The Watsonblogs project, hosted by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, provides an online space for Watson faculty and affiliates to post thoughts and analysis of international affairs. By hosting a group of bloggers under the Watsonblogs umbrella, it is our hope that we can create a critical mass of vibrant, cutting edge and thoughtful insights on contemporary global problems. If you have any suggestions about this initiative, please contact us at Watsonblogs@brown.edu.

Science Blogging: Networks, Boundaries and Limitations - forthcoming article Hauke Riesch and I have had an article on science blogging accepted for Science as Culture. Abstract and title are below - please post a comment or contact me if you'd like more info. Science Blogging: Networks, Boundaries and Limitations...
by jon_mendel at May 24, 2013 12:11 PM +00:00 GMT

RGS impact statement - Science: So What and the impact of bad research I'm giving a short 'impact statement' tomorrow at the RGS-IBG annual conference session on Social and Cultural Geographies of Impact. It's a Powerpoint-free session, so I thought it would be useful to put some links re the case I'm discussing...
by jon_mendel at July 4, 2012 10:48 PM +00:00 GMT

Times piece: UK Government basing claim about benefit reforms on poor analysis? David McCollum and I had a piece on the Times Science Blog this week, criticising the evidence behind much-publicised claims that moving the UK's benefits system to a Universal Credit will seriously reduce the number of workless households in Britain....
by jon_mendel at September 25, 2011 06:38 PM +00:00 GMT

Unrest, networks and connectivity Last year, I wrote about the role of networks and connectivity in Afghanistan. I argued that such connectivity was key to the unpredictable and dramatic events emerging from the state. I ended the article by arguing (p. 746) that, rather...
by jon_mendel at March 2, 2011 06:40 PM +00:00 GMT

Afghanistan, Networks and Connectivity: journal article I'm pleased that my article on Afghanistan, Networks and Connectivity is now out in Geopolitics: Afghanistan is often thought to be a failed state because it is isolated from the networks of globalisation: for example, Afghanistan is viewed as part...
by jon_mendel at December 14, 2010 06:57 PM +00:00 GMT

Science: So What and DBIS - letter to Lord Drayson Alexander Holmes and I have written to Lord Drayson: to ask him about some issues we found when research the Science: So What? So Everything science communication campaign, which ran while Drayson was science minister. The letter is reproduced below;...
by jon_mendel at October 12, 2010 06:50 PM +00:00 GMT

Individual action Although foreign policy is typically crafted and wielded by states, it has become fashionable in recent years (if not recent decades) to suggest that non-state actors play just as important a role in international relations. The forces of technology and...
by Daniel Widome at October 3, 2010 11:39 PM -08:00 GMT

A vicious circle: Science So What, BIS and the mainstream media Alexander Holmes and I blogged about issues around research, PR, communications and policy on the Guardian Science Blog earlier this week. Here's the longer version of the post (the Guardian cut it down slightly); we have also added a postscript...
by jon_mendel at September 10, 2010 07:23 PM +00:00 GMT

Word games Foreign policy is typically made behind closed doors. Treaties and trade agreements may become public information once they are signed, but the planning, strategizing, and negotiating that creates them is hidden from public debate. Sometimes, however, the process that creates...
by Daniel Widome at August 31, 2010 03:58 PM -08:00 GMT

Housing benefit, statistics, policy-based evidence and an unclear situation There has recently been a lot of discussion about changes to the UK's Local Housing Allowance (LHA): a benefit which pays or contributes to the rent of low-income households. The plan is to, among other changes, reduce the maximum monthly...
by jon_mendel at August 15, 2010 02:01 PM +00:00 GMT

Heffernan on science blogging, culture and deconstruction in NYT In a recent NYT piece, Virginia Heffernan argues that "it’s time to don the old Derridean cloak and re-enter the unwinnable science-culture battle?" I have a number of concerns about Heffernan's piece. I fail to see where it is Derridean...
by jon_mendel at August 2, 2010 07:32 PM +00:00 GMT

Clean start Anyone concerned with the dangers posed by nuclear weapons (which, arguably, should be pretty much everyone) has had a busy and promising year so far. In the past six months, the United States and Russia have negotiated a new arms...
by Daniel Widome at July 26, 2010 12:42 PM -08:00 GMT

Blogging about a blog post about science blogging Hauke Riesch and I have been researching science blogging - looking at some of the networks, boundaries and limitations in play here. We recently presented on the topic at the excellent Science and the Public Conference at Imperial. This led...
by jon_mendel at July 15, 2010 07:23 PM +00:00 GMT

Allied voices The United States has always depended on regional allies around the world to support its foreign policy agenda. But this is especially true today. Experiences with near-unilateralism in Iraq and elsewhere have shown that the United States cannot simply impose...
by Daniel Widome at June 25, 2010 06:54 PM -08:00 GMT

Putting it Together: Pre-Kenya Evan and I are in the final stages of pre-trip organization. In two weeks, we'll be on the ground in Kenya, carrying out our pre-production workshops for community radio stations who have answered our call for participants. Right now, we're...
by CBerman at June 14, 2010 10:49 AM -05:00 GMT