Growing Sectarian Violence in Iraq

Posted on September 21, 2013 by briansandberg

briansandberg's avatarCluster for the Study of Religious Violence

Sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia militants is again growing in Iraq. A series of bombings targeting civilians at mosques and funerals has rocked Baghdad over the past week.

In the latest attack, a suicide car bomb and two other bombs exploded at the site of a Shia funeral in the Sadr City district of Baghdad on 21 September, killing at least 60 people and wounding over a 100 more.

SadrCity-bombing

Shia militants were probably behind an attack the day before in Samarra, when two bombs exploded at a Sunni mosque during Friday prayers.

According to the BBC, “Sectarian violence has surged across Iraq in recent months, reaching its highest level since 2008. The violence was triggered in April by an army raid on a Sunni Muslim anti-government protest camp near Hawija, also north of Baghdad. The country has also seen a spill-over of violence from the conflict in Syria…

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Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Religious Politics, Religious Violence, Terrorism, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

UN Confirms Sarin Gas Used in Attack in Syria

Posted on September 16, 2013 by briansandberg

According to the BBC, “The UN has confirmed ‘unequivocally and objectively’ that chemical weapons have been used in Syria.”

A new UN report based on forensic testing indicates that “sarin gas was used in a rocket attack in the Syrian capital, Damascus, last month, although it has not attributed blame.”

UNinvestigation

The Washington Post reports that: “The U.N. inspection team was in Syria last month to investigate smaller-scale attacks allegedly involving chemical weapons elsewhere in the country when rebel-controlled or contested areas in the Ghouta region outside Damascus came under attack from rockets reportedly containing nerve agents. The United States said the rockets were fired from regime-controlled locations and contained sarin, killing more than 1,400 people, including more than 400 children.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated clearly that “This is a war crime.”

The UN report on its investigation into chemical weapons allegations is online. The Washington Post and the BBC have published articles on the UN report on the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian Civil War.

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Religious Violence, Revolts and Revolutions, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

On International Law and Military Intervention

Posted on September 15, 2013 by briansandberg

The use of chemical weapons and mass killing of civilians in Syria have escalated calls for the United States and its allies to launch military strikes in Syria. John Kerry (US Secretary of State), Samantha Powers (US Ambassador to the United Nations), and other members of President Obama’s administration have articulated a humanitarian rationale for attacking Syrian government forces with air and missile strikes.

The European Union and NATO remain politically divided, however, with only limited support for direct military action against the Syrian government forces.

Meanwhile, American public opinion is strongly against military action according to many polls, which cite war-weariness as a major factor.

Often ignored in the debate on intervention in Syria are the international laws of war. International laws on the conduct of warfare (including the ban on the use of chemical weapons) have been elaborated through customary law (extending back at least to the sixteenth century), the Geneva Conventions, and other modern treaties. The United Nations (UN), signatory nations, and the International Criminal Court (ICC) all exercise enforcement powers for the international laws of war.

War crimes are complicated, but the ICC provides a basic legal definition on its website: “‘War crimes’ include grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and other serious violations of the laws and customs applicable in international armed conflict and in conflicts ‘not of an international character’ listed in the Rome Statute, when they are committed as part of a plan or policy or on a large scale. These prohibited acts include:

  • murder;
  • mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
  • taking of hostages;
  • intentionally directing attacks against the civilian population;
  • intentionally directing attacks against buildings dedicated to religion, education, art, science or charitable purposes, historical monuments or hospitals;
  • pillaging;
  • rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancy or any other form of sexual violence;
  • conscripting or enlisting children under the age of 15 years into armed forces or groups or using them to participate actively in hostilities.”

The ICC can prosecute cases of war crimes, but often only once a military conflict has been resolved.

The UN remains the international body most effectively able to intervene in an active war, such as the Syrian Civil War, to enforce the laws of war. Yet, the Security Council has been unable to reach agreement on a response to alleged Syrian government abuses of the laws of war, largely because of Russia’s status as a Security Council permanent member and its alliance with Syria.

KerryLavrov

The United States and Russia have apparently finally agreed on an approach to identifying and dismantling Syria’s chemical weapons. This agreement paves the way for a UN Security Council resolution to enforce the laws of war (at least on chemical weapons use) in the Syrian Civil War.

