Dr. Valeriano's International Relations and Conflict Blog

SROP 2009

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:13:00 +0000

SUMMER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM
2010 SROP at UIC

The Graduate College at UIC is pleased to announce that applications are
now available for the 2010 Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP).
Applications will be accepted until February 26, 2010. The 2010 program
dates are June 2- July 31, 2010.

SROP is the gateway to graduate education at universities throughout the
country. Students underrepresented in graduate study are invited to apply
for a summer program designed to enhance their academic and research
skills by working one-on-one with a faculty mentor from UIC . All SROP
students on the UIC campus meet weekly as a group for educational
enrichment activities and special seminars. Participants from all of the
campuses will come together in July for the annual SROP Conference at
Ohio State University. Students receive special training from senior
level doctoral students and also receive free GRE preparation. SROP
scholars gain experience as an undergraduate to put them at an advantage
as a graduate applicant. At the same time they will earn a $3,500
research award and have most expenses paid during this full time summer
research opportunity. It’s the competitive edge they will need to rank
above the best of the best.

Students wishing to participate in UIC SROP must meet the minimum
eligibility criteria:

* Have a cumulative GPA of 2.7 or higher (4.0 scale)

* Be a citizen or a permanent resident of the U.S.
* Be an undergraduate student enrolled in a degree-granting program at a
college or university in the United States, Puerto Rico, or other U.S.
territory
* Have completed at least two semesters of undergraduate education
* Have at least one semester of undergraduate education remaining after
completing the program
(Graduating seniors are eligible if they have been accepted to a UIC
graduate program for Fall 2010)
* Have a strong interest in pursuing a Ph.D.
Due to the 30-40 hour per week demand of research activities SROP
students are not allowed to take any summer courses or work external
jobs/internships.

If you have any inquiries about the program or the SROP application, feel
free to contact Allen J Bryson SROP Coordinator at the information
below. The application deadline is February 26, 2010.

Take care and please spread the word.

Allen J. Bryson, Coordinator
Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP)
The Graduate College (MC 192)
607 University Hall
601 S. Morgan Street
Chicago IL. 60607-7106
(312) 413-2558 (fax (312) 413-8105

Rivalry and Territory in Asia

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Here are a few recent articles that came up in the context of the recent ASEAN meetings. Each deals with rivalry and territory explicitly.

Himalayas (India and China)

Article on each territorial dispute

Main Time article on India and China rivalry

China vs. Nepal

Extra Credit for Fall 09

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:11:00 +0000

Guidelines for Extra Credit

You may choose to either write a report on a movie or a book (treat an event or lecture as a book) for extra credit. This report is due when you hand in your final paper. The movie review will be worth up to 7 points; a book/event review will be worth up to 15 points. You can do a lecture/book or lecture/movie, but not movie/book combo.

Details:
Movie: The movie must deal with international Latino issues (or international security issues) including anything we have covered in class. No movies on interpersonal relationships or tenuous connections to international events will be accepted (no 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, 7 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the movie, I want a review in the style of something the New Yorker would do.

Book/Lecture Event: The book must deal with contemporary international Latino issues (or security). 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 like your normal required book report (1/3 review, 1/3 connection to international issues, and 1/3 criticisms or support). This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 15 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the book/event.

Star Wars Fails Again

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:18:00 +0000

Great article about the demise of the new Star Wars. I only wish they didn't have to use the word Realism.

Afghanistan

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 00:31:00 +0000

The case for staying in Afghanistan as presented by Biddle. In the end, there is much here that is convincing which is sad. Biddle is perhaps one of the best security specialists working today.

"Taking all this into account, advocates for withdrawal from Afghanistan certainly have a case. The stakes are not limitless, the costs of pursuing them are high, and there is no guarantee that even a high-cost counterinsurgency effort in Afghanistan will succeed. But success is possible all the same, given our strengths and our opponents’ limitations. And failure could have potentially serious consequences for U.S. security."

Non-Free Press

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 12:17:00 +0000

New York Times article on the lack of free press in Latin American states.

Russia Fail

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:52:00 +0000

The BBC on Russian military failings.

Cultural Rivalry

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Who would have thought a dress in a beauty pageant would spark an international dispute? I would have..

Blog is Back

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 01:41:00 +0000

The return of the blog...its back. I have been posting to facebook lately since it is so easy, but will have to transition back to this blog now that classes are starting. Look forward to more posts in the coming months, I know everyone is excited.

Obama's Speech in Egypt

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:10:00 +0000

Video
Text

How to Stop Pirates

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 13:21:00 +0000

Apparently, you can learn all you need to learn about Pirates from a video game. And boy did I love that game when I was a kid.

Soccer and Nationalism Conference

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 13:14:00 +0000

Soccer and Nationalism
This event can be used for lecture extra credit, but you must go to the movie and corresponding panel. You also must connect the movie to IR concepts.

