people in Hongkong protest for their rights

POL 130 – FINAL ESSAY FINAL DUE DATE: December 13th, 7pm

**PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY**

The goal of this essay is for you to demonstrate that you can use the three levels of analysis to analyze a political situation, draw on pertinent concepts we have covered in lectures and readings in order to inform your analysis, and argue for what should be done about that situation in a thoughtful and informed way.

You will pick a current event or political situation in world politics to analyze.

-Pick something concrete. For example, you can write about a particular war, but don't try to just write about war as such. You can write about particular uses of torture by a government or group of people, but don't simply write about torture in general. You can write about female genital mutilation in a particular area, such as Somalia, but don't simply write about FGM in the abstract. YOU ARE ANALYZING A POLITICAL SITUATION OR EVENT, NOT SIMPLY PRESENTING A REPORT OR REFLECTION ON A GENERAL ISSUE OR TOPIC.

-Pick something recent or ongoing. You can draw on historical information as needed, but this is not primarily a historical essay. If you wanted to look at some current or recent dimensions of the US “war on terror”, you could, but I wouldn't want you focusing on the 9/11 attacks at this point. Your topic needs to be something that you can suggest solutions for or directions for action. If you have doubts, run your potential topic by me.

-Pick something “big” enough that you can analyze it using all three levels of analysis, but not so big that you can't meaningfully discuss pertinent details in the space provided. RUN YOUR CHOICE BY ME IF YOU HAVE ANY DOUBTS.

-If you want to focus on a topic related to the country that you have been studying all semester, you can, but you do not have to. You are free to analyze a situation that is totally unrelated to your blog project country if you wish.

Your paper should follow this general structure, and address each of these major points. I have it structured in this way because it gives you space to talk about everything you will need to, and it makes it easier for me to pick out what you are trying to say:

-Your title should clearly indicate what specific situation you are analyzing.

-Begin by stating which political situation or event you will be analyzing. Proceed to provide a brief general description of the situation (what is going on, who the major actors are, why this is interesting or important, etc.). This section should be between ¾ and 1 page.

-Analyze your event/situation at the International System level of analysis. What dynamics at this level can help explain your event/situation? Pertinent concepts discussed in class/readings that might be useful: balance and distributions of power, power politics strategies (using alliances, divide and rule, use or threat of force, etc.), international institutions and norms, Core-Periphery-Semiperiphery systemic inequalities, etc. Think what cuts across boundaries or interactions between states. DRAW EXPLICITLY FROM READINGS WHEN APPROPRIATE. This section should be at least between 1.5 and 2 pages long.

-Analyze your event/situation at the State level of analysis. Pertinent concepts discussed in class/readings that might be useful: historical origins of a state, different kinds of Power Potential of a state (natural, tangible, intangible), Moral and Cultural dimensions of a state and its population (values,

ethnic/religious identities, etc.), Organizational dimension (kind of state, which groups are powerful or marginalized, etc).Think about what is important that is primarily domestic for a state/society. DRAW EXPLICITLY FROM READINGS WHEN APPROPRIATE. This section should be at least between 1.5 and 2 pages long.

-Analyze your event/situation at the Individual level of analysis. Pertinent concepts discussed in class/readings: the individual beliefs, perceptions, values, ideological commitments, psychological processes, personality characteristics, decisions, etc. of both elites and non-elites in a situation. Think about concrete individuals and what they are/may be thinking and doing. DRAW EXPLICITLY FROM READINGS WHEN APPROPRIATE. This section should be at least between 1.5 and 2 pages long.

-After you have analyzed all of the important information required to understand your topic at the three levels of analysis, identify what you think is the most important element(s) for understanding and explaining that situation, and defend your claim. I am looking for specific claims and arguments here (“The personality and beliefs of Netanyahu is the most important thing to explain the recent expansion of Israeli settlements into the West Bank”; “The most important reasons that Iran supports the Assad regime in the Syrian civil war are because of religious affinities and ____ regional geopolitical goals.”; etc). This section should be roughly ¾ page long.

-Propose what you think should be done, by whom, and why in order to address your current situation or event. Your proposals can idealistic or even utopian, but I want them to be concrete, and to suggest particular programs, laws, actions, or strategies that should be taken by some defined set of people in order to be pursued. There is no wrong answer in terms of what personal values and political beliefs you base your answer off of. You will be evaluated in this section by how well you argue you proposal given your stated values and aims. Clarity, use of evidence, coherence between your stated values and your actual proposal(s), and recognition of difficulties or obstacles your proposal(s) might face are all things I will be looking for as evidence of you having thought about this. This section should be at least 1.5 and 2 pages long.

The total length for this paper should be between 8-10 pages. If you only do the bare minimum length for every section, it is unlikely that you are going into sufficient depth in your analysis. Remember, analysis requires explaining why the details you are providing are significant, in part by connecting them to the analytical concepts and perspectives we have learned about. For some issues, the different levels of analysis may not require equal attention. I still want you to do as exhaustive an analysis as possible for each level. If you can't think of anything at all for a level, you defined the scope of your situation too narrowly, too broadly, or too vaguely.

The paper should be double-spaced, in Times New Roman 12pt font, with 1-inch margins on all sides. I will know if it isn't.

Regarding citation style: I don't care which style of citation that you use, as long as it is understandable. You can use either footnotes or in-text citation. You must, however, cite the sources you use and clearly indicate which sources you are using for particular evidence or claims throughout your paper.

Finally, and it shouldn't need to be said, but every semester someone puts this project off until the last minute and I end up having to fail someone for this...

DON'T PLAGIARIZE! If you take information from a source, cite that source. Don't copy and paste the exact words of someone else without indicating that these are their words and not yours. Simply changing one or two words is still plagiarism.