Jacob Shively
@jacobshively.bsky.social
Foreign policy & grand strategy. I also teach tech & nt'l security, religion & int'l politics, int'l law, causes of war. Failure my own, success coincidental.
Reposted by Jacob Shively
Here is the chart (even from the NYT!) that illustrates the abject poverty of this op-ed. We need to stop writing about "What Higher Education Institutions Must Do" by ignoring the large, fat end of this distribution of institutions/students & pretending the small, thin end is the entire system.
April 14, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Here is the chart (even from the NYT!) that illustrates the abject poverty of this op-ed. We need to stop writing about "What Higher Education Institutions Must Do" by ignoring the large, fat end of this distribution of institutions/students & pretending the small, thin end is the entire system.
Accidentally activated a new anxiety for my wife when, without prompting, I told her about P(doom).
Knowledge is power!
Knowledge is power!
My role in the friend group is that people text me to ask about the latest politico-military crisis, and then i explain them what is happening and why it is bad, but not bad bad
The latter is important after the time i gave a friend anxiety about nuclear war for a month
The latter is important after the time i gave a friend anxiety about nuclear war for a month
December 9, 2024 at 4:58 PM
Accidentally activated a new anxiety for my wife when, without prompting, I told her about P(doom).
Knowledge is power!
Knowledge is power!
Have been adding ingredients to this mix as it is eaten. You could say it's a... Snack of Theseus!
October 14, 2024 at 1:59 AM
Have been adding ingredients to this mix as it is eaten. You could say it's a... Snack of Theseus!
Americans can't seem to bring themselves to apply ethnic politics frameworks to their own system. It's pretty simple, and the models are a tight fit.
Perhaps b/c the identities are asymmetric: Dems are a coaltion of identities, but Republicans are a coalition with a "conservative" identity.
Perhaps b/c the identities are asymmetric: Dems are a coaltion of identities, but Republicans are a coalition with a "conservative" identity.
Laws don't constrain ingroup members when fighting out groups for access to power and resources.
I want folks to read works on ethnic/caste politics. Indian politics has criminals in both major parties and regional parties.
Heck! Works on southern and old machine politics in America will do.
I want folks to read works on ethnic/caste politics. Indian politics has criminals in both major parties and regional parties.
Heck! Works on southern and old machine politics in America will do.
October 11, 2024 at 1:55 PM
Americans can't seem to bring themselves to apply ethnic politics frameworks to their own system. It's pretty simple, and the models are a tight fit.
Perhaps b/c the identities are asymmetric: Dems are a coaltion of identities, but Republicans are a coalition with a "conservative" identity.
Perhaps b/c the identities are asymmetric: Dems are a coaltion of identities, but Republicans are a coalition with a "conservative" identity.
Reposted by Jacob Shively
Hey y'all,
The USPS is shipping out free Covid tests again. We are in the midst of a Covid surge, so get yours today!
special.usps.com/testkits
The USPS is shipping out free Covid tests again. We are in the midst of a Covid surge, so get yours today!
special.usps.com/testkits
COVID Home Tests | USPS
COVID Home Tests | USPS
special.usps.com
September 26, 2024 at 10:41 AM
Hey y'all,
The USPS is shipping out free Covid tests again. We are in the midst of a Covid surge, so get yours today!
special.usps.com/testkits
The USPS is shipping out free Covid tests again. We are in the midst of a Covid surge, so get yours today!
special.usps.com/testkits
Another useful term here is "nationalist."
One argument in my last book is that Trump's foreign policy wasn't conservative, realist, hawkish, or whatever. It was nationalist, as he himself stated.
Americans seem cagy about using the word, but it is both accurate and his own language.
One argument in my last book is that Trump's foreign policy wasn't conservative, realist, hawkish, or whatever. It was nationalist, as he himself stated.
Americans seem cagy about using the word, but it is both accurate and his own language.
And here's another huge issue with social scientific study of ideology: Survey researchers are the ones who choose what responses are offered to respondents. So you ask: is Trump conservative, "middle of the road", etc? An option I have never seen offered: reactionary. But that's an excellent term.
"reactionary" would be more fitting, but still...
September 13, 2024 at 2:48 PM
Another useful term here is "nationalist."
