What is “best practice?”
DeepDip 2I have kvetched often enough against “best practice.” The term is an oxymoron. Praxis may be adapted or un-adapted - we only know by the consequences. It is never a priori “best.” It is a useful heuristic for the perplexed though we…
Is IT transforming democracy?
DeepDip 2Random legislative amendment generator
A two-column headline in an Italian newspaper has reminded me this morning of the hidden transformative powers of IT for our political process.
A far-right politician has devised a “random legislative…
Three outstanding US diplomats
DeepDip 2I have often expressed a dim view of the state as “unitary diplomatic actor.” It is a recipe for diplomatic disaster.
For one, it never happens in practice. It is not a good strategy for the turnkey to assume and assert that it can fly.
…
The US Presidential elections: A preview from the past
DeepDip 2Shigeru MIZUKI has published a three-volume manga: History of Japan Showa. It is a mix of both micro-history (his growing up in that period) and macro-history: Japan during the first part of Hirohito’s reign.
The following quote may apply…
Are states ‘unitary actors’?
DeepDip 2
One of the enthymemes underlying “realism” in International Relations (see 350) is that states can be taken to be “unitary:” In this view, there is only one and coherent principal, followed by a bevy of agents faithfully acting on its…
Are states ‘rational actors’?
DeepDip 2
“Realism is a tradition of international theory centered upon four propositions:
The international system is anarchic.
No actor exists above states, capable of regulating their interactions; states must arrive at relations with…
Big data and cultural religious history
DeepDip 2MICAWBERISM: the improvident state or habitually optimistic point of view
MERRIAM-WEBSTER definition
Utter the word “big data” nowadays and research money gushes from the stingy pockets of governments, corporations, and research institutions.…
India’s foreign policy as “crooked timber”
DeepDip 2Looking at India’s dearth of foreign policy statements, India’s Senior Ambassador Kishan S. Rana has observed: “India has seldom published foreign policy white papers. All ministries present annual reports in Parliament, at the start of…
Should NGOs be involved in foreign policy formulation?
DeepDip 2I have recently seen the suggestion that, in the context of introducing Good Governance to foreign affairs, states should accept Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs) as contributors to a national foreign policy. Good governance is an emotionally…
Internet’s silent and hidden effects
DeepDip 2 Internet governance and digital policy Blogs
Conviction without experience makes for harshness
Flannery O’CONNOR
The internet is an enabler. Arguably, the internet has been the most transforming event in the last thousand years – akin, in its impact, to writing, or the…
NATO’s puzzling bafflement: The Mystery of ISIS (book)
DeepDip 2In a well-argued article in the current New York Review of Books,[1] an Anonymous author - formerly with NATO) laments: “It is not clear whether our culture can ever develop sufficient knowledge, rigor, imagination, and humility to grasp the…
Khiva: A dashing humanitarian mission
DeepDip 2
Khiva is a town in the western province of Khorezm in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Along with Samarkand and Bukhara to Kiva’s south, the town is an important and often overlooked historical site on what was once the Great Silk Road. Up to…
