IR as a field

Here are some stats about the field.

Top journals
JCR, IO, and JPR are the top three.

Top papers published in the last two years

Heavily slants towards Civil Wars.

Top 20 papers overall
IPE/conflict and dem peace papers are well represented.

Who Killed Chavez?...No One

Chavez is more paranoid than I am.

"Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Wednesday CNN may have been instigating his murder when the U.S. TV network showed a photograph of him with a label underneath that read "Who killed him?" The caption appeared to be a production mistake -- confusing a Chavez news item with one on the death of a football star. "
I want the state prosecutor to look into bringing a suit against CNN for instigating murder in Venezuela," he said. "... undoubtedly it is part of the psychological warfare."

ESPN on Gore's Peace Prize

Even ESPN is getting in on the act.

"Those Hollywood Searchlights Around Gore's Home Sure Eat Power: Gore wasn't the first quack to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and history suggests he will not be the last. Gore spent eight years in the White House, and in that time took no meaningful action regarding greenhouse gases. The Clinton-Gore administration did not raise fuel economy standards for cars and trucks or propose domestic carbon trading. Though Clinton and Gore made a great show of praising the Kyoto Protocol, they refused even to submit the treaty to the Senate for consideration, let alone push for ratification. During his 2000 run for the presidency, Gore said little about climate change or binding global-warming reforms. In the White House and during his presidential campaign, Gore advocated no consequential action regarding greenhouse gases; then, there was a political cost attached. Once Gore was out of power and global-warming proposals no longer carried a political cost -- indeed, could be used for self-promotion -- suddenly Gore discovered his intense desire to demand that other leaders do what he had not! It is a triumph of postmodernism that Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize for no specific accomplishment other than making a movie of self-praise. Gore caused no peace nor led any reconciliation of belligerent parties nor performed any service to the dispossessed, the achievements the Peace Prize was created to honor. All Gore did was promote himself from Hollywood, and for this, he gets a Nobel. Very postmodern."

Are You Experienced?

Here are a few of my favorite lines from this Dowd NYTimes article on Hilary.

• "She went on some first lady jaunts and made a good speech at a U.N. women’s conference in Beijing. But she was certainly not, as her top Iowa supporter, former governor Tom Vilsack claimed yesterday on MSNBC, “the face of the administration in foreign affairs.”
• Obama’s one-liner evoked something that rubs some people the wrong way about Hillary. Getting ahead through connections is common in life. But Hillary cloaks her nepotism in feminism.
• “With all due respect,” she told a crowd in Iowa. “I don’t think living in a foreign country between the ages of 6 and 10 is foreign policy experience." But is living in the White House between the ages of 45 and 53 foreign policy experience?"

Decline of Tenure Faculty

NY Times on the increase of adjunct faculty. Notice how poli sci is not include as a field that can benefit from adjuncts.
"Professors with tenure or who are on a tenure track are now a distinct minority on the country’s campuses, as the ranks of part-time instructors and professors hired on a contract have swelled, according to federal figures analyzed by the AAUP. Mark B. Rosenberg, chancellor of the State University System of Florida, said that part-timers can provide real-world experience to students and fill gaps in nursing, math, accounting and other disciplines with a shortage of qualified faculty. He also said the shift could come with costs. Adjuncts are less likely to have doctoral degrees, educators say. They also have less time to meet with students, and research suggests that students who take many courses with them are somewhat less likely to graduate."

Why to avoid non-Ph.D. adjuncts:
Not connected with the currents of research and scholarship in the fieldNo time to prepare classes
Not trained in the basics of the field
Letters of recommendation carry little weight
No time to help students
Little authority as a part time worker
Lack of support staff and TAs
Degrees represent little extra time in the classroom

Iran and the Election

Interesting fact from the recent NYTimes election poll
"Just 4 percent of Democrats in Iowa and New Hampshire would favor a candidate who advocates using military action soon to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons; 38 percent of New Hampshire Republicans and 31 percent of Iowa Republicans would support such a candidate."

Extra Credit

International Security
Extra Credit Assignment

You may choose to either write a report on a movie or a book for extra credit. This report is due when you turn in your final test. The movie review will be worth up to 10 points; a book review will be worth up to 20 points.

Details:
Movie: The movie must deal with international security issues including anything we have covered in class. Foreign policy, war, conflict, arms, and historical animosity are all included. No movies on interpersonal relationships or tenuous connections to international events will be accepted (Borat). The movie can come from any time period. It would be best to get the movie approved before you watch. You must write at least a 4 page paper that will include one half review of the movie and the issues it covers. The second half will consider how it is relevant to the class and what lessons we can take from it. This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 10 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the movie.

Book: The book must deal with contemporary international security issues. It should be published after 9/11. The same issues mentioned in the movie option are fair game. It would be best to get the book approved by me before attempting to write a review. Your review must be at least 7 pages. It should be completed as your normal required book report (1/3 review, 1/3 connection to international security, and 1/3 criticisms or support). This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 20 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the book.

"Why don't you shut up?"

Way too much diplomacy lately.
"Spanish King Juan Carlos, seated next to Zapatero, angrily turned to Chavez and said, "Why don't you shut up?"

International Security

Here is the schedule for the remaining classes.

Nov 13 Territoriality and Territorial Issues

Nov 15 Alliances and Arms Races

Nov 20 Kantian Tripod

Nov 22 Thanksgiving

Nov 27 Tragedy, Nov 29 Bare Branches, Dec 4 Vulcan's, Dec 6 Assassin's

Final, Dec 14, 10:30am