Nob-les Oblige: An Introduction

Hello dear reader, welcome to my very first front page post. Most of you have seen me in and about these parts over the past few years, but for those who have not had the (mis)fortune of reading my rambling comments a short introduction.

I go by Nob Akimoto (a shortening of my birth name “Noboru”). Yes, I am Japanese, no I don’t have an accent (other than a Midwestern Ohioan twang) and currently live in Texas.

I go to school at the University of Texas at Austin as a master’s candidate at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, specializing in international law and global governance. No, I am not a political scientist, an attorney (though I have taken law school courses) nor an economist. I do have training in all three fields plus a smattering of history.

In my spare time I am a dungeon master and RPG setting author (the World of Avlis, minor plug: www.avlis.org ) and general sci-fi/fantasy geek. I love the following sports teams: The Chicago Cubs, Bulls, Bears, Fire and Blackhawks. The Ohio State Buckeyes and the Texas Longhorns. Chelsea FC, Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund. I am avid smoker of cigars and I used to be a scotch connosieur until I gave up drinking about a year ago.

I write to you today because I tend to comment on matters regarding foreign affairs and Erik was kind enough to invite me to fill a niche. While I will on occasion touch on subjects other than foreign policy (particularly the geeky ones), my primary blog posts will be about foreign policy. I don’t usually like labels, but I will flat out say I am liberal in my political leanings.

There will occasionally be begged questions, but I hope you, dear reader, will forgive my lapses. I will of course include a lexicon at some point with short summaries of IR theories and other terms as they come up. I hope to also include a short reading list with definitions so that you might explore them if you eventually feel the need.

This introduction is also here to solicit feedback. My primary interests in the field of foreign affairs has been security (specifically law and terrorism as well as maritime security), diplomatic history, and of recent financial history. That said, I’m flexible and I am equipped with google scholar plus database access, so I can give you concise summaries on a number of subjects if you so desire.

I would like to know what international issues Gentlemen here at the League find interesting. I would be happy to oblige you with a reasonably concise summary of what I know and what I think of it. For now dear reader, I bid you good night.