Is it a mistake to push back on a senior scholar (whose work you admire) right before ISA? Maybe. Is it overkill to post twice in one week? Probably (sorry Duck superiors). But I had to say something about this Christian Reus-Smit piece in Foreign...
2012 interview with Barry Buzan.
Hi everyone. I haven’t been around much lately as I’ve been furiously writing a book. But it is almost done and I’m feeling reflective. Have you missed me? I’ve missed you. What’s that you say? Why...
A strong correlation between cooperation and membership in international institutions is not enough to establish that international institutions cause cooperation.  If we're to claim that...
You have nothing to lose but those pesky questions about whether your methods actually prove anything....[Warning: what follows will likely only be of interest to practitioners and students of academic IR][UPDATED 2/4/07]Almost a year ago, but two months after the conversation had moved on, "IR scholar not philosopher"--who, to his/her credit included an amusing false email address (empiricist@empiricist.com)--posted an interesting comment in response to a post I wrote on realism and constructivism. I lack the energy to respond to it right now, but I thought it might provide some grist for...
[Cross posted at "Discord and Elaboration"]I think Patrick is on to something when he writes that the current dilemma facing the US in Uzbekistan isn't strictly one of security-vs-morality. Of course, one could (and many have) frame the issue in this way. However I think there is another way to look at the issue. I see the problem as strategy-vs-strategy, or more specifically, intrinsic interests-vs-reputational interests. The Defense Department sees the K2 airbase (K2 is shorthand for Karshi-Khanabad) as an intrinsic interest, one that is vital operationally to fighting the GWOT (Greater...
Dan Drezner briefly reconsiders the security benefits of hegemonic orders. The reason? A recent AP report that global military expenditures are on the rise. After digging a bit deeper, though, Dan finds that most of the rise can be accounted for by increased US defense expenditures since 9/11.What are the normative implications of this? We go back to the AP report:"It's hard to put the United States in the center, or blame everything on the U.S.," said Alyson Bailes, the think tank's director. "Despite all the ongoing problems, the state of world security is a great deal better than it was...
File this, perhaps, under "musical politics":Bob Geldof is at it again. The chief organizer of the fantastically successful "Live Aid" concerts in 1985 -- concerts that raised more than $100 million for famine relief -- is coordinating a series of five concerts scheduled to take place on 2 July 2005. Taking place "around the world" (which, in practice, means "in several European capitals and in one major American city"), these free concerts are designed to raise awareness about global poverty with a specific emphasis on sub-Saharan Africa. According to the official website, everyone from U2...