Paper on Corruption in the Dominican Republic , Political Science

IR367/PO360: INTRODUCTION TO LATIN AMERICAN POLITICS AND  INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS  Fall 2020    RESEARCH PAPER AND GROUP PRESENTATION ASSIGNMENT    These are two assignments about the same country. You have all been assigned to  groups. The first assignment is a group assignment—the presentation, which you  prepare and give together. The second assignment is an individual assignment—the  research paper, which you write by yourself.     The due dates are rolling throughout the semester. ​Check the syllabus for your  country’s presentation and paper due date.   

1. GROUP PRESENTATION:    You have been assigned to country groups. Your presentation should be on the  following issues:     What are the challenges that country currently faces? ​You can bring in ​current  events​ from political upheaval to corruption to economic downturn to drug  trafficking to criminalization of women’s movements or environmental or indigenous  movements…The possibilities are endless. There are a lot of challenges out there!    I would prefer a ​GROUP PRESENTATION. ​You should share responsibilities. It  is best if everyone in the groups speaks, at least a little bit. One option is to choose a  lot of challenges and have each speaker present on one challenge. Another option is  to drill deep on one or two key issues, and have different people present different  aspects of those issues, or different evidence for why they are important.    The presentations will be graded on clarity, argument, and presentation of evidence.  This is a group assignment that will receive a group grade. So, the same grade for all  students in the same group.    During the presentation, please tell the other students (and me) WHERE you found  your evidence. Evidence you may draw on: human rights reports, foreign policy  documents, international relations articles, policy memos, journalism, documentaries,  even protest art, etc. etc.   

**You are welcome to use powerpoint slides, but not required to do so. If you want  to use powerpoint, you can do so by having one group member share the screen for  the whole class—will be easier this way, with just one slide deck.**    Your presentation will be followed by questions and a class-wide discussion of that  country.     

2. RESEARCH PAPER    Your research paper will be on the same country as your presentation.     Here, you will develop a more specific argument to answer the following questions:    What is the single greatest challenge that country currently faces? Why? How  did that challenge develop? What should that country do to meet or resolve the  challenge?     You may draw on a wide range of evidence. Once again, it may be anything from  human rights reports, foreign policy documents, international relations articles, policy  memos, journalism, documentaries, even protest art, etc. etc. Be sure to cite your  sources clearly.    Your paper should be double-spaced in Times New Roman size 12 font, with a  one-inch margin on all sides. Please number your pages and use Chicago style  footnote citations. It should be no longer than 10 pages and no shorter than 8 pages.    This is an individual assignment that will receive an individual grade. It is fine with me  if you write a paper on the same challenge as another member (or several) in your  country group. You would be shocked at how differently different papers on the same  topic turn out—that is not a problem.