Thoughts from the Air

Well, As I write this I'm in the air, not sure what country I'm flying over but I'm guessing it's Iran. I've been waiting to come to this region my entire life, it seems unbelievable that I'm actually here. This may be an odd analogy, but I kind of feel like a kid on Christmas. … Continue reading Thoughts from the Air →

Why Americans Don’t (and May Never) Understand Nation Building

I'm taking a brief interlude from my travel blog to bring you some thoughts, once again, about foreign relations. Obviously, CA (see previous post for explanation of this term) has been on my mind a lot and I've been reading as much as I can, trying to educate myself on the region. This is a … Continue reading Why Americans Don’t (and May Never) Understand Nation Building →

The Calm

Well, training is finished and I'm in that all too familiar stage of the journey that marks the calm time before everything really gets going. In the past 3 weeks I've been in Tulsa, Memphis, and now South Bend, enjoying time with family and friends before I won't get to see any of them for … Continue reading The Calm →

Transition

So, it begs the question... why am I moving to Central Asia? I've had several people ask me this, and yes, I've asked myself this same question at least twice a day since the opportunity had the inklings of reality. One of the main responses that people have had when I tell them what I'm … Continue reading Transition →

Travel Blog

It's been ages since I posted anything on here. However, that will soon be remedied. This blog, while I'll still use it for the occasional rant on foreign policy and such, is being repurposed and will become my official travel blog while I'm in Afghanistan for the next year. Feel free to subscribe if you'd … Continue reading Travel Blog →

A Few Brief Thoughts on War

There has been a lot of buzz lately about the possibility of war with Iran. If this is news to you, get out from under your rock. Of course I've read a lot of analysis on what war with Iran could cost; higher gas prices, another decade of occupation, and the potential of driving Moscow … Continue reading A Few Brief Thoughts on War →

World Volatility and the Relevancy of Democracy

It's 12:18am, March 8th, as I begin to write this. There are a lot of thoughts rolling around in my head so I'll articulate them the best I can. I'll start out with an analogy. Today, the "new" iPad was announced. Among all the cool new things it's capable of, the iPad can now … Continue reading World Volatility and the Relevancy of Democracy →

China and Africa

Anyone who follows me on twitter (which I highly recommend) has likely seen their feed blow up in the past day with posts about China and what it's doing in Africa. Before I get into that too much, a little background for those of you who don't speak International Relations. Beijing Consensus- China's foreign policy … Continue reading China and Africa →

China-Africa Oil Ties

They may not do it the way I would consider ideally... but China realizes the market and the potential in Africa.

Development and Democratization

I'll be the first to tell you that I am neither an expert on development nor democratization. However, I think I may have a few relevant thoughts. It is my belief that development lends itself to the promotion of democratic ideals (perhaps not specifically Western democratic ideals, but the point still stands.) As a general … Continue reading Development and Democratization →