in an attempt to curry favor. I have been struggling for sometime to find ways to analyze the Trumpian rhetoric (and to  a lesser degree that of Ben Carson) to help students arrive at their own conclusions about...

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ISIS and the Future of Counter-Terrorism

by Seth Weinberger | 19 November, 2015 | ,

[I've been debating whether to post this...it's a "transcript" of a talk I gave yesterday here at the University of Puget Sound. It's a bit basic as it was intended for a general audience of, primarily, undergraduate students. I wrote this up for friends who wanted to hear the talk but were unable to attend. It's a bit disorganized too. So be warned it's kind of ramble-y and general. Also, I haven't provided source information or links. If you want any, please ask!] It’s been a few days since the Paris bombings, and we have some more information about what happened, which has prompted me to...

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Terror in Paris

by Seth Weinberger | 13 November, 2015 |

The horrifying events in Paris tonight are almost beyond comprehension. While we don't know much more than the specific facts on the ground--coordinated attacks, suicide bombers at Le Stade de France, drive-by shootings at a Cambodian restaurant, the massacre at Bataclan, at least 150 are dead--I've been thinking all day about this still unfolding tragedy. It's still early and we don't know much about who is involved or why. As with the recent destruction of the Russian charter plane, I doubt that this would be the work of ISIS. I just don't buy that they'd want countries like France or the...

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Foreign Policy in the 4th GOP Presidential Nominee Debate

by Seth Weinberger | 11 November, 2015 |

While last night's debate was focused on the domestic economy, there was a bit more discussion of foreign policy than in the previous debate (i.e. none). So let's see what the candidates had to see! Once again, I'll be working off of the Washington Post's transcript. I'll ignore the snarky back-and-forth about defense spending because there was no substantive content there, which means that the first real discussion of foreign policy concerned trade policy and the recently completed TPP: BAKER: ...Mr. Trump, can I ask you about... TRUMP: ...Yes... BAKER: ...the U.S. just concluded an...

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What Happened at Subi Reef?

by Seth Weinberger | 9 November, 2015 | , ,

Following on my last point which tried to understand the logic of ISIS's role (if indeed it is responsible) in the bombing of a Russian charter plane int he Sinai, let's turn our attention to the confusion surrounding the recent activity in the South China Sea. In an (alleged...more on this later) effort to counter China's claims of expanded territorial waters and recent island building in the South China Sea, the US Navy sent the destroyer USS Lassen within 12 miles of Subi Reef, a part of the Spratley archipelgo claimed by several regional actors. China responded by asserting its...

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What’s Going On in the Sinai?

by Seth Weinberger | 6 November, 2015 |

The mysterious crash of a Russian charter plane in Sinai over the past weekend is causing all kinds of turmoil in the international arena. As you probably know, there is lots of confusion about exactly what happened to bring the plane down. Shortly after the crash, the ISIS wilayat (province) in the Sinai claimed responsibility, releasing a video purporting to show them shooting the plane down with a surface-to-air missile, a claim that was quickly debunked as ISIS does not have the kind of missiles capable of reaching 31,000 feet, the cruising altitude of the plane. Furthermore, the plane...

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Foreign Policy in the First Democratic Presidential Nominee Debate

by Seth Weinberger | 14 October, 2015 |

So, after breaking out and analyzing the foreign policy aspects of the two Republican presidential nominee debates, it's finally time for the Democrats to take center stage. I'll be working off the transcript posted at the Washington Post. The foreign policy starts early, with candidates touting their cred: Chafee notes that he voted against the Iraq war and served on the Foreign Relations Committee; Webb offers up his service in Vietnam and as Assistant Secretary of Defense and Secretary of the the Navy, as well as his early support of the "pivot" to Asia. The debate swings into domestic...

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Putin Falls Into Obama’s Syria Trap. (Or Is It The Other Way Around?)

by Seth Weinberger | 1 October, 2015 | ,

Russia has begun conducting air strikes in Syria, much to consternation of many. But there seems to be some in the Obama Administration who can barely contain their glee at the thought of Putin and Russia getting bogged down in the Syria quagmire: “If he wants to jump into that mess, good luck,” one official said, noting that Russia had become bogged down in Afghanistan a generation ago in a fight against Islamic radicals. Deputy National Security Adviser Tony Blinken told reporters that the Russians may be “making a terrible strategic mistake” by deepening their military involvement in...

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Foreign Policy in the Second GOP Presidential Candidate Debate

by Seth Weinberger | 17 September, 2015 |

Last night was the second debate between the GOP presidential candidates. So, as I did with the first one, let's take a look back at the foreign policy aspects, shall we? I'll be working off of the debate transcript published by the Washington Post. And, like last time, I won't be considering immigration as a foreign policy issue because a) the candidates are dealing with it as a domestic policy issue and b) I don't know much about the politics of immigration. I also won't engage the question of whether Donald Trump can be trusted with access to the US nuclear arsenal. (I apologize for the...

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The Future of Deterrence?

by Seth Weinberger | 18 August, 2015 |

A long, long time ago, before I became a professor and even before I went to graduate school for my doctorate, I worked for a few years in the defense community. I was a Defense Analyst for the Strategic Assessment Center of Science Applications International Corporation (unfortunately, the SAC no longer exists), which was a small organization that dealt with issues of future war. We did much of our work for the Office of Net Assessment of the Defense Department under recently-retired Andrew Marshall. Our job, simply said, was to help DoD think about what war would look like 25 years or so...

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