This duck is a bit under water these days. We've reached the mid-semester pre-spring break moment of high activity and low energy (warm weather and SXSW beckon). In the meantime, I've flagged a few stories, a great Economist round-up on the health of the oceans (not...
There's linkage! Allies release details of alleged Syrian chemical attacks. There have been many of them and they have killed a lot of people. [The New York Times] As Charli mentioned yesterday,...
Syria updates: The White House's public assessment of last week's chemical weapons attack. Deborah Avant -- Action is not synonymous with intervention. Is there a moral argument for intervention?...
It's Syria week. Post use of chemical weapons, some sort of intervention looks more likely than not. We are conflicted. Here to help us make sense of this: The intel that suggests the Syrian regime...
I am teh sick, so this will be short. Dan Trombly on the future of power in world politics. Bhartendu Kumar Singh on Sino-Indian defense talks. Somalia's achievements and challenges. Robert Farley looks at the future (or lack thereof) for aircraft carriers. Ned Lebow does Theory Talks. Check out Ned's mention of PTJ and Stefano Guzzini as part of a third great cohort of IR theorists! And also: Jay Ulfelder has "suggested readings for forecasters." BLTN: Madeline Ashby's fantastic post from November called "Whining isn't Sexy." Phil Arena provides his M data. Laura McKenna argues that the...
Here is your Thursday morning linkage: - Breakthrough in the ongoing CITES meeting on the trade in endangered species, five shark species are listed, providing greater protection as shark finning for wedding soups in Asia threatens many species of shark with extinction - Vietnam and Mozambique are warned at CITES meeting to curb their consumption and poaching of rhino horn respectively or face trade sanctions - White House petition on behalf of Omid Kokabee, University of Texas graduate student I blogged about a couple of weeks ago - Stephen Walt reminds us that the reason the U.S. is so...
Casy Hogle reports on a World Peace Foundation panel on public-advocacy campaigns, which featured the Laura Sey and Amanda Taub. Edward Hugh on the decline of Portugal. The costs of the "eating local" movement: agriculture in the "global south." Daniel Martin Varisco: "life without honor." Adam Eluks: "a rack city on a hill: unsolicited advice to landpower and seapower." And also: The Disorder of Things has a new forum on "critical methodological and narrative developments in IR." Andrew Liptak discusses John Campbell, Astounding magazine, and the "golden age" of science fiction. This is my...
Henry Farrell reflects on political economy, game theory, and methodology [Crooked Timber] ICYMI: Voeten links to Fukuyama on new measures of governance (ungated) [The Monkey Cage, Governance] Fukuyama seeks a measure of the actual quality of governance, regardless of regime type. For my part, I'll note that I've discovered "political scientists measure democracy using quantitative indices" is an unintended laugh line with students and economists. I attended a great talk by UVa. prof. Craig Volden yesterday afternoon; his forthcoming projects on legislative effectiveness are truly exciting....
Good mornin' Duck-o-nauts!  Let's start the week in ... Space (i.e. Asia's Playground)... India is goin' to (orbit) Mars with a launch set for November 2013, only a few years after India landed an unmanned probe on the moon and detected water on the lunar surface. (The US is also sending an atmospheric orbiter to Mars this year.)  India is not exactly new to space; it has had 101 successful space missions but mainly with satellites. The mission to Mars will cost about as much as buying one Boeing passenger airliner.  Yes, India is still poor and beset with numerous problems, but India...
. Happy International Women's Day. Remembering events in Bosnia twenty years ago and how the world was changed. The Guardian's profile of a few voices from around the world. Urvashi Sahni and Xanthe Ackerman offer strategies for action. In my weekend reading, I'll be trying to make sense of some of this week's bizarre events. North Korea ends peace pact and ratchets up the threat. Jeffrey Lewis worries about the next moves Senator Robert Menedez says Congress and the United States must "ensure that North Korea pays a price for its continued reckless behavior." BBC has video of North Korean...
Here is some Thursday morning linkage action: In time for the CITES meeting on the trade in endangered species, scientists released a study that showed a 60% decline in the small forest elephant species in Africa in the last TEN years Meanwhile, news accounts reported on the shadowy networks of criminals involved in the trade of endangered species (see here as well) Scientists reported that they were able to cure a little girl infected with HIVÂ by giving her large doses of a triple cocktail of antiretrovirals at birth; this is only the second reported case of someone known to have the HIV...
Yesterday I decided to create an account at thegradcafe.com. In doing so, I joined a handful of political scientists who post there in an effort to increase transparency. Of course, I'm now being flooded with questions about improving applications and the like. Which I don't really mind. But I am surprised at (1) how many people want to get a PhD in political science and (2) how many of them think that there's some kind of "secret sauce" to admissions. On the subject of graduate school... we're about a decade into a major expansion of parental leave for permanent faculty, but that hasn't...