There is more continuity in the history of U.S. military basing policy than is typically assumed.
On Continuity in U.S. Military Basing Practices
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Recent Posts
The New Duck of Minerva: Preliminary Details
The Duck of Minerva is getting a reboot. What’s changing, and why? This posts begins the process of providing answers.
Toni Haastrup
In this episode, Dr. Toni Haastrup of the University of Stirling joins the Hayseed Scholar podcast. Dr. Haastrup was born in Aberdeen, but moved to Nigeria when she was very young. She talks about...
Five Things I Wish Someone Had Told Me in Graduate School: Summing Up
We need researchers with varying life experiences, and we need you because you are who you are.
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A Hip-Hop Artist in Burkina Faso Fights Female Genital Mutilation
Each time her sex is butchered with the pretext of purity...three million of our sisters face this violence each year... In his new song "Tomber la Lame" or "Drop the Blade," Burkina Faso hip-hop artist Smockey has an amazing call to end the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM), a procedure...
Friday Nerd Blogging: The Future Will Be 3-D Printed
I have been scoffing at the 3D printing revolution mostly out of ignorance and a concern about what the machines must eat to produce stuff, but no more. Thanks to Iron Man, I am now realizing that the potential of 3D printing is not limited by what goes into the machines (not paper, right?) but by...
Online Media Caucus: News and Contact Info
The Online Media Caucus was ratified at the ISA in New Orleans. The question is: now what? First, we now have a variety of online media outlets to publicize: ISA's homepage for us: https://www.isanet.org/ISA/Caucuses/OMC Twitter: https://twitter.com/OnlineMediaISA or @OnlineMediaISA Facebook:...
How to Work Effectively with a Research Assistant
So you've finally received research funding to hire a research assistant....now what? Attaining resources to get research support is a wonderful thing, but figuring out who to hire and how to work with them can be a challenge. While I have been very fortunate to work with some excellent research...
Call For Applications: Guest Ducks
As part of the new Duck, we have revamped our guest blogging policy. The old policy, dating from way back when Dan and Patrick were slowly expanding the blog: The procedure for bringing on guest bloggers is one of those “salami factory” things… and strangers just aren’t very likely to make it...
What Would Nature Say About Ecological Warfare?
I thought of this incredible eco-ad campaign, NatureisSpeaking.org, when I read Bronwyn Leebaw's fascinating article "Scorched Earth: Environmental War Crimes and International Justice" in Perspectives on Politics. This is a much-overdue analysis of the place of the earth and environmental damage...
Which Costs Matter?
There has been much focus, and deservedly so, on the economic sanctions hitting Russia hard. The problem is whether they hit those who support Putin or not, and whether they create economic opportunities for those who are good at evading the law (the police, organized crime) who also happen to be...
World Wildlife Day is Today: A Poaching Crisis Threatens Iconic Wildlife with Extinction
Today is World Wildlife Day, and species we think of as part of the fundamental awesome creatures of the natural world - elephants, rhinos, and sharks - face unprecedented risks of extinction, particularly as a result of rising demand from Asia and China in particular. I'm currently teaching a...
Not What We Bargained For: The Cyber Problem
Last week the New America Foundation hosted its launch for an interdisciplinary cybersecurity initiative. I was fortunate enough to be asked to attend and speak, but the real benefit was that I was afforded an opportunity to listen to some really remarkable people in the cyber community discuss...
Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s looming address to the United States Congress has me thinking about the nature of authority in security. I think this is an issue that often gets overlooked, especially in security studies where the materiality of power (i.e. the ability o blow things...
Tiny Ecuador – Two Videos to Make You Laugh And Cry
From 1997 to 1999, I served in the Peace Corps in the Andean country of Ecuador. Ecuador is rich with contrasts. With the Galapagos, the Andes, and parts of the Amazon, the country possesses stunning natural beauty. The people have an incredible generosity of spirit, yet the country is riven by...
The Duckies of 2015
We gave out the Online Achievement in International Studies (OAIS) a.k.a. the Duckies, Thursday night, in a wonderful reception sponsored by SAGE. Given that this is Oscar night, we should say that there are no winners, just that the Duckies went to: Best Independent Blog: Dart Throwing Chimp. ...