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Paul Poast
@ProfPaulPoast
, 26 tweets, 12 min read Read on Twitter
Impeachment is on the minds of many students.

How am I going to cover it in #ChicagoIntroIR2019?

[THREAD]
Needless to say, I'm not covering the intricacies or domestic political process of impeachment itself.

That's best left for Intro to American Politics (also taught this term!). Plus, there is this nifty primer from @byamberphillips of @washingtonpost

washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
In an international relations course, there are (at least) four ways one could approach this topic
One approach is to discuss how impeachment will impact @realDonaldTrump's ability to carry out his foreign policy agenda.

For example, I could discuss how it may impact USMCA, as in this @MarketWatch article:

marketwatch.com/story/trumps-b…
And @stephenWalt makes this case in a new @ForeignPolicy piece

foreignpolicy.com/2019/09/27/the…
A second approach is to focus on explaining the broader context of the event that sparked the impeachment inquiry: the Zelensky-Trump phone call.
How does this event fit within the foreign policy relationship between 🇺🇦& 🇺🇸 since, say, 1990?

That was the approach I used in this thread from Thursday

Indeed, this approach alone can lead to all sorts of debate.

For example....
- Did it really matter that 🇺🇦 gave up nukes in the mid-1990s?

See @mbudjeryn:

tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10
- Did @NATO expansion upset 🇷🇺, who then drew a hard line with 🇺🇦 (i.e. Crimea; East Ukraine War)?

See JJM in @ForeignAffairs:

foreignaffairs.com/articles/russi…
- What role was played by the Orange Revolution?

See Jeanne L. Wilson:

tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.275…
- Was 🇺🇦 simply in an impossible situation?

See -- this is one area where I begrudgingly acknowledge that he was on to something -- Huntington in Clash of Civilizations
The third approach is to generalize from the Zelensky-Trump conversation by asking, "What is this an example of"?

For example,...
- What does it say about relations between strong and weak states?

Such as David Lake (@CornellPress)...

books.google.com/books/about/Hi…
...or Evelyn Goh (@OxUniPress)

books.google.com/books/about/Th…
- What does it say about issue linkages?

Such as 🙋‍♂️in @IntOrgJournal ....

cambridge.org/core/journals/…
- Related, what does it say about offering "side-payments"?

Such as @mephenke in @Journal_IS

muse.jhu.edu/article/723957…
- What does it say about how leaders behave in foreign policy?

Such as @ProfSaunders (@CornellPress)...

books.google.com/books/about/Le…
...or @YarhiMilo (@PrincetonUPress)

books.google.com/books/about/Wh…
...or @mchorowitz, Ellis, and Stam (@CambridgeUP)

books.google.com/books/about/Wh…
- What does it say about leaders building "trust"?

See Andy Kydd (@PrincetonUPress) ...

books.google.com/books/about/Tr…
... or Brian Rathbun (@CambridgeUP)

books.google.com/books/about/Tr…
- What does it say about the "Practices" of Diplomacy?

See @pouliotvincent (@CambridgeUP), where - it should be noted -- the book is explicitly on @NATO&Russia relations

books.google.com/books/about/In…
The fourth approach is to have the students analyze the documents themselves.

You could have them read @JimGoldgeier's @monkeycageblog piece

washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/…
Then have the students read the actual memcon

whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…
In sum, lots and lots of ways to bring impeachment discussions into a course, even (at least in this case) an "Intro to IR" course!

[END]
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Paul Poast
@ProfPaulPoast
This week in #ChicagoIntroIR2019, we're talking about Anarchy and Structure (oh, and "isms").

What are we reading to help us think about these topics?

[THREAD]
First, as listed on the syllabus, we have a couple REQUIRED readings from @IAJournal_CH's special issue on 100 years since the Treaty of Versailles. They are...
...a piece by Yuen Foong Khong on "prestige" and "hierarchy" in world politics...

academic.oup.com/ia/article-abs…
Read 13 tweets
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Paul Poast
@ProfPaulPoast
Many have noted the new @USGAO report on economic sanctions.

While sanctions are a common tool of coercion, there is a time when sanctions are surprisingly NOT used: against a war opponent 🤔

[THREAD]

gao.gov/products/GAO-2…
To be clear, it is indeed common for war opponents to cut off economic ties with one another. After all, this is the foundation for the "Commercial Peace" literature

But not always! Some states will continue to trade even when fighting a war with one another 🤯

This point was made by Katherine Barbieri and Jack Levy in....
Read 25 tweets
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Paul Poast
@ProfPaulPoast
This video is making the rounds.