One argument in my last book is that Trump's foreign policy wasn't conservative, realist, hawkish, or whatever. It was nationalist, as he himself stated.
Americans seem cagy about using the word, but it is both accurate and his own language.
One argument in my last book is that Trump's foreign policy wasn't conservative, realist, hawkish, or whatever. It was nationalist, as he himself stated.
Americans seem cagy about using the word, but it is both accurate and his own language.
I think a lot about a line I read in grad school by a political philosopher (Leo Strauss?). In effect:
What good is a science or study of politics if it can't, like a physician diagnosing cancer, identify political evils? (1/2)
What good is a science or study of politics if it can't, like a physician diagnosing cancer, identify political evils? (1/2)
Looking forward to someone asking Barnard College for its positions on geopolitical viewpoints like, "is it acceptable to kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure for the purpose of terrorizing a population, such as on 9/11?"
Sounds like they're prohibited from taking a stand on it. 🤷♂️
Sounds like they're prohibited from taking a stand on it. 🤷♂️
These new 'Standards for Community Conduct' extend to banning all objects from 'elevated spaces' and banning 'any division or department of the College supporting a geopolitical viewpoint or perspective while denigrating or remaining silent about an opposing geopolitical viewpoint or perspective.'
September 12, 2024 at 1:54 PM
I think a lot about a line I read in grad school by a political philosopher (Leo Strauss?). In effect:
What good is a science or study of politics if it can't, like a physician diagnosing cancer, identify political evils? (1/2)
What good is a science or study of politics if it can't, like a physician diagnosing cancer, identify political evils? (1/2)
The outsized influence of some scholars is absolutely tied to their ability and willingness to write so that we can assign it to students and smart practitioners can read it.
For example, I'll sometimes pull old books from my shelf when I'm writing just to refresh on how someone else wrote…. 1/
For example, I'll sometimes pull old books from my shelf when I'm writing just to refresh on how someone else wrote…. 1/
Academic writing thought:
That it was hard for YOU to figure something out does not mean you should make it hard for the READER to get it
Explain as simply & clearly as you can
You do not need to take the reader through your lengthy journey to clarity
Work that took months may end up a footnote
That it was hard for YOU to figure something out does not mean you should make it hard for the READER to get it
Explain as simply & clearly as you can
You do not need to take the reader through your lengthy journey to clarity
Work that took months may end up a footnote
September 3, 2024 at 4:06 PM
The outsized influence of some scholars is absolutely tied to their ability and willingness to write so that we can assign it to students and smart practitioners can read it.
For example, I'll sometimes pull old books from my shelf when I'm writing just to refresh on how someone else wrote…. 1/
For example, I'll sometimes pull old books from my shelf when I'm writing just to refresh on how someone else wrote…. 1/
Reposted by Jacob Shively
A truth I hold to be self-evident is that the Department Secretary is the most vital member of every department in academia. However, the amount schools actually pay that position and the resulting turnover rate is low-key devastating to every facet of institutional functionality.
August 27, 2024 at 11:39 AM
A truth I hold to be self-evident is that the Department Secretary is the most vital member of every department in academia. However, the amount schools actually pay that position and the resulting turnover rate is low-key devastating to every facet of institutional functionality.
Once when we mentioned something about the 1990s, my daughter hunched over, pretended to be wobbly with a cane, and used an extreme granny voice to say, "I was born in the 1900s."
i just saw someone refer to the 1980s as "the late 1900s" and while thats accurate, ive shriveled into a stream of grave dust
August 26, 2024 at 1:14 PM
Once when we mentioned something about the 1990s, my daughter hunched over, pretended to be wobbly with a cane, and used an extreme granny voice to say, "I was born in the 1900s."
Seeing this w/my own kids: seems the history and maybe civics curricula really haven't changed in terms of coverage since they were updated in the 1980s or 90s.
Most of my students know all about the "Jazz Age," WWII & civil rights but have never heard of the Gulf War and know 9/11 from YouTube.
Most of my students know all about the "Jazz Age," WWII & civil rights but have never heard of the Gulf War and know 9/11 from YouTube.