An Interdisciplinary Conference

Monday, April 20, 2009, 9:30– 5:00
UIC Institute for the Humanities, Lower Level, Stevenson Hall

Schedule of Events:

9:30: Opening Remarks

9:45-10:45: Film Screening: Who is Deutschland?

Who is Deutschland? focuses on the outpouring of national feeling
expressed in Germany during the 2006 World Cup tournament, and the
reactions and discussions it prompted in German society among people of
various backgrounds. Interviews with German politicians, rock stars, media
executives, museum directors and students highlight the tensions
surrounding the expressions of contemporary German patriotism. While
tracking the progress of the German team in the World Cup, the film
focuses on Markus, a leftist Berlin University student who tells his side
of the “German identity story.”

11:00-12:30: Film Screening: Goal Dreams

Founded in 1928, the Palestinian Football Association (PFA) is considered
one of the oldest football associations in the Arab World. Following the
team as they prepare for the 2006 World Cup, Goal Dreams chronicles the
suspension of domestic league games after an Israeli air strike on
Palestine Stadium, while Austrian coach Alfred Riedle makes a heroic
effort to mold players from diverse countries such as the USA, Chile,
Palestine, and Lebanon into a national team like no other.

12:30-1:30: Break for Lunch

1:30-3:00: Panel Discussion with the creators of Who is Deutschland?
Boaz Beeri, Director
Jon Medow, writer/researcher
Abraham Singer, writer/researcher
Mark Webber, York University and the Canadian Center for
German and European Studies

3:00-3:15: Coffee Break

3:15-4:45: Panel Discussion on Soccer and Nationalism:
Jeffrey Saunders, writer and director of Goal Dreams
Laurent DuBois, Professor of French and History, Duke University

4:45: Concluding Remarks

Sponsored by the International Studies Program, the Departments of
Germanic Studies, History and Political Science, and the Institute for the
Humanities

Extra Credit Repost II

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 17:15:00 +0000

To Clear Up: Guidelines for Extra Credit

You may choose to either write a report on a movie or a book (treat an event or lecture as a book) for extra credit. This report is due when you take the final. The movie review will be worth up to 7 points; a book/event review will be worth up to 15 points. You can do a lecture/book or lecture/movie, but not movie/book combo.

Details:
Movie: The movie must deal with international issues (or international security issues) including anything we have covered in class. No movies on interpersonal relationships or tenuous connections to international events will be accepted (no 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, 7 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the movie, I want a review in the style of something the New Yorker would do.

Book/Lecture Event: The book must deal with contemporary international issues (or security). 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 like your normal required book report (1/3 review, 1/3 connection to international issues, and 1/3 criticisms or support). This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 15 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the book/event.

Seminar This Week

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:08:00 +0000

1st Tuesday -- April 7, 2009 at 5:30 p.m.

The Iraq History Project: Why Documenting Human Rights Violation in Iraq
is Important for the American Public

Did the overthrow of Saddam Hussein have a positive or negative effect
on human rights in Iraq? Has the intervention of American military force
in Iraq and the introduction of a fledgling democracy resulted in a
reduction in human rights abuses? The answers may be surprising and
thought provoking. Our speaker, Daniel Rothenberg, has been studying
these issues for the past six years and will share his insight.

Daniel Rothenberg is the Managing Director of International Projects at
the International Human Rights Law Institute (IHRLI) at DePaul
University College of Law where he designs and runs rule of law and
human rights projects. For the past three and a half years, he has
managed a number of projects in Iraq involving an all-Iraqi staff of as
many as 60 working throughout the country. These projects have gathered
over 8,800 personal narratives of serious human rights violations
committed during the regime of Saddam Hussein and from 2003 through
mid-2008.

Before coming to DePaul, he was a Senior Fellow at the Orville H.
Schell, Jr. Center for International Human Rights at Yale Law School, an
Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University
of Michigan, a Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan Law
School and a Fellow in the Michigan Society of Fellows. His research and
writing focuses on transitional justice issues, particularly truth
commissions, amnesty laws, tribunals and reparations, as well as labor
migration, moral panics, genocide and social responses to
institutionalized violence.

DePaul Club Room
11th Floor of the DePaul Center
1 E. Jackson Blvd.
April 7, 2009
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

Attacking Sport

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:57:00 +0000

This article discusses what we over in class the other day, the fact that sport seems to be losing is privileged place in states as an untouchable target. The diplomatic externalities produced by sport are important factors in stable interstate relations. Removing this option removes a basic form of exchange between states.

"Last night New Zealand cancelled a tour to Pakistan at the end of the year. “We are not going,” said Justin Vaughan, the chief executive of the country’s cricket body. “I don’t think any international team will be going to Pakistan in the foreseeable future.”

Mexico gets an Army

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 20:49:00 +0000

I just thought this was funny, the might of the Mexican military, stuck in traffic outside of Juarez.