Despite the tentative agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons stockpiles, the debate over military intervention continues. Sebastian Junger, a war reporter and author, argues passionately for military intervention in the Syrian Civil War based on both humanitarian and international legal rationales, for example.

Sebastian Junger’s op-ed appears in the Washington Post.  NPR and the Washington Post reports on the US-Russian agreement. NPR also provides a report on the history of chemical weapons.

The ICC website has information on international law and the laws of war. The UN Security Council provides information on its structure and resolutions.

Readers interested in a historical perspective on the laws of war may consult Michael Howard, George J. Andreopoulos, and Mark R. Shulman, eds., The Laws of War: Constraints on Warfare in the Western World (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994).

Posted in Civil Conflict, Civilians and Refugees in War, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Revolts and Revolutions, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Center for Renaissance Studies Graduate Conference

Posted on September 13, 2013 by briansandberg

Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies
2014 Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference

Call for Papers: http://www.newberry.org/01232014-2014-multidisciplinary-graduate-student-conference

Proposal Deadline: October 15, 2013

Conference: January 23 – 25, 2014, at the Newberry Library, Chicago

Downloadable PDF flyer—please post and circulate: http://www.newberry.org/sites/default/files/calendar-attachments/2014_CFP.pdf

The Center for Renaissance Studies at the Newberry Library invites abstracts for 15-minute papers from master’s or PhD students from any discipline on any medieval, Renaissance, or early modern topic in Europe, the Americas, or the Mediterranean world. The 2014 conference will be expanded to accommodate more students, with eighteen sessions and a total of seventy-two presenters.

Proposals are accepted only from students at member institutions of the Center for Renaissance Studies consortium (http://www.newberry.org/center-renaissance-studies-consortium-members).

Faculty and graduate students at member institutions of the Center for Renaissance Studies consortium may be eligible to apply for travel funding to attend this program (http://www.newberry.org/newberry-renaissance-consortium-grants).

For more information, contact:

Center for Renaissance Studies
The Newberry Library
60 West Walton Street
Chicago, IL 60610-7324
phone: 312-255-3514
fax: 312-255-3502
renaissance@newberry.org
www.newberry.org/renaissance
Posted in Conferences, Early Modern Europe, Early Modern World, European History, European Wars of Religion, Graduate Work in History, Reformation History, Renaissance Art and History | Leave a comment

Reenacting the War of 1812

Posted on September 10, 2013 by briansandberg

The bicentennial of the War of 1812, which lasted from 1812 to 1815, continues to attract attention in parts of the United States and Canada.

Naval reenactors recently simulated the battle of Lake Erie, which was fought in September 1813 between the American squadron under Captain Oliver Hazard Perry and a British squadron. The Great Lakes had became a theater of naval and amphibious warfare during the War of 1812 and the battle of Lake Erie represented an important American victory during the conflict.

USS Niagara

A replica of the USS Niagara, a brig, was the centerpiece of the reenactment. Captain Perry transferred his battle flag, “Don’t Give Up The Ship,” to the Niagara at the height of the fighting at the battle of Lake Erie. Perry reported the victory, writing: “we have met the enemy and they are ours.”

NPR reports on the reenactment of the battle of Lake Erie. The organizers of the bicentennial of Lake Erie reenactment maintain a website.

Posted in Early Modern World, Empires and Imperialism, History of Violence, Maritime History, Museums and Historical Memory, War, Culture, and Society, Warfare in the Early Modern World | Leave a comment

McEducation: Franchising College eCourses

Posted on September 4, 2013 by briansandberg

McEducation has arrived. Education corporations are seeking to franchise Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and deliver electronic courses to college students across the nation and around the world.

The franchising process involves having the professors who create MOOCs license their courses for use by other colleges and universities (presumably for a payment and/or royalties). Princeton Professor Jeremy Adelman, who teaches a history MOOC, “worries about a process that he suggests could be called course ‘franchising.'”

“Mitchell Duneier once was a MOOC star,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, but “worried that the massive open online courses might lead legislators to cut state-university budgets, the Princeton University sociology professor has pulled out of the movement—at least for now.”

