Diplomats and politicians have long been keen to make sure that their explanation of the international events they were involved with during their careers were a matter of public record. In some cases, they try to set the record straight before there is even a record to set straight. But, like all writing genres, the…
Jervis Forum Article Review 192: Brennan on Savranskaya and Blanton, eds., “The Long Telegram of the 1990s”
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the fall of 1991, Russia, under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin, entered its second experiment in liberal democracy, the first being the Provisional Government that followed the February Revolution in 1917. While it lasted eight years as opposed to the Provisional Government’s eight months, it ended…
Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-36 on Heuser, Flawed Strategy
It is a great pleasure to add this short introduction to a collection of six sparky essays by leading scholars who have responded forcefully to the battle ensign that Beatrice Heuser hoisted in her book, Flawed Strategy: Why Smart Leaders Make Bad Decisions. Together, her book, the reviews by Richard Ballett, Susan Bryant, D.G. Kim,…
Jervis Forum Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Marshall D. Shulman
I first met Marshall Shulman when I was a sophomore in college. Well, sort of. In the fall of 1960 I read a review of his in the New York Times.[1] Amidst the day’s dominant hardline, single-minded view of the Soviet threat, his voice, which was calm, measured, and focused on the complexities of the…
Jervis Forum Review 181: Mall on Nasser, “‘To Defend the Peace of Asia’”
Historians of Asia are increasingly investigating modern inter-Asian ties that drew on pan-national solidarities, both during the era of Western colonialism, and following the establishment of independent nation-states on the continent in the post-colonial period.[1] However, since Pan-Asianism is associated with Japanese imperialism and its defeat in World War II, post-war iterations of “Asia” have…
Jervis Forum Review 180: Turner on Standfield, The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
“Women can’t win” (152). That is the simple but effective message conveyed by Catriona Stanfield’s in-depth examination of the way the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has been incorporated into the structures of United Nations (UN) mediation. The WPS agenda was formally adopted by the UN Security Council (UNSC) through its resolution number 1325…
FOIS Ep. 9: Energy with Erik Voeten
H-Diplo and the Jervis Forum are pleased to release Episode 9 of our podcast series, Frontiers of International Security (FOIS). In this episode, host Joe Parent talks about Energy with Erik Voeten, Georgetown University. The FOIS YouTube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@JervisForum With best regards, Diane Labrosse and Joe Parent
Jervis Forum Chaos Unleashed Policy Series: “America First” in the Second Trump Administration
How wrong can one be? In my contribution to the second volume in this series, I questioned the extent to which US foreign policy was determined by individual presidents, and also how much the coming into office of a different administration led to significant changes in the character or direction of policy.[1] It still seems…
Jervis Forum Roundtable 17-35 on Weiner, The Mission
What is the proper role of an intelligence agency in a democracy? What responsibilities do policymakers have to give intelligence agencies the direction they need to fill that role? These questions drive Tim Weiner’s The Mission: The CIA in the 21st Century. Weiner draws on some 40 years of reporting on the Central Intelligence Agency…
New FOIS Episodes with Tanisha Fazal and Ron Krebs
H-Diplo and the Jervis Forum are pleased to release two new episodes of our podcast series, Frontiers of International Security (FOIS). In Episode 7, host Joe Parent talks about Change with Tanisha M. Fazal. In Episode 8, host Joe Parent talks about Honoring the Military with Ron Krebs. The FOIS YouTube channel can be found at https://www.youtube.com/@JervisForum With best regards, Diane…