126 countries now publish a national security strategy or defense document, and 45 of these feature
a leaders’ preambles. How these talk about the world, or not, is surprisingly revealing of historical
global strategic hierarchies.
Recent Posts
Making norms for uncertain times to come
At the 1939 World Fair in New York City, the big attraction was "Futurama," an exhibition put on by the U.S. car manufacturer General Motors. Every visitor to Futurama received a souvenir — a small...
Whither norms research in times of uncertainty? A Symposium
In a world of multiple and overlapping crises, can norms and rules-based institution still create order amidst uncertainty? Do existing norms and frameworks for international cooperation enjoy sufficient legitimacy to help us navigate the interacting and concatenating effects of crises? A new symposium explores the question: “Whither norms (research) in times of uncertainty?”
Does IR ask big questions?
Jarrod is joined by Daniela Lai and Adam Lerner to talk about the role of big questions in IR scholarship and teaching.
More Recent Posts
Changing the discipline through political economy, bodies, and Open Educational Resources
This is a guest post from Matt Evans (mevans8@nwacc.edu), who is Associate Professor of Political Science at Northwest Arkansas Community College. His words represent his own opinions as an individual, and not (necessarily) his employer. This is the fifth in the series on changing the field....
The Decision Letter, Part I
Public Domain — From Pixabay For caveats and background, see my introductory post. Editors write a lot of decision letters. At high-volume journals, editors write so many decision letters that it can become a tedious grind. For authors, though, the information communicated in decision letters...
What’s in a Wink? The Case for Thick Description
This is a guest post from James Guild who is a PhD candidate in political economy at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. His research interest is economic growth and infrastructure development in Indonesia and Southeast Asia, and his work has appeared in The Diplomat,...
Scary Dragon or Cuddly Panda? Why Role Change Matters for Hegemony in Asia
The following is a guest post by Dr. Daniel Nicholls. Daniel Nicholls is an adjunct professor of IR at ESADE and the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. His research looks at the interplay between relational structures, roles and hierarchy. In an interesting piece on the Japan-South Korea spat...
Reflections on Journal Editing: Caveats
Josh asked me if I would write a series of posts at the Duck of Minerva reflecting on my time editing International Studies Quarterly (ISQ). I agreed. This post is less a reflection that some background and caveats. I figure that by collecting them in a single post, I won't have to junk up...
Further Reflections on Assholery: How Important is Denmark to NATO?
This is a guest post from Paul Poast, an associate professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Earlier this spring, Poast wrote a post about the Asshole Theory of US Foreign Policy and the structural conditions that may facilitate the United States playing the...
What Is . . . and Isn’t . . . a Norm?
The Norm Concept This post, part of the Bridging the Gap channel at the Duck, comes from Michelle Jurkovich, an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is a 2019-2020 Public Engagement Fellow with Bridging the Gap and an alumna of BTG’s International...
Episode 3 – Cian O’Driscoll (part 2)
ian O'Driscoll is a Professor of International Relations, pursuing topics related to Just War, ethics, and international security. In this second part of Brent's interview with Cian, they discuss his early years as a junior scholar, including publishing, transitioning into his...
If you mention the evangelical delegation to Saudi Arabia, I’d have to ask which one
The other day, Emily McFarlan Miller--a journalist with Religion News Service--noted a sense of deja vu. The AP had an article on a delegation of US evangelicals who travelled to Saudi Arabia to meet with Mohammed bin Salman, the country's Crown Prince (and effective ruler). The deja vu was...
Announcing Our New Guest Ducks
We are pleased to announce our slate of new guest Ducks for the fall semester and beyond. We are also delighted to announce that longtime guest blogger Lisa Gaufman has joined us on a permanent basis. We have two terrific guests from last year, Peter Henne and Luke Perez, who are staying on for...
Bringing Indigenous Experiences into International Relations
This is a guest post from Andrew A. Szarejko who is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Government at Georgetown University, where his research focuses on the origins of U.S. wars with Native nations. You may reach him at andrewszarejko@gmail.com or on Twitter @Szarejko.This is the third in our...
Changing the Atmosphere in Political Science: Ten Key Political Questions about Climate Change
We're re-upping this guest post as part of our series on changing the field. #IRChange. This is the second post (the first is here). This is a guest post from several authors including: Jessica F. Green, Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Toronto (@greenprofgreen)David Konisky,...