“The change of heart happened, he says, after Coursera approached him about licensing his course so other colleges could use the content in a blended format, meaning a mix of online and face-to-face instruction,” according to the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Professors at state universities and community colleges have good reasons to be wary of the growing trend in educational franchising.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

Posted in Digital Humanities, Education Policy, Humanities Education, Information Management | Leave a comment

Position in Modern Military History at Ohio State

Posted on September 3, 2013 by briansandberg

The Department of History at The Ohio State University invites applications for the Donald G. and Mary A. Dunn Chair in Modern Military History (post-1900), with a research focus on non-U.S. military history. We seek a candidate who has conducted research and who has compiled a strong publication record on the history of non-U.S. countries and combatants in World War I and/or World War II.  The candidate must possess a demonstrated ability to use sources in relevant languages.  The candidate would be expected to teach history survey courses and thematic courses in military history at the undergraduate level, in addition to undergraduate and graduate seminars in his/her specialty.  The Dunn Chair must possess a Ph.D. and qualify for appointment as a tenured professor.

Candidates should submit a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names and contact information of three potential references.  The search committee might subsequently ask applicants to provide copies of research publications and/or materials that document teaching accomplishments.  Candidates are encouraged to submit initial application materials online through Academic Jobs Online at: https://academicjobsonline.org/ajo/jobs/3028.  Paper materials will also be reviewed if mailed to Professor Geoffrey Parker, Chair, Dunn Chair Search Committee, Department of History, Ohio State University, 106 Dulles Hall, 230 West 17th Avenue, Columbus, OH 43210.  Review of applications will begin on October 15, 2013 and will continue until the position is filled.

For further information see the position announcement on H-Net.

Posted in Careers in History, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment

Administrative Bloat at American Universities

Posted on August 26, 2013 by briansandberg

With all the buzz over the past week about President Obama’s new plan for reforming higher education in the United States, it is a good time for a reminder about why higher education costs are rising.

Obama-SUNY-Buffalo

Grossly bloated university administrations are responsible for much of the growth in educational costs over the past generation.

An article in Bloomberg Businessweek reports that “the number of Purdue administrators has jumped 54 percent in the past decade—almost eight times the growth rate of tenured and tenure-track faculty.” In the article, Purdue University is used as a case to represents  the broader national trend in administrative growth at universities and colleges.

“U.S. Department of Education data show that Purdue is typical: At universities nationwide, employment of administrators jumped 60 percent from 1993 to 2009, 10 times the growth rate for tenured faculty,” according to Bloomberg Businessweek.

So, while the costs of instruction (which correlate to faculty salaries) have remained practically flat over the past twenty years, the number of university administrators and the amounts of their salaries have grown incredibly.

Previous posts at this website have discussed this issue. See the sections on “Education Policy” and “Humanities Education”.

For further reading on this topic, see: Benjamin Ginsberg’s The Fall of the Faculty: The Rise of the All-Administrative University and Why it Matters (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011). See also my post on this important book.

ginsberg-falloffaculty

Bloomberg Businessweek reports on administrative bloat at American universities. Thanks to my colleague, Sean Farrell, for sharing this reference.

Posted in Education Policy, Humanities Education, Political Culture | Leave a comment

President Obama’s Plan for Higher Education

Posted on August 26, 2013 by briansandberg

Last week, President Barack Obama unveiled his plan for higher education reform.

Unfortunately, Obama’s plan focused almost exclusively on the cost of college tuition and fees. His plan misunderstands the reasons for higher tuition rates, which largely stem from a 20% growth in university administration over the past two decades, rather than an increase in instructional costs. The costs of new technologies has also affected university budgets. At public universities, higher tuition rates have also resulted from massive cuts in educational funding by state legislatures.

Obama-SUNY-Buffalo

Obama’s plan misdiagnoses the problems in higher education, focusing almost exclusively on tuition rates. See my previous posts in the section on “Education Policy” for data on tuition rates and the cost of higher education.

