Humanising immigration: Taking the discussion further
Diplo Wisdom Circle Communication, Diplomatic theory and practice, Language and diplomacy, Migration Blogs
In this blog post, I want to respond to some of the questions that were raised during our recent WebDebate on humanising immigration. This is crucial for keeping the discussion going and doing justice to all the valuable questions and comments…
No true Scotsman
Diplo Wisdom Circle Communication, Cultural diversity, Diplomatic theory and practice BlogsNo true believer ever wavers! No true warrior dies in his bed! No true Norwegian takes sugar in coffee! No true American dishonours the stars and stripes! The No-true-Scotsman fallacy or ‘move’, as it is formally known, is an attempt to…
Internet’s silent and hidden effects
Diplo Wisdom Circle Internet governance and digital policy BlogsConviction 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 domestication…
History and diplomacy
Diplo Wisdom Circle History of diplomacy BlogsUpon retirement I decided to deepen my knowledge of my country’s origins. The title of the most respected recent history book on the subject bore the less than promising title: Founding period without founders[1].
And indeed: all the familiar…
In praise of failure
Diplo Wisdom Circle BlogsErrors are not the art, but the artificers –
I just twisted NEWTON’s words to make the central point of this blog)
Everything fails. Hopefully, failure will not surprise us: we have foreseen it, and precautions have been taken for the…
The (un)timely demise of Intellectual Property Rights?
Diplo Wisdom Circle Gender rights online, Intellectual property rights Blogs
Intellectual property rights, such as patents, are “good good good” - or so we say out loud. Well, way may be soon chanting a different tune.
Patents were a conditional bounty at the outset: a time-limited monopoly was granted provided…
Uses and abuses of conspiracy theory
Diplo Wisdom Circle Blogs
When too many unknowns chase too few equations one gets the “over-determination problem”: too many possible explanations for the same phenomenon. One has no way of choosing among them objectively. Conspiracy theories are analogous: too…
Two kinds of conversation
Diplo Wisdom Circle Diplomatic theory and practice, Negotiations Blogs
Ancient Greece developed a unique way of settling disagreements among cities: hoplites met in a plain, fought for a day and abided by the outcome. “For those men, the purpose was now to settle the entire business, if not fairly, then at…
