Why This Blog....

This is an experiment I've been meaning to try for several years, but never taken the time to do. Part of it was laziness in figuring out how to actually do it, so apologies for the lack of sophistication here so far (still working on Twitter). However, it was also about making the commitment to actually contribute to such a blog regularly enough to make it worthwhile-- aiming for once a week.

This blog draws its inspiration from a 2005 article by Stephen Walt in the Annual Review of Political Science titled "The Relationship Between Theory and Policy in International Relations." (link) It is a piece that explores the gaps between theory and policy in the study and practice of international relations. Specifically, many of the norms and incentives that confront scholars of IR versus practitioners in government are at odds with each other. Academic debates are too often restricted to the pages of scholarly journals or professional meetings, and frequently communicated in abstract disciplinary jargon unusable to most policy-makers, and inaccessible to the average citizen. The flip-side of that coin is that policy-makers are frequently confronted with multiple time-sensitive problems for which they do not have time to read even the most practically-oriented scholarly advice. Yet, scholarly frames of reference, theory, and analysis can be vitally important in broadly shaping policy outcomes.

Moreover, there is much less cross fertilization between academia and government today than in decades past. There are many reasons for this, among them the institutional imperatives placed on each group of professionals. There is little incentive for academics to effectively suspend their research careers to spend time in government. And universities have not been especially good at bringing senior civil servants, and their experience, into the fold. Those few academics who have spend time in government are most likely to do so only after reaching a level of seniority and prominence that affords them the luxury of a leave of absence to work in government. Harvard's Joseph Nye Jr. (of soft power fame) is a rare exception, having several times taken prominent roles in government or as an adviser to policy-makers.

In many ways, the two camps need each other badly.

This blog is partially aimed at filling this gap with, hopefully, interesting and timely thoughts on international relations, political economy, Canada-U.S. relations and other interests; things that are important, but don't lend themselves to long-form essays or the lengthy peer-review process in the ivory tower.