Sometimes you come across people that permanently change the way you think. About life, yourself, or an area of study. They instill a sense of resolute optimism about the world and your abilities. Bear Braumoeller was that person for us. Wise, accomplished, brilliant,...
Back in the Duck of Minerva's heyday, Jon Western was one of its anchors. Indeed, it wasn't that long ago that we were talking about his returning. Jon said that he'd gained important perspective on...
As many of our readers have likely already heard, Robert Jervis died yesterday. The field has lost a gentle intellectual giant. Unlike many of my friends from Columbia, Bob wasn't on my dissertation...
[Note: This is a guest post by Peter Gourevitch, Founding Dean and Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California San Diego. He is...
The New York Times recalls her as a post-9/11 public intellectual who served as an "intellectual beacon" and "guiding light for policymakers" during a tumultous political era. The Atlantic describes her as a uniquely non-secularist scholar, whose "greatest legacy" was her "serious intellectual commitment to including God in discussions of politics." At Crooked Timber, Corey Robin counters the notion that she was a "realist" and criticizes her support for Bush-era policies under the mantle of "just war theory." As I sifted through some of the official obituaries, it surprised me how few of...
We missed Ken Macleod's public eulogies for Iain Banks: he did an interview for As it Happens, wrote an article in The Guardian, and has some brief personal words on his blog. From the conclusion of his Guardian piece: The reputation and reception of Iain Banks as a mainstream author may fluctuate in the future. His verve and talent will always be recognised, and his work will always find and enthrall new readers, but tastes change unpredictably as decades pass. But the place of Iain M Banks in science fiction is already assured, and permanent. He was one of our very best, a star whose light...
Kenneth Waltz died last night. From an email sent by Robert Jervis: It is with great sadness that I have to report that Ken Waltz died last night. Â As many of you know, his health had been uncertain ever since he lost much of his sight a year ago, and about a month ago he was hospitalized with pneumonia. Â While he recovered enough to be discharged to rehab, a combination of a return of pneumonia and congestive heart failure sent him back to the hospital a few days ago. He was a few weeks short of 89 but until the very end remained fully lucid and engaged. Indeed he was looking forward to a...
If you haven't heard yet, Albert O. Hirschman passed away today. Some good discussion at Crooked Timber, including a link to a terrific piece by Rajiv Sethi. Hirschman's stature in the social sciences was of such magnitude that, while still alive, the Social Science Research Council named a lifetime achievement award after him. I don't have a great deal to add myself. I learned a tremendous amount from his works, including The Passions and the Interests and Exit, Voice, and Loyalty. Perhaps I am getting on myself, but it seems like we're gradually losing a group of scholars whose influence...
For the small percentage of our readership that doesn't overlap with that of the Monkey Cage, see its roundup on her passing and a guest post there by Rick Wilson.
Chris Clayton Joyner, aka "Dr. J," passed away last night. He was one of the nicest people in Georgetown's Government Department and the School of Foreign Service. He'll be missed, not only by his colleagues, but by thousands of his former students. Although I got the email this morning, Erik Voeten provides the impetus to post.