Careers in International Affairs

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Careers in International Affairs

Brian Flora
Diplomat in Residence

Come listen to the U.S. State Department’s Diplomat in Residence discuss career opportunities in government service. Internship programs and fellowship opportunities (language programs) will be also be discussed.

March 17th
10:20-11am, BSB 140
Presented by the UIC Political Science Department

Steroids Everywhere

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 14:06:00 +0000

This Sports Illustrated article makes it clear steroids were just about everywhere in the 60s. Why is this relevant to IR? Its not but I never liked the idea that steroids are new or that only a few people ever did them, so we can call this empirical evidence.

SROP

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:20:00 +0000

UIC has a Student Research Opportunities program every summer. I am interested in sponsoring students. The deadline is next week so you need to act quickly if interested. Info links are here:

http://tigger.uic.edu/~bvaler/teachinfo.htm

You basically get a stipend and work intensively on a project all summer with the goal of eventual graduate school attendance. The aim is to get students into a Ph.D. program but I am sure the program would help Law Students.

Let me know if you have any questions, I have ongoing projects or you can work on whatever you wish.

Hiliary Marginalized

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:19:00 +0000

This article made me very happy.

"Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is finding that her job description is dissolving under her feet, leaving her with only a vestige of the power she must have thought she acquired when she signed on to be President Obama’s chief Cabinet officer."

CSTO versus NATO

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:30:00 +0000

The new Russian alliance. I am betting NATO would win the dance off, but you never know...Kazakhstan has Borat.

"President Dmitry Medvedev said Russia, Armenia, Belarus and four Central Asian nations — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan — had reached the agreement to form a new security force during a summit of the Moscow-dominated Collective Security Treaty Organization on Wednesday. The force would add a military dimension to the Moscow-dominated alliance, which so far has served mostly as a forum for consultations."

Sri Linka Civil War

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:10:00 +0000

Here are a few BBC summaries on the Sri Linkan conflict.

Basic summary and Q&A

Is End Near?

War and Peace

Extra Credit

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:03:00 +0000

Extra Credit Repost

Guidelines for Extra Credit

You may choose to either write a report on a movie or a book (treat an event or lecture as a book) for extra credit. This report is due when you take your final. The movie review will be worth up to 7 points; a book/event review will be worth up to 15 points.

You can combine a report on a lecture and book/movie but you cannot do a book and a movie report.

Details:
Movie: The movie must deal with international issues (specifically conflict if you are in the conflict class) including anything we have covered in class. 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, 7 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the movie.

Book: The book must deal with contemporary international issues (see above). 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 issues, and 1/3 criticisms or support). This assignment will be graded like any other essay, 15 points are not guaranteed. I do NOT want a recap of the book/event.

UIC Lecture on US-Latin American relations

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 23:24:00 +0000

Extra credit opportunity:

A conversation with Ambassador Charles S. Shapiro: A Look Into U.S. and
Latin American Foreign Relations

February 5, 2009
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Latino Cultural Center
Lecture Center B2

For more information: 312-996-3095 or lcc@uic.edu

Ambassador Charles Shapiro will be discussing challenges in Latin America
with a focus on the economy and trade.

Ambassador Shapiro is leading the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs
Task Force for the Free Trade Agreements with Peru, Colombia, and Panama.
He joined the Department of State in 1977. In addition to his posting as
Ambassador to Venezuela, he has served as the Deputy Chief of Mission at
the U.S. embassies in Santiago, Chile and Port of Spain, Trinidad and
Tobago.

Territory Granted by God

drbvaler@gmail.com (Brandon Valeriano) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:27:00 +0000

This article presents an interesting perspective on peace in the Middle East. While I do not agree that the conflict is religious, the follow statement is supported by my own research.

"Across the world, people believe that devotion to sacred or core values that incorporate moral beliefs — like the welfare of family and country, or commitment to religion and honor — are, or ought to be, absolute and inviolable. Our studies, carried out with the support of the National Science Foundation and the Defense Department, suggest that people will reject material compensation for dropping their commitment to sacred values and will defend those values regardless of the costs."

So when a good transcends typical values it defies rational calculations and compensation.

"Indeed, across the political spectrum, almost everyone we surveyed rejected the initial solutions we offered — ideas that are accepted as common sense among most Westerners, like simply trading land for peace or accepting shared sovereignty over Jerusalem. Why the opposition to trade-offs for peace?"

"This strongly implies that using the standard approaches of “business-like negotiations” favored by Western diplomats will only backfire."

So what is the path to peace? Its pretty simple actually. Simply apologize.

"Absolutists who violently rejected offers of money or peace for sacred land were considerably more inclined to accept deals that involved their enemies making symbolic but difficult gestures. For example, Palestinian hard-liners were more willing to consider recognizing the right of Israel to exist if the Israelis simply offered an official apology for Palestinian suffering in the 1948 war. Similarly, Israeli respondents said they could live with a partition of Jerusalem and borders very close to those that existed before the 1967 war if Hamas and the other major Palestinian groups explicitly recognized Israel’s right to exist."