Various topics in the subject of “INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS”

This is an essay for a 3rd year political science student. The essay is two parts: Proposal (4 pages @ 1.5 line spacing) and Essay (13 pages @ 1.5 lines spacing). Essay much be 100% Original, plagarism free. Essay details: Assignment: Proposal Date Due: 12:00 PM October 9 Value: 20% Late Penalty: .5 mark out of 20 per day PROPOSAL: You are to design and submit a proposal of the research paper that you must write. This proposal must fulfill all of the following requirements: 1) Clearly explain the objective of your paper. What are you attempting to accomplish? What is the thesis of the paper? – what is its central question? 2) Explain how you plan to accomplish this goal. What are the major factors that you plan to investigate? What issues will you address? What methodology will you employ? You may wish to provide a preliminary outline of the paper. 3) Prepare a preliminary bibliography containing at least 15 journal articles and/or books of acceptable academic quality. If you are uncertain whether a source is acceptable please see the instructor. As a function of presenting a bibliography, you must include the proper bibliographic citation. Any accepted academic style (eg. Chicago, MLA…) is acceptable as long as it is used correctly and consistently. Length: It is expected that these proposals will be approximately 3 to 5 typed pages @ 1.5 line spacing. However, students should not feel confined by the suggested length. They may be longer, as long as the three main objectives are fulfilled. Late Penalty: Proposals submitted late will be penalized .5 of a mark per day. (e.g., if the assignment is one day late and it receives an 18/20 it will be marked down to 17.5/20. If it is late a second day, it will be given a 17/20 and so forth). INTRODUCTION TO INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS – 381 RESARCH PAPER and ESSAY SUGGESTIONS Assignment: Research Paper Due Date: 12:00 PM, November 27 Value: 40% Late Penalty: 1 mark out of 40 per day The Research Paper is intended to allow students to examine in detail a research area of their choice. It is expected that the paper will examine an aspect of international relations and provide a comprehensive analysis. A good essay goes beyond its sources; it should express your own viewpoint, informed by the readings and research that you have done. The main point of a research paper is to provide your own critical appraisal of the subject based on the information provided by your readings and research. Quote when it is necessary to provide someone’s precise view, but not so often as to disrupt your analysis. Also, a quotation may illustrate that the person quoted holds a particular opinion, but it hardly proves that the opinion is in fact correct. Logical reasons and specific examples are necessary to support any thesis advanced in your essay. When you do quote directly, or paraphrase, or cite statistics, footnotes/endnotes you must show the source. Copying without credit is plagiarism and results in automatic failure. Your paper must include a bibliography containing at least 15 (fifteen) journal articles and/or books of acceptable academic quality. If you are uncertain whether a source is acceptable please see the instructor. As a function of presenting a bibliography, you must include the proper bibliographic citation. Any style academically accepted style can be used as long as it is employed correctly and consistently. Your essay should always include an introductory statement of the thesis and a conclusion that draws the earlier argument together. To be coherent and to be more than a list of random observations, an essay must have a central theme/question to which every point in the discussion is directly related. The logic of the discussion should be self-evident; it is a waste of time and space to insert tedious explanations and apologies to the reader (e.g., “after dealing with this aspect of the problem, this paper shall try to attempt further analysis of other aspects.”) Similarly, such phrases as “in my opinion”, “there is little doubt”, “I feel it is true that,” should be cut out. Do not use “I” or “we” in academic writing. Remember that the main focus of the paper will be to develop your assessment. The subject material that you will examine is seldom black or white. Therefore, you must show sophistication in your analysis, which ultimately will tell the reader the “so what” of your assessment. No exact length for the paper is prescribed, because some writers can cover more material in fewer words. But on average, essays should be between 10-15 typewritten pages. It is recommended that students always make an electronic and paper copy of their paper before they submit it for marking. It is also very strongly recommended that you find someone to read your paper prior to its submission. An intelligent reader who is ignorant of the subject often is the best reviewer. If parts of the paper do not make sense to such a person, a rewrite of the section is often needed. Finally, students need to recognize that the best papers will rarely if ever be completed in one draft. Give yourself time to do at least two to three drafts and the paper will always be better. It is recommended that you use subheadings in your paper to identify the main points of your paper. If you are baffled by the grade that you receive, concerned about improving your work, or believe that you have been marked unfairly, arrange a meeting with the marker or the instructor. Late Penalty: Papers submitted late will be penalized 1 mark out of 40 per day. (e.g., if the assignment is one day late, it receives a 30/40 it will be marked down to 29/40. If it is two days late, it will be given a 28/40 and so forth). SUGGESTED Essay Topics Areas: (These are to be thought of as issue areas. You need to develop your own specific questions.) 1) Compare and contrast the different theoretical approaches to the study of international relations. What are their strengths and weaknesses? (You should compare two to four different approaches). 2) Does morality exist in the international system? Is there a “right” and a “wrong”? If there is, how is this determined? In your essay be sure to consider the arguments of those who say that morality exists in the international system and those who say that it does not. 3) Select a country (for example, Canada) and explain how it makes its foreign policy. In your essay be sure to provide a detailed evaluation of the main factors that create its foreign policy. 4) What is the role of force in the modern international system? Is the use of force still a valid policy option for states to employ in their own self defence? 5) What is meant by the term “Globalization”? How have economic factors affected the functioning of the international system? Why is it occurring? How is it identified? 6) What is the role of the United Nations in the international system? You may want to limit your examination to a specific time period (e.g. post Cold-War). You may also want to look at a different international organization instead of the UN. 7) How has the international system attempted to resolve problems caused by international environmental degradation? In your essay you need to select one type of environmental problem (e.g., ozone depletion, overfishing, acid rain, etc.) and establish why the problem exists, what states have done to respond to the problem, and evaluate how successful these efforts have or have not been. 8) What problems do developing states face in the international system? What has been done in the international system to assist them to improve the conditions of their peoples? 9) Should states be willing to intervene in the affairs of other states? Why or why not? 10) What is the role of women in the international system? You should pick a specific area of the international system for assessment i.e., conflict, development, etc. 11) What threat does international terrorism pose to the security of the international system? Why does terrorism exist? What can be done to counter its impacts? What has been the impact of 9/11 for international peace and security? 12) Select one of the nuclear powers (United States, Russia (Soviet Union), China, France, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan and/or Israel) and provide a critical explanation and assessment of their strategic policies. 13) Critically examine wars of insurgency. You may decide to pick a specific case study and provide a detailed analysis of it. 14) Critically assess the defence policy of a specific state (e.g., Canada). Be sure to provide a full description of the policies and evaluate the utility of them. You may also want to provide an examination of a specific element of a state’s policy (e.g., Canada’s deployment to Afghanistan). 15) Assess and evaluate the “new” threats to international security (e.g., illegal immigration, drug trade, environmental degradation, etc.). 16) You may select your own topic. It is suggested that you do develop your own research question, but this must be cleared with the instructor to ensure that it meets the requirements of the course.