Tuesday, June 23, 2009
The International Relations Guide to Parenting
International relations theorist Stephen Walt has posted a hilarious and insightful guide to international relations that attempts to apply international relations theory to parenting, especially the challenge of parenting two or more children. Having one child is like managing a bipolar foreign policy regime (e.g., the U.S. vs. USSR during the Cold War), whereas having two or more children is like managing a multipolar foreign policy regime (e.g., more like what we have now). Meanwhile, when my cousin Karen gave birth to two male twins, I would suggest that Stephen Walt would compare it to the destabilizing effects of the breakup of Yugoslavia.
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And how true this one is:
ReplyDelete"And once the kids are mobile, you learn about another key IR concept: the window of opportunity. You're feeding or changing Kid #1, and Kid #2 makes a bolt out the front door, just like North Korea tested a nuclear weapon while we were busy with Iraq." Remember when your cousin's twins did this? Marcus diverted his parent while Isaac proceeded to sneak up the forbidden staircase? Perhaps that is another aspect of IR's relationship to parenting: kids show an overwhelming desire for things they can't have (no, don't touch the computer! No, you can't eat that - it isn't time for dinner! Etc.) -- very reminiscent of countries going over to take the land from another country....