One (understandable) reaction I've seen: 🤦‍♂️🤷‍♂️

I'll take it seriously and ask, "what is a `broken window' foreign policy and how would it work?"

[THREAD]
Admittedly, the video is a bit vague on defining a "broken window" in international politics.

It lumps territorial invasion (Crimea), chemical weapon use in the midst of civil war (Syria), and genocide in the midst of war (Rwanda; Srebrenica in Yugoslavia).
Stephens' book might be more insightful

books.google.com/books?id=nt7ZC…
Read 14 tweets

Related threads

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Lionel🇺🇸
@LionelMedia
Look, if they want to impeach Trump there’s nothing you can do about it. Stop fretting over it. Let them go ahead and waste time and impanel committees and come up with articles of impeachment and discuss it and debate it while the country barely notices the anticlimax.
Under the rules of the Constitution if House Democrats want to impeach the president based on the color of his hair so long as they have a majority such will be done. It is a political process that has nothing to do with law or reason and is not subject to judicial review.
The sole focus of their thunder has been in the lead up to #Impeachment. Notice what I said: the lead up. What America will not be able to sustain or focus on or remain awake over is the actual process that will grind interminably nor will they be able to withstand the rebuttal.
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CitizenParticipation
@OliverEscobar
Some of my initial thoughts on this, a wee #thread: This is a momentous announcement - a potential milestone for democratic innovation in Scotland. But as ever, the devil will be in the detail of how this temporary institution will be set up 1/?
Its legitimacy & effectiveness depends on various factors. I will focus on 3. Firstly, how will the broader public be included in the conversation? For example, there could be an online crowdsourcing platform to feed evidence and arguments at various stages of the assembly. 2/?
Also, assembly members can be supported to facilitate community meetings in their localities, helping to inform their thinking and contribution during the assembly -a kind of a hub and spokes system that keeps the assembly somewhat connected to the ground across the country. 3/?
Read 10 tweets
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JMHendersonSr❌
@JMHendersonSr
In our house, a #chalupa is a tostada with lettuce, cheese, meat, diced tomato, onions.

Here's one:
In the world of politics, a #chalupa is a onetime @DNC operative.

Here's one:
Now, the worst one ever got from our #homemade #chalupas was a bit of excess #flattus, unless, like me, you pile on the #jalapenos, then maybe there's some burning at the exit!
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Just Security
@just_security
We've completed our series on Sidney Blumenthal's Open Memo on #Impeachment

Thanks to extraordinary expert lineup!

@JohnWDean
@rgoodlaw
Hon. Elizabeth Holtzman
@KevinMKruse
@walterpincus
@JillWineBanks
@julianzelizer

Blumenthal's essay:
justsecurity.org/64057/an-open-…
<Thread>
2. The next great piece in our series comparing the political conditions and effects of the Nixon-Clinton-Trump #Impeachment processes:

"The Precedent for Impeachment: Nixon, Not Clinton" | @KevinMKruse and @julianzelizer

justsecurity.org/64070/the-prec…
3. The next great piece in our series comparing the Nixon-Clinton-Trump #Impeachment processes/prospects:

"Lesson from Nixon: With Today’s Facts, Impeaching Trump Won’t Work" | @walterpincus

justsecurity.org/64070/the-prec…
Read 7 tweets
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Travel. Internship. Admission
@TravelBrothers_
Part-Time Work Options for international students going to study in Germany.

Another #thread

Retweet someone from your list might just be applying to study in Germany without your knowledge.
Wondering about work options during your studies in Germany... here I will explore the many jobs you can take up. I understand there are many consideration that affect a students decision to choose a country... Jobs are very important for international students
Before we move forward, I must mention there are two aspects to part-time work. One being the eligibility and laws relevant to part time works options for international students

As an international students, you are allowed to take up part time employment along with ur studies
Read 18 tweets
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Stu Cvrk
@STUinSD
Thread: Comments on DoJ/FBI Lack of Cooperation from An Ancient Guy

1. The Democrats fervently believe their own propaganda that they are fighting the Evil Empire, with Trump being its current personification (they always need a bogeyman!).
2. And they believe that ANYTHING they do--no matter how illegal, and especially leaking classified information to the propagandist media--is justified in this social justice jihad to overthrow (yes OVERTHROW--SEDITION!!!) Donald Trump.
3. This is not Washington politics as usual--this is WAR by other means, and the Democrats do not care one whit about the rules or the law. There is no longer any "Geneva Convention" or "Code of Conflict" in Washington politics!
Read 24 tweets

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