George W. Bush: DECISION POINTS
Hauntingly, it seems that the Bush years will never go away. Combined, the wars have already cost a trillion dollars and both meters continue to run. Bush created new entitlements at home and abroad, and then cut the taxes needed to support them. On his watch the economy went into a lingering, deep recession and the government’s budget shifted from substantial surpluses to deficits that soar beyond likely redemption
Wikileaks and climate diplomacy
The Guardian website has a portal that allows users to search the Wikileaks database for particular US embassy cables regarding issue areas or specific countries. A search for “climate change” turns up 14 cables — and 4 recent Guardian stories about those particular cables.
The Failure of British Multiculturalism and the Virtue of Reciprocity
The existing perception and enforcement of multiculturalism is hindering social integration in Britain. The slow process of social integration, which is caused by some multicultural policies, is intensifying the fragmentation of British society, thereby jeopardising the future of diversity in Britain. Multiculturalism promised to bring social inclusion, but has failed and is becoming a justification for exclusion
Quid pro CO2: The Era of Carbon Conditionality
At Copenhagen in December 2009, during the much-hyped leaders’ summit to negotiate a climate change deal, American hypocrisy met Chinese obstructionism. Americans demanded emissions reductions without a credible plan at home. According to most reports, the Chinese stripped the Copenhagen Accord of much of its early ambition, including seemingly distant commitments to 2050. The West plans carbon conditionality. The rest expect reciprocity, and some countries will be in a position to demand it.
Hot times?
This blog went silent again for a few months and I’m very sorry about that. I taught International Security this term and spent a lot of time thinking about the war in Afghanistan and the prospects of Iranian proliferation. And not much time thinking about climate change politics.
The Politics of Oil in the Niger Delta
For centuries, the people of the Niger Delta were content to engage in farming, fishing and other endeavours, unaware that underneath their soil was one of nature’s most prized minerals, Petroleum. With the discovery of oil by Shell D’Archy, the forerunner of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation in 1956 at Oloibiri, Bayelsa State and its consequent exportation two years later, oil production has remained a mixed bag of fortune and misfortune
Secularism and Respect for Religion
Religion-politics separationist view, which is clearly normative rather than scientific, can take quite different forms, either as an idea or as practice and can be more or less restrictive, I shall call ‘secularism’. While acknowledging the variety of forms it can take I want to argue that one of the most important distinctions we need to make is between moderate and radical secularism.
Iran and Britain: The Politics of Oil and Coup D’état after the Fall of Reza Shah
Mosaddeq’s preoccupation with the nationalization of Iran’s oil sector derived from his belief that such a venture, once realized, could bring economic prosperity, national autonomy and political sovereignty in its wake. The loss of Abadan Oil Refinery dealt Britain’s prestige a stinging blow at a time when it was struggling to adapt itself to the disintegration of empire and come to terms with the ascendance of the US
WikiLeaks Revelations: The Implications for Diplomacy
Wikileaks is releasing hundreds of thousands of classified diplomatic communications. But when the dust settles and the sensational tid-bits are forgotten, some of the longer-term impacts on diplomacy may in fact be positive. How so? The Wikileaks documents subvert the myth of diplomatic ineffectiveness, and illustrates that diplomats are in fact very busy pursuing interests, advocating policies, making contacts and managing networks
Academic Vampires
Originally, vampire disciplines found their homes within the humanities and social sciences. But they are quickly spreading to areas as diverse as law and architecture, terrorism studies and geography. Indeed, any discipline with some version of the “critical studies in . . .” genre has probably been infected by the vampire virus. And, if your discipline is still a vampire-free zone, expect the vampire advanced guard to come knocking on your door to convince you that your students majoring in transport logistics need to take a unit in “transport and society” or in “transport cultural identities”.
