June 3, 2023

How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics


Wikipedia:

Robert Jervis (April 30, 1940 – December 9, 2021) was an American political scientist who was the Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics in the Department of Political Science at Columbia University. Jervis was co-editor of the Cornell Studies in Security Affairs, a series published by Cornell University Press.

He is known for his contributions to political psychology, international relations theory, nuclear strategy, and intelligence studies. According to the Open Syllabus Project, Jervis is the twelfth most-frequently cited author on college syllabi for political science courses.

Video Title: How Statesmen Think: The Psychology of International Politics. Source: WoodrowWilsonCenter. Date Published: April 5, 2019. Description:

Decision-makers and scholars often assume that diplomatic signals are received as they are intended. They have faith in both their ability to convey their messages to others and to correctly interpret others’ behavior. Robert Jervis’ research shows that this is not true and that international politics often resembles the famous Japanese movie Rashomon. Perceptions are strongly influenced by people’s theories and expectations on the one hand and their personal and political needs on the other. Both historical scholarship and policy-making would be improved by an understanding of how people perceive. 

Robert Jervis is Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics at Columbia University. His most recent book is How Statesmen Think, and his other books include Why Intelligence Fails: Lessons from the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq War, American Foreign Policy in a New Era, System Effects: Complexity in Political Life, and The Meaning of the Nuclear Revolution. He was President of the American Political Science Association in 2000-01, and was awarded honorary degrees by the University of Venice and Oberlin College. In 2006 he received the National Academy of Science’s tri-annual award for behavioral sciences contributions to avoiding nuclear war. 

June 2, 2023

What is New in War Aims of Ukraine and Russia?

 

Put on a suit you jackass.


Video Title: What is New in War Aims of Ukraine and Russia? Source: Vladimir Brovkin. Date Published: May 30, 2023. Description: 

In the context of the anticipated Ukrainian offensive new elements appeared in the war aims of Ukraine and Russia. This video is devoted to these new elements. What is going to happen after Donbas becomes Ukrainian? How will the Ukrainians deal with the Russian population in Crimea? If the Russians go into an offensive, where do they want to stop? Dr. Brovkin is a Russian born American Historian, now retired, used to serve as an Associate Professor of Soviet History at Harvard University, and the author of many books on Russian History, such as Russia After Lenin, Behind the Frontlines of the Civil War, The Mensheviks After October, dear Comrades, and others all available on Amazon.

May 30, 2023

Kenneth Waltz Interview


Wikipedia: 

Kenneth Neal Waltz (June 8, 1924 – May 12, 2013 was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field of international relations. He was a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War.

Waltz was one of the original founders of neorealism, or structural realism, in international relations theory and later became associated with the school of defensive neorealism. Waltz's theories have been extensively debated within the field of international relations. His 1979 book Theory of International Politics is the most assigned book in International Relations graduate training at U.S. universities.

"With the demise of the Soviet Union, the international-political system became unipolar. In the light of structural theory, unipolarity appears as the least durable of international configurations. This is so for two main reasons. One is that dominant powers take on too many tasks beyond their own borders, thus weakening themselves in the long run. Ted Robert Gurr, after examining 336 politics, reaches the same conclusion that Robert G. Wesson had reached earlier: 'Imperial decay is... primarily a result of the misuse of power which follows inevitably from its concentration'. The other reason for the short duration of unipolarity is that even if a dominant power behaves with moderation, restraint and forbearance, weaker states will worry about its future behaviour. America's founding fathers warned against the perils of power in the absence of checks and balances. Is unbalanced power less of a danger in international than in national politics? Throughout the Cold War, what the United States and the Soviet Union did, and how they interacted, were dominant factors in international politics. The two countries, however, constrained each other. Now the United States is alone in the world. As nature abhors a vacuum, so international politics abhors unbalanced power. Faced by unbalanced power, some states try to increase their own strength or they ally with others to bring the international distribution of power into balance." - Kenneth N. Waltz, "NATO expansion: A realist's view" Contemporary Security Policy, Volume 21, 2000 - Issue 2: Explaining Nato Enlargement

Video Title: An Interview with Kenneth Waltz. Source: Annual Reviews. Date Published: May 26, 2011. 

May 27, 2023

The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case against Scientism

Video Title: The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case against Scientism. Source: CS Lewis. Date Published: November 18, 2012. Description:

More than a half century ago, famed writer C.S. Lewis warned about how science (a good thing) could be twisted in order to attack religion, undermine ethics, and limit human freedom. In this documentary "The Magician's Twin: C.S. Lewis and the Case Against Scientism," leading scholars explore Lewis's prophetic warnings about the abuse of science and how Lewis's concerns are increasingly relevant for us today.

May 19, 2023

"The Net of Scientocracy" - A Conversation with James Tunney


Video Title: "The Net of Scientocracy" - A Conversation with James Tunney. Source: Thinking Thomas. Date Published: May 13, 2023. Description:

In this wide ranging chat, we explore the notion of the 'Net of Scientocracy' and its intersections with numerous themes, from how the plantation system forms a template and seed for emerging structures of control, through to the manner in which the 'de-spiriting' of discourse since the late ninetheenth century forward undercuts possibilities of resistance through its demoralizing effects. Please do enjoy, and consider checking out James Tunney's rich and impeccably resourced works, and, of course, his art. 

James' site is here: https://www.jamestunney.com/ 

His most recent book, here:

https://www.amazon.com/Plantation...