One of the major features of the plan would be a rating system of colleges and universities, based on “performance.” The Chronicle of Higher Education reports: “The president’s proposal to reward colleges based on a new kind of rating system, one that Mr. Obama said would favor colleges that are improving their performance and that are “helping students from all kinds of backgrounds succeed,” is broader than similar ideas he has put forth before.” But, the ratings for “performance” would assess colleges and universities for the performance of the students themselves. So, a student who earned Ds, Fs, or dropped out would reflect poorly on the university, even the student never showed up to class at all. Such a system would merely encourage grade inflation and passing students who failed to perform up to standards. This is no way to assess how higher educational institutions are performing.

Another element of the plan encourages universities to embrace teaching methods employing technologies, especially Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). MOOCs have some role to play in higher education, but the President is following the inflated rhetoric of Bill Gates and other computer gurus in presenting MOOCs as a panacea for the problem of rising educational costs. MOOCs cannot replace face-to-face contact and classroom learning, so they can at best supplement other forms of instruction and learning, rather than providing cheap education. See my other posts on MOOCs in this website’s sections on “Education Policy”, “Humanities Education”, and “Information Management”.

Obama’s plan is hardly original. The ideas he is advancing have been developed by major educational foundations and think tanks, some of them with lobbying connections to large corporations that produce educational software and publications.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that: “The president’s plan dovetails closely with the agendas of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which has spent $472-million to remake college education in the United States, and of the Lumina Foundation, the largest private foundation devoted solely to higher education. Many features of the president’s plan have been advocated, too, in the research and analysis of the New America Foundation’s education-policy program.”

The President’s overview of his plan is available on the White House website.  The Chronicle of Higher Education reports on the plan itself, the sources of its ideas, as well as reactions to the plan and criticism of its provisions.

Posted in Education Policy, Humanities Education, Information Management, Political Culture | Leave a comment

On Chemical Weapons and Military Intervention

Posted on August 26, 2013 by briansandberg

Chemical weapons seem to have been used in the Syrian Civil War last week, probably by Syrian government forces.

Médecins sans frontières (MSF), known in English as Doctors Without Borders, has issued a statement confirming that approximately 3,600 Syrian civilians have been treated for neurotoxic symptoms consistent with chemical weapons. MSF states that “Patients were treated using MSF-supplied atropine, a drug used to treat neurotoxic symptoms. MSF is now trying to replenish the facilities’ empty stocks and provide additional medical supplies and guidance.”

Syrianvictims

Dr. Bart Janssens of MSF indicates that “MSF can neither scientifically confirm the cause of these symptoms nor establish who is responsible for the attack.” But, Janssens argues that “the reported symptoms of the patients, in addition to the epidemiological pattern of the events—characterised by the massive influx of patients in a short period of time, the origin of the patients, and the contamination of medical and first aid workers—strongly indicate mass exposure to a neurotoxic agent. This would constitute a violation of international humanitarian law, which absolutely prohibits the use of chemical and biological weapons.”

A United Nations (UN) team has been deployed to Syria to investigate the site of the alleged chemical weapons attack. The UN team has already attempted to reach the site, but had to turn back after coming under fire by snipers, according to the BBC.

Amid vociferous calls for military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, following this alleged chemical weapons attack, comes a potent historical reminder of the politics of chemical weapons.

Newly available documents show that the CIA knew of Iraqi chemical weapons stockpiles during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s. Further, the CIA provided Saddam Hussein with military intelligence on the Iranian Army’s positions, even though the CIA was predicting that Hussein would order chemical weapon attacks on the Iranian soldiers.

SaddamHusein-1988

According to Foreign Policy, “In contrast to today’s wrenching debate over whether the United States should intervene to stop alleged chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government, the United States applied a cold calculus three decades ago to Hussein’s widespread use of chemical weapons against his enemies and his own people. The Reagan administration decided that it was better to let the attacks continue if they might turn the tide of the war. And even if they were discovered, the CIA wagered that international outrage and condemnation would be muted.”

For the MSF statement, see its website. BBC reports on the UN team’s attempts to investigate the alleged chemical attack. Foreign Policy reports on the CIA’s assistance to Saddam Hussein during the Iran-Iraq War.

Posted in Civilians and Refugees in War, European Union, History of Violence, Human Rights, Laws of War, Strategy and International Politics, War, Culture, and Society | Leave a comment