Introducing ‘War of Ideas’

A very exciting housekeeping announcement today. My new blog for FP, War of Ideas, has just launched. Here’s what I wrote for the blog’s intro post: Rather than following the day’s headlines, my goal here is to explore the theory, data, and scholarly debates behind world news. That could mean looking into social science research ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

A very exciting housekeeping announcement today. My new blog for FP, War of Ideas, has just launched. Here's what I wrote for the blog's intro post:

A very exciting housekeeping announcement today. My new blog for FP, War of Ideas, has just launched. Here’s what I wrote for the blog’s intro post:

Rather than following the day’s headlines, my goal here is to explore the theory, data, and scholarly debates behind world news. That could mean looking into social science research that expands our understanding of new developments. It could mean keeping an eye on the intellectual food fights playing out across university campuses and think tanks. It could mean delving into the books that are shaking up policy debates — or are about to.

But my broader goal with the project is to expand the definition of what we consider "foreign policy." Many FP readers are likely familiar with the latest strains of thought in, say, development economics, military doctrine, or political science. But I’m interested in exploring how fields as diverse as anthropology, linguistics, psychology, medicine, religion, or cartography can help us have a more informed conversation on global politics.

For the first day, I wrote on how Twitter may have been used by military planners during the Libyan war,  how geologists determine the all-important spot where a country’s continental shelf ends, and consider what — if anything — Hugo Chavez’s ‘Bolivarianism’ had to do with the actual Simon Bolivar.

I’ll hope you’ll visit regularly, comment, and engage me on Twitter at @joshuakeating. I will still be writing frequently on Passport for newsier items, but the day-to-day supervision of the blog will now in the more than capable hands of my colleague, Uri Friedman. 

Running this blog for the last five (!) years has been an absolute blast. Thanks to all of you for reading. 

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

Tag: War

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