Research Paper - International Relations (PLEASE READ ALL INSTRUCTIONS)
kp2014
intl_relations_research_paper.docxPLEASE FOLLOW ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS COMPLETELY:
OUTLINE SETUP:
· Appropriate heading/title
· Introduction
· Body (sections, sub-sections, paragraphs, complete sentences)
· Conclusion (please do not restate the information presented earlier)
· Paper must be 6 - 8 pages maximum, double spaced, 11 point Arial font, with 1” margins on all sides of each page.
· Don’t start a new paragraph or subsection on a new page unless you are at the end of a page.
· Number pages consecutively and ALL source material must be accurately cited where necessary. (APA format and be consistent)
· Excellent use of grammar and spell check.
TOPIC OF PAPER:
Select one of these countries to complete the research paper on its theme of the future of world politics. (Russia, China, Germany, France, Japan, India, or Brazil) Describe and explain the country’s course of action in international affairs.
Describe, explain and try to predict the foreign policy of a major country. Provide insightful, accurate and convincing answers to these questions: (1) What is the country’s policy? (2) What has this course (and not alternative policies) been pursued? (3) Will the current policy continue or is change possible or likely? If so, how will the policy change and why?
Key questions regarding description:
· What are the country’s objectives? What do they want? How much do they want?
· What actual or potential threats or impediments stand in the way of the achievement of these goals? What opportunities exist?
· What methods or instruments have been utilized to deal with existing or potential problems?
· What relationships have been sought and achieved with other major powers and selected smaller countries?
Key questions regarding explanation:
· International level—How much and what sort of power does the country possess?
· Domestic level—Consider
· Culture, especially as influenced by collective memory (How do the country’s elites and public view their own history? With what consequences?)
· Regime (What does the regime value? How does the government attempt to legitimize its authority and with what success?)
· Institutions
· Individual level—apply theories from the lectures, as applicable
Key question regarding prediction:
· Will any of the influences or conditions discussed in the previous categories change in the future? With what effects?
SOURCES:
The quality of this paper is closely related to the quality and quantity of sources used in its preparation. VERY IMPORTANT: It is essential to read a book or books on these subjects and as well as articles from quality journals such as Current History, The Economist, Foreign Affairs and The Washington Quarterly. Internet sources may supplement these sources, but they cannot replace them.
REFERENCES:
-The paper must have a system of references.
-Use footnotes (alternatively endnotes), which are easily inserted by Microsoft Word, rather than the parenthetical style.
-Use the following format, the first reference to a book should appear this way: Anton W. DePorte, Europe between the Superpowers: The Enduring Balance, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1979), pp. 20, 26-30. The second reference to the same source could be DePorte, Europe between the Superpowers, p. 55. The first reference to an article should appear this way: David Rosenberg, “The Origins of Overkill: Nuclear Weapons and American Strategy, 1945-1960, International Security 7 (Spring 1983), p. 14. Thereafter, you can say something like Rosenberg, “Origins of Overkill,” p. 16. Chapters in an edited volume are done similarly to articles. This format is superior to the old op cit and ibid style.