1. A lot of students arrive at college knowing very little about the causes & consequences of 9/11. 2. It's not because of ideology or an insidious plot; it's because high school American & world history classes run out of time in the school year before they get to the 21st century.
I do not believe this teacher at Bari Weiss's fake university
uatx.substack.com/p/resist-evi...
uatx.substack.com/p/resist-evi...
August 13, 2024 at 9:49 PM
Seeing this w/my own kids: seems the history and maybe civics curricula really haven't changed in terms of coverage since they were updated in the 1980s or 90s.
Most of my students know all about the "Jazz Age," WWII & civil rights but have never heard of the Gulf War and know 9/11 from YouTube.
Most of my students know all about the "Jazz Age," WWII & civil rights but have never heard of the Gulf War and know 9/11 from YouTube.
Reposted by Jacob Shively
The Ukrainian operation in Kursk is almost one week into execution. My latest piece explores the options now available to Ukraine as it moves into the second week operations in Kursk, and the considerations and risks involved with each option. mickryan.substack.com/p/kursks-nex...
Kursk's Next Operational Phase
Ukraine's Big Swing and its Future Strategic Options in Kursk
mickryan.substack.com
August 12, 2024 at 9:43 AM
The Ukrainian operation in Kursk is almost one week into execution. My latest piece explores the options now available to Ukraine as it moves into the second week operations in Kursk, and the considerations and risks involved with each option. mickryan.substack.com/p/kursks-nex...
You can gauge an academic's generational cohort by whether their textbook mentions "fax machines" as an engine of modern globalization.
July 31, 2024 at 10:47 PM
You can gauge an academic's generational cohort by whether their textbook mentions "fax machines" as an engine of modern globalization.
Re-upping an earlier post: 21st century digital networking is a step change in information.
...BUT ALSO the future may inherit a spotty record equivalent to early or pre-modern archives. A random collection of print material is preserved and references other stuff that just vanished.
...BUT ALSO the future may inherit a spotty record equivalent to early or pre-modern archives. A random collection of print material is preserved and references other stuff that just vanished.
2002: "Careful, kids, the Internet is forever!"
2024: "Oh, hey, all the work you did for a decade of your life was just deleted from the Internet for Business Reasons."
latenighter.com/news/paramou...
2024: "Oh, hey, all the work you did for a decade of your life was just deleted from the Internet for Business Reasons."
latenighter.com/news/paramou...
Paramount Axes Comedy Central Site, 25+ Years of Daily Show Clips Gone
One of the richest repositories of late-night videos—including 25 years of clips from 'The Daily Show' and the entire run of 'The Colbert Report'—is no longer.
latenighter.com
June 27, 2024 at 2:24 PM
Re-upping an earlier post: 21st century digital networking is a step change in information.
...BUT ALSO the future may inherit a spotty record equivalent to early or pre-modern archives. A random collection of print material is preserved and references other stuff that just vanished.
...BUT ALSO the future may inherit a spotty record equivalent to early or pre-modern archives. A random collection of print material is preserved and references other stuff that just vanished.
Academic professional orgs should advocate explicit state legislation on academic freedom. It could easily be nonpartisan.
There are legal precedents, but w/o clear & discrete law on 'academic freedom,' it is too easy to dilute norms and fall into competing interpretations.
There are legal precedents, but w/o clear & discrete law on 'academic freedom,' it is too easy to dilute norms and fall into competing interpretations.
Many political extremists in the US and abroad mock the idea of "academic freedom." But it's actually been codified in Western institutions for centuries. It's much older than modern declarations of rights, and should hold equal legitimacy. 1/7
June 12, 2024 at 2:24 PM
Academic professional orgs should advocate explicit state legislation on academic freedom. It could easily be nonpartisan.
There are legal precedents, but w/o clear & discrete law on 'academic freedom,' it is too easy to dilute norms and fall into competing interpretations.
There are legal precedents, but w/o clear & discrete law on 'academic freedom,' it is too easy to dilute norms and fall into competing interpretations.
Outside consulting firm evaluated departments based on revenue and profits when the literal purpose of a regional state university is expanding affordable access to qualityhigher ed to more people.
