political science Uploaded NEED bibliography page AND title page (CHECK SAMPLE) 1.Select a topic in the form of a question from the list of approved topics provided. Be sure to list your topic/question at the top of page 1 and do not change it in any w

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Spring 2012 S. Rashid

Approved Research Paper Topics

Issues of Our Times –International

PS 105, Section 001, meeting MWF at 10:00 a.m.

Please select in rank order your top five choices using the numbers to the left of the topic. Please identify your choices by number only, for example #3, #5, #7, #8 and #4.

5. Should the government continue repatriating (i.e., returning) Guantánamo detainees to

other countrie?

7. Given the country’s history, is it possible for an outside power to win in Afghanistan?

9. Is democracy taking root in Iraq?

12. Is Democracy on the decline in Latin America?

13. Is democracy making gains in Asia?

14.Did the U.S. succeed in achieving its goals in its occupation of Iraq?

16. Would increasing U.S. economic aid in the [Middle East] region diminish

support for terrorism and anti-American sentiment?

18. With the decline of Fidel Castro, will Castro’s influence endure in Latin America?

20. Is Hugo Chavez a visionary leader or a destructive demagogue?

21. Are Latin Americans growing more anti-American?

23. As the free trade agreement known as NAFTA been a success for the U.S.?

24. Should the U.S. discard President Bush’s Doctrine of preventative war?

25. Are parts of the U.S.A. Patriot Act unconstitutional?

26. Is the government misusing the U.S.A. Patriot Act to promote its own political agenda?

27. Is the non-proliferation treat still an effective shield against the spread of nuclear

weapons?

28. Is the U.S. Doing Enough to halt nuclear proliferation? What more can be done?

29. Should non-proliferation policy aim to eliminate all nuclear weapons?

31. Does Free trade hurt people in the third world?

32. Is Osma bin Laden alone responsible for Islamic extremism or are other factors

responsible for this international phenomenon

33. Is massive aid the best strategy for saving Africa?

34. Can Jeffrey Sachs End Global Poverty?

36. In a world of finite energy supplies, does China threaten U.S. Energy supplies?

37. Is China a military threat to the U.S. or its Southeast Asian allies?

38. Does China present a technological challenge to the U.S.?

39. Is India’s commitment to secularism and pluralism waning?

40. Should India have a permanent seat on the U.N. Security Council?

43. Is U.S. support for Israel the main obstacle to peace in the Middle East?

44. Are the West and Russia heading for a new Cold War?

45.Is Russia on an inevitable collision course with the U.S.?

46. Is western style democracy possible in Russia?

47. Can Barack Obama deliver the change (in foreign policy) he promises?

48. Is President Obama on the right track in Afghanistan?

49. Should Congress and the President create a commission to investigate the Bush

administration’s counter-terrorism policies?

52. Could the North Korean crisis spark another Korean War?

53. Does North Korea’s nuclear program pose an immediate threat to the U.S.?

54. Should the U.S. go to war with Iran to keep it from acquiring nuclear weapons?

58.Is U.S. leadership and political influence on the decline?

60. Are the U.S. and U.N. doing all they can do to assist and protect the victims from the largely overseas practice of FGM (female genital mutilation)?

61.Should the U.S. attack Yemen in response to the Christmas Day bomber?

62.Is the idea of American Exceptionalism a myth or a truism?

64.Is the U.S. over-reacting to the threat of terrorism in light of the Christmas Bomber?

65.Are politicians playing politics with national security?

66.Does Wal-mart drive down wages and encourage U.S. firms to relocate abroad?

67.Is Wal-mart a net asset or a net liability to U.S. workers?

68.Was Standard & Poors justified in lowering the U.S.’ Credit Rating?

71.Are there lessons the U.S. might learn from domestic violence against government policies in Europe?

72.Was Benjamin Franklin correct to note that those who would trade a measure of liberty for a measure of security deserves neither?

73.Is the Obama Administration’s Strategy in Iraq realistic?

74.Was the Obama administration’s strategy in Libya a model of success?

75.Is the Obama administration’s strategy in Afghanistan realistic?

76.Is it entirely within the U.S. President’s power to fix the U.S.’ current economic

problems?

77.Does the U.S. pursue double standards in its foreign policy stance overseas?

78.Can U.S. foreign policy be guided by a single set of broad principals like democracy?

81.Is Mr. Finklestein correct in alleging that the holocaust is used to cover-up the

the state of Israel’s unjust treatment of the Palestinian people?

82.Is the case of former IMF Director, D.S. Khan’s, alleged abuse of hotel maid Ms. Diallo

primarilyof case of sexism and classism, or do other factors better explain this event.

87.Is George Santayana correct in the claim that “he who ignores the lessons of history

shall be doomed to relive the past”?

89.Is the U.N. a serious threat to U.S. independence?

90.Should the U.S. abandon its resistance to ratifying the International Criminal Court

(ICC) Treaty?

PLEASE NOTE

If none of the above topics is acceptable to the student, then the student will be responsible for identifying an alternative topic not listed above. Alternative topics must take the form of a question that explores a controversial international issue of our times. Alternative topics must then be approved by the instructor before January 30, 2012. If this task is not completed by the student, the instructor will not be responsible for those who have not chosen a topic and gained the instructor’s approval before January 30, 2012, as required.