I am not supposed to be worried about nuclear war with Russia. With North Korea maybe. I am told Kim Jong Un isn’t rational and can’t be trusted, in spite of all evidence to the contrary. Or perhaps China. It’s ten feet tall, after all. Never mind that our nuclear arsenal vastly exceeds theirs. But Russia? Nah. Mutually assured destruction, baby. We both have enough nuclear warheads to destroy each other (and the world)...
Professor Duncan Bell joins The Hayseed Scholar podcast. Duncan grew up in the Midlands in a rural area of England. He was interested in international politics from a fairly young age. Duncan chose to pursue a degree in war studies at King's College London, and considered joining the military thereafter. But the transition to London from a quieter area, and the experiences he had there, changed his plans. He tells Brent about getting his...
Our next Bridging the Gap Book Nook features Tom Long of the University of Warwick. He discusses his new Oxford University Press book, A Small State's Guide to Influence in World Politics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glKAammexM8
On February 24, just hours after Russia launched its assault on Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock tweeted a simple message: “Today we are waking up in a different Europe. In a different world.” Three days later, the same could be said for waking up in a different Germany. For 70 years, Germany maintained an explicit and unyielding policy of not shipping weapons to conflict areas. This position was reversed with a...
Lauren Rogers is a PhD Candidate at the University of Edinburgh. Her academic work focuses on ontological security and narratives. Her dissertation centers on how EU member states narrate the war in Ukraine. Previously she was an Alexander von Humboldt German Chancellor Fellow and worked for the Federal Foreign Office.
The US needs a more restrained approach to its national security, but not all arguments for restraint – and not all policies of restraint – rest on solid foundations.
Tom Long is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. His work examines the dynamics of asymmetry in International Relations, with a focus on small states and Latin American international relations. He is currently working on a new project on Latin America's historical engagements with, and influences on, the formation of international order (supported by the UK Arts and Humanities...
Jarrod talks with Georg Löfflmann (University of Warwick) and Frank Stengel (Kiel University) about the changes in German foreign policy in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, in particular, about the idea that Germany is experiencing …
Jarrod talks with Georg Löfflmann (University of Warwick) and Frank Stengel (Kiel University) about the changes in German foreign policy in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and, in particular, about the idea that Germany is experiencing a watershed moment. https://duckofminerva.podbean.com/e/duck-events-podcast-zeitenwende-german-foreign-policy-after-ukraine/
I wrapped the 2022 edition of my undergraduate “Grand Strategy” seminar this past Tuesday. This must have the eight or ninth iteration of the class. I like teaching it. I really do. But I have significant reservations about “grand strategy” as a classroom subject. I’m not at all convinced that grand strategy is a thing. Yes, plenty of people advocate for a preferred “grand strategies.” Not a few of them would love to become the...
We've got a newsletter! Yeah, sure, the large front-page button labelled "newsletter" might've been a clue. But still, the Duck of Minerva is (kinda) on Substack. We're not alone. The old academic and academic-adjacent blogosphere is, apparently, in the process of reconstituting itself over there. There's Abu Aardvark, Brad DeLong, Tim Burke, and many others. It reminds me, albeit only slightly, of how my old usenet group reemerged as a...