Thinking Out Loud: Recent Episodes
David
In this episode, I talk with Troy University's Dr Feng Sun about her research into attitudes among Chinese college students and the question of why there has not been a student movement in China since 1989.
This week I talk with Dr Doug Davis, MSIR Program Director at Troy University about how we conduct research in IR and about the course he teaches in it.
Is the norm against using nuclear weapons strong enough to be considered a taboo as some Constructivists claim? Or is the norm more subject to revision as circumstances change? And what is a taboo anyway? I talk with Troy University's Dr Clifton Sherril about his paper "The Myth of the Nuclear Taboo".
This podcast can also be listened to on YouTube
This week I talk with Dr. Alexis Henshaw about her research into how the US is implementing the 2017 Women Peace and Security Act. We also talk about her course on Violence in Latin America.
This week I go solo and discuss the recent UN Veto resolution that will trigger a UN General Assembly meeting whenever a veto is cast in the Security Council. I also look at the history of vetoes in the Security Council and the prospect (or lack thereof) of reforming the Security Council.
BTW- You won't see music credits here anymore because I did the decent thing and paid Shane Ivers for a license instead of using his music under creative commons rules.
This week I talk with Dr. Daniel Pinkston about Chinese intelligence, which is the subject of an online course he is teaching this summer for Troy University.
This week, I talk with my colleague Joel Campbell about his book The Final Frontier: International Relations and Politics Through Star Trek and Star Wars that he co-authored with by Gigi Gokcek.
Note: Though I teach at Troy University, this is my own personal podcast. The university has neither reviewed nor approved this content and all expressed views expressed are those of the participants.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
Here are some thoughts about how the War in Ukraine reflects on Liberal IR theory. Mainly for my intro to IR students.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this episode I am joined by one of my students, Jonathan, and we discuss China's role in Africa. In particular, we focus on how China is using development aid in the continent and how that is affecting aid from the US and EU.
Note; Though I teach at Troy University, this is my own personal podcast. The university has neither reviewed nor approved this content and all expressed views expressed are those of the participants.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This week I reflect on differing theoretical perspectives and how the example of the War in Ukraine fits in with them. I also discuss Anders Aslund's 2019 book Russia's Crony Capitalism: The Path from Market Economy to Kleptocracy in which he predicted that Putin would try to conduct a "small victorious war" to shore up his legitimacy in the face of economic stagnation.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this supplemental episode, I talk briefly about the apparent shift in Russian strategy that came out a public comments by the Russian military,
As the prospect of a military stalemate grows in the war in Ukraine, I ponder what the strategic and political implications are. In doing so, I discuss the Game Theoretic model of War of Attrition and historic analogy to WWI and the War in Kosovo.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This week I muse about the vicarious lessons China has learned about warfare from watching the US and other nations fight since the 1990s. Naturally, I also speculate on what lessons the Chinese leadership may draw from the war in Ukraine.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This week I talk about ways in which disinformation can work and ways in which it can't. Spoiler Alert: There are spoilers about the plot of the 1962 version of "The Manchurian Candidate" (though I did stop short of giving the ending away).
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this episode, I discuss the potential effectiveness of the economic measures being taken against Russia, in particular, efforts to target Russian oligarchs.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this episode I talk with a student guest, Colton, about the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine and what it means for the US.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this episode, I discuss the increasing indicators of Russia's intent to invade Ukraine.
Click Here for Al Jazeera's map of possible Russian invasion routes
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
In this supplemental episode, I talk about Russia's military posture and logistics, the Belarus;s possible role in an invasion, and the alternatives facing Ukrainians.
Click Here for Al Jazeera's map of possible Russian invasion routes
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This week I talk about the institution structure of the Olympics organization and its susceptibility to corruption, a la Selectorate Theory.
Music: Spark Of Inspiration by Shane Ivers - https://www.silvermansound.com
This week I couldn't stop thinking about the US situation, in particular whether Biden is in a no-win situation over his handling of this crisis.
This week I talk about Germany's stance on the crisis in Ukraine and why it is the reluctant member of NATO.
I referred to an article on the subject in the podcast but mistakenly attributed it to CNN when it is in fact an article on the BBC site by Jenny Hill
I am dropping this episode a bit early because I want to publish it before Russia actually invades Ukraine. For a previous discussion of the different incentives/constraints that democratic and non-democratic leaders face, see my TOL Blog post on Selectorate Theory's take on Democratic Leaders vs Dictators at War
In this podcast I discuss the portrayal of science in the movie "Don't Look Up" and consider why many people are skeptical of scientific conclusions. Warning: This podcast contains many spoilers about the plot of the movie.
Not my normal subject area, but I couldn't help commenting on South Korea's plan to build an aircraft carrier.
Today I think out load about the threat of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and what we, as political scientists, can do to provide insight into the situation (spoiler alert: we can use theories).
In this week's podcast I, somewhat light heartedly, think out loud about the modernist values imbedded in Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer, how they clash with traditional values, and how globalization spreads such values.
This week I reflect on the implications of Xi Jinping's consolidation of power within China.
This week I think out loud about calls for banning oil exports from the US in order to lower fuel prices. Spoiler alert: I am not in favor of it.
CNN's recent article on Evergrande has me thinking out loud about the problem of ghost cities in China and the prospects for a downturn in the country.
There has been a lot of discussion about how American history is taught in schools and how race factors into it. In this episode I talk about the institutional view of economic development and the dual nature of institutional growth in the US.
In this episode, I discuss the problems one has when trying to reconcile a patriotic view of the US with a scholarly approach to studying the role of the US in the world. To be honest, it is a dilemma that has no clear-cut resolution and thus the episode kind of comes to an unsatisfying end. Such is life.
In this episode, I discuss Pres. Biden's comments on Taiwan at last night's town hall and how they relate to US policy towards Taiwan.
Tensions between China and Taiwan have been in the news recently as China has sent warplanes into Taiwan's Air Defense Identification Zone. I talk about this and other aspects of the threat of China invading Taiwan. Links to articles discussed in the podcast can be found at my Thinking Out Loud blog
In this episode, I talk about currency manipulation and China's history of manipulating and not manipulating. You can see graphics related to the discussion at my Thinking Out Loud blog
In this episode, I comment on the NBC News article "20 years after the Afghanistan invasion, a lesson in how not to spend development aid" by Efosa Ojomo and Michael B. Horn