States didn't design or build them as revenue machines. Incredible category error. (1/3)
States didn't design or build them as revenue machines. Incredible category error. (1/3)
June 11, 2024 at 2:10 PM
Outside consulting firm evaluated departments based on revenue and profits when the literal purpose of a regional state university is expanding affordable access to qualityhigher ed to more people.
States didn't design or build them as revenue machines. Incredible category error. (1/3)
States didn't design or build them as revenue machines. Incredible category error. (1/3)
Reposted by Jacob Shively
When studying "the decline" of war, always account for the outliers (data courtesy of the MARS project)
June 4, 2024 at 12:08 PM
When studying "the decline" of war, always account for the outliers (data courtesy of the MARS project)
The original metalheads.
June 1, 2024 at 1:23 PM
The original metalheads.
Amazing how eras get defined in hindsight when the people who lived through them should know better!
Gen X culture was mostly just pop culture. It was all about big block busters, stadiums full of rock fans, and massive stars like Michael Jackson. The median Gen X was socialized to be a conformist.
Gen X culture was mostly just pop culture. It was all about big block busters, stadiums full of rock fans, and massive stars like Michael Jackson. The median Gen X was socialized to be a conformist.
Saw someone say Gen Xers are more authentic because the “top movies” of 1999 were The Matrix and Fight Club as opposed to Barbie and, my brother in Christ, Fight Club was a flop, the top movie of 1999 was Star Wars
May 30, 2024 at 1:59 PM
Amazing how eras get defined in hindsight when the people who lived through them should know better!
Gen X culture was mostly just pop culture. It was all about big block busters, stadiums full of rock fans, and massive stars like Michael Jackson. The median Gen X was socialized to be a conformist.
Gen X culture was mostly just pop culture. It was all about big block busters, stadiums full of rock fans, and massive stars like Michael Jackson. The median Gen X was socialized to be a conformist.
All our campus undergrad research programs are designed on a STEM lab model.
I have to give mentees a canned talk about how their research experience will have almost nothing to do with their workshop discussions.
On the plus side: no need to report hazardous materials!
I have to give mentees a canned talk about how their research experience will have almost nothing to do with their workshop discussions.
On the plus side: no need to report hazardous materials!
May 28, 2024 at 9:49 PM
All our campus undergrad research programs are designed on a STEM lab model.
I have to give mentees a canned talk about how their research experience will have almost nothing to do with their workshop discussions.
On the plus side: no need to report hazardous materials!
I have to give mentees a canned talk about how their research experience will have almost nothing to do with their workshop discussions.
On the plus side: no need to report hazardous materials!
Someone should fund an annual Shame List for predictions.
It would be weighted by ambition: the greater the gap between prediction and what happened, the worse you do.
The end of money? Oops
It would track...
-Pundits
-Tech boosters
-Religious leaders
-Political leaders
-Sports commentators
It would be weighted by ambition: the greater the gap between prediction and what happened, the worse you do.
The end of money? Oops
It would track...
-Pundits
-Tech boosters
-Religious leaders
-Political leaders
-Sports commentators
April 30, 2024 at 2:02 PM
Someone should fund an annual Shame List for predictions.
It would be weighted by ambition: the greater the gap between prediction and what happened, the worse you do.
The end of money? Oops
It would track...
-Pundits
-Tech boosters
-Religious leaders
-Political leaders
-Sports commentators
It would be weighted by ambition: the greater the gap between prediction and what happened, the worse you do.
The end of money? Oops
It would track...
-Pundits
-Tech boosters
-Religious leaders
-Political leaders
-Sports commentators
Reposted by Jacob Shively
Polisky
It’s publication day for “Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline”
I hope you’ll have a look and join me in considering how the NSF shaped political science and the social sciences more generally.
It’s publication day for “Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline”
I hope you’ll have a look and join me in considering how the NSF shaped political science and the social sciences more generally.
Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline | Perspectives on Politics | Cambridge Core
Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline
doi.org
April 23, 2024 at 4:34 PM
Polisky
It’s publication day for “Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline”
I hope you’ll have a look and join me in considering how the NSF shaped political science and the social sciences more generally.
It’s publication day for “Political Science as a Dependent Variable: The National Science Foundation and the Shaping of a Discipline”
I hope you’ll have a look and join me in considering how the NSF shaped political science and the social sciences more generally.