The dangers of believing states always act rationally
15 September 2024
On the Wikipedia page for Realism (international relations), it is stated: Realism is a tradition of international theory centered upon four proposit...
The decline (and fall?) of the term ‘ambassador’
05 September 2024
The other day, I spent some time at the dentist. I waited for the newest CAD/CAM technology to work its wonders and outfit me with a perfectly adapted crown within half an hour. Meanwhile, I peru...
Southeast Asia: The evolution of a regional concept
29 August 2024
We can trace the contingent emergence of the regional concept of Southeast Asia to WWII. WWII turned Southeast Asia from a collection of colonial names into a distinct region. It was created to g...
Peace of Westphalia: How Europe’s peace shaped global power struggles
21 August 2024
In his book World Order, Henry Kissinger praises the Western ‘world order’ that originated with the Peace of Westphalia: ‘Since the end of Charlemagne’s empire, and especially since the P...
Why is nuclear disarmament so complex?
08 August 2024
Should we not take advantage of today’s ‘tradition’ of aversion against nuclear weapons to pursue nuclear disarmament? A friend asked me this question. I’m not an expert on this issue, bu...
Which predictive method is better: Simple or sophisticated?
30 July 2024
I’ve argued this many times: Prediction is dicey. Does close study and sophisticated methodology pay off compared to ‘back of the envelope’ predicting? In Everything is Obvious: Once You Kn...
Is IT transforming democracy?
22 July 2024
Random legislative amendment generator A two-column headline in an Italian newspaper has reminded me this morning of the hidden transformative powers of ...
The price of ignoring context in problem-solving
15 July 2024
To see what is in front of one\'s nose needs a constant struggle. – George Orwell, In Front of Your Nose: 1945-1950 In the realm of international relations, one of the fundamental assumptions of ‘realism’ is that states act as unitary entities, with a single coherent principal directing the actions of subo...
The hidden layers of consciousness
18 June 2024
We like to speak of the Zeitgeist – ‘the spirit of the times’ – the formulated visions and ideals that a social group holds at any given period. Ideas sweep up people, carrying them befor...
Posts per page:
