The Joint Geeks of Staff

Clara and Ian broadcast a late 1 April episode after some technical issues that cropped up while they were on vacation. They break down the 13 Dimensions of a Foreign Service Officer using a case study from the Galaxy Far, Far Away! Learn about the rubric by which potential diplomats are judged through some absolutely fantastic examples taken from a unique life. Everything ends with Ian and Clara revealing their true source of marital angst....

NavyCon 2022 has been postponed until this fall, but in the meantime, if you want to send us a proposal, please go ahead and do so!

Reach out to us via Discord at:discord.gg/6xg2sApfGJ

The Joint Geeks on this episode are: Ian Boley (@IBBoley) and Clara Engle Boley. No one else wanted anything to do with this episode. Except Tom. But he couldn't make it.

The 13 Dimensions: https://careers.state.gov/work/foreign-service/officer/13-dimensions/

The State Department's careers website--note that they hire both specialists (people with marketable skills) and generalists (diplomats). https://careers.state.gov/

Clara's Lemon Cardamom Rolls recipe: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019242-lemon-sweet-rolls-with-cream-cheese-icing

If you’re interested in going deeper into the theories we mentioned on the show, check out our works cited page:

The origins of realist theory can be found in the works of Thucydides, but you don’t have to read The Peloponnesian War to get a grasp on the basics of the topic. For defensive realism, a good starting place is: Kenneth N. Waltz, “The Origins of War in Neorealist Theory,” Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 18, No. 4 (Spring 1988). 615-628. Link here: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/sipa/S6800/courseworks/OriginsOfWar.pdf

Offense-Defense theory is found here: Sean M. Lynn-Jones, “Offense-Defense Theory and its Critics,” Security Studies, Vol. 4. No. 4 (1995). 660-691. Link here: https://pages.ucsd.edu/~bslantchev/courses/pdf/Lynn-Jones%20-%20Offense-Defense%20Theory%20and%20Its%20Critics.pdf

For offensive realism, the foundational text is intimidating in size, but very well-written and a quick read. Check out: John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Updated Edition (New York, NY: Norton, 2014). https://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Great-Power-Politics-Updated/dp/0393349276

Liberalism as an international relations framework was first articulated by Immanuel Kant, but as with Thucydides, you don’t need to read his work to understand the basic tenets of liberalism. Instead, go to: Michael W. Doyle, “Kant, Liberal Legacies, and Foreign Affairs,” Philosophy and Public Affairs, Vol. 12, No. 3 (Summer 1983). 205-235. Link here: https://canvas.uw.edu/files/49769298/download?download_frd=1 (This article comes in 2 parts. The second part is more difficult to find without access to JSTOR or another database, but there are summaries available.)

For a deeper dive, see: G. John Ikenberry, After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order after Major Wars (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001). Link: https://www.amazon.com/After-Victory-Institutions-Strategic-Rebuilding/dp/0691050910

The constructivist school offers some powerful explanatory tools to the study of international relations. Its breakthrough article is: Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics,” International Organization, Vol. 46, No. 2 (Spring 1992). 391-425. Link here: https://courses.helsinki.fi/sites/default/files/course-material/4594742/Wendt.pdf

The Joint Geeks on this episode are Matthew Ader (@AderMatthew), Ian Boley (@IBBoley), and Clara Engle Boley. Check out the podcast Twitter @thejointgeeks, and go to our parent organization @anavycon for the NavyCon 2021 call for papers!

Intro and outro music composed and performed by Greg Mutersbaugh.

Several links for those who want to help with the recovery in Texas are here: https://www.texasmonthly.com/news/how-to-help-texans-recover-from-the-winter-disaster/

Works cited:

For an example of what salami tactics are and how things could play out, see this clip from Yes, Prime Minister: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxbFk4viTSQ

Thomas Schelling, Arms and Influence. Revised ed. (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008) Free edition on JSTOR here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt5vm52s

Vipin Narang, Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013)

Francis J. Gavin, Nuclear Statecraft: History and Strategy in America’s Atomic Age (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2012)

If you’re interested in learning more about the different schools of deterrence theory, check out Charles Glaser, Analyzing Strategic Nuclear Policy (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990), especially chapter 2. Free edition on JSTOR here: https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt7zvvxj

For an overview of the history of nuclear thought (but one that deserves to be read with caution and compared to Gavin’s work) check out Fred Kaplan, The Wizards of Armageddon. Reissued ed. (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991)

The Joint Geeks on this episode are Cory Hollon (@cory_hollon), Eric Muirhead (@StarfleetHist), Matthew Ader (@AderMatthew), Ian Boley (@IBBoley), and Clara Engle Boley. Check out the podcast Twitter @thejointgeeks, and check out our parent organization @anavycon for some exciting news soon!

Intro and outro music composed and performed by Greg Mutersbaugh

Reagan’s War Stories: Fiction and Policymakers

On this week’s episode of the Joint Geeks of Staff, Ian and Claude sit down with West Point professor Ben Griffin to discuss his new book, Reagan’s War Stories: A Cold War Presidency. Together, we discuss how fiction shaped Reagan’s policymaking, the role of science fiction authors in the missile defense debates of the day, and what place fiction can occupy in the midst of global turbulence. Also on this episode, Claude gives some crystal-clear advice to museums everywhere, and Ian sets up the next episode with a chilling preview of the world to come...

Our thanks to the Naval Academy Museum for sponsoring us. Our intro and outro music was composed and performed by Greg Mutersbaugh.

Ben’s book can be found here: https://www.usni.org/press/books/reagans-war-stories or on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Reagans-War-Stories-Cold-Presidency-ebook/dp/B09V33LLN8/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

The Joint Geeks are back for Season 3, and this time we’re live! This is our first panel from DragonCon 2022. Tom, Ian, and Cory are joined by Will Hudson and Kent Newland and a wonderful convention audience! We discuss how the galaxy far, far away dealt with the challenges of fielding a military. From leadership to recruitment to clones to conscription, we dig into what worked, what didn't, and why things might have changed along the way.

Check out our Discord at discord.gg/6xg2sApfGJ

The Joint Geeks on this episode are: Tom Harper (@thomasLharper), Cory Hollon (@cory_hollon), Ian Boley (@ibboley). We’re joined by Kent Newland (Insta: @justkentbob) and William Hudson (Insta: @hotdogAC92).