An existential crisis for the blog

Those poor souls with enough time on their hands to click on this blog’s “about me” page may recall one reason I gave for blogging: I love the academic side of my job, i.e., the researching and writing about international relations theory. But I’m also a policy wonk. And since the New York Times op-ed ...

By , a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast.

Those poor souls with enough time on their hands to click on this blog's "about me" page may recall one reason I gave for blogging:

Those poor souls with enough time on their hands to click on this blog’s “about me” page may recall one reason I gave for blogging:

I love the academic side of my job, i.e., the researching and writing about international relations theory. But I’m also a policy wonk. And since the New York Times op-ed page mysteriously refuses to solicit my views, the blog lets me scratch that itch.

Well, today I have an op-ed in the New York Times on offshore outsourcing. Here’s the opening paragraph:

John Kerry is making the outsourcing of jobs by American companies a centerpiece of his campaign, telling audiences that “because of George Bush’s wrong choices, this country is continuing to ship good jobs overseas.” President Bush’s team has in turn accused the senator of hypocrisy, noting that many of Mr. Kerry’s supporters in the business world run companies that are sending jobs offshore. Yet as each side angles for votes, neither is addressing the real issue: is the outsourcing of jobs a problem? The answer, surprisingly, is no.

I’m less than thrilled with the title, “Where Did All the Jobs Go? Nowhere” because I’m not claiming that the employment situation is hunky-dory — it’s not. I’m claiming that the contribution of offshore outsourcing to that employment picture is prett minimal — contrary to popular belief. Anyway, I have every confidence that this will be the topic of discussion among policy cognoscenti for today! [Ahem, did you see who wrote the other op-ed for the Times today?–ed. Hey, who are Americans going to listen to — an untenured professor located somewhere in flyover country, or the guy who won the popular vote for President in 2000? Besides, the last time a prominent big shot shared a prominent piece of publishing real estate with me was when Sandy Berger had a Foreign Affairs essay in the same issue as me. And look at what happened to him!] Anyway, an awkward question arises — if I can publish in places like the New York Times op-ed page…. do I still need the blog for itch-scratching? An internal debate worthy of only the most pure of egomaniacs…..

Daniel W. Drezner is a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and co-host of the Space the Nation podcast. Twitter: @dandrezner

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