DEPARTMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS NI0221 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PAPER GUIDELINES Objective Writing is an essential communication skill in business and

d in life generally. The paper assignment in this course is intended to help the student develop academic writing skills, sharpen analytical skills, and assess the students capacity to coherently and persuasively explicate a specific topic of international relations. Methodology The papers must be written to academic standard. This means: 1) they must be wellorganized, with a beginning, a middle, and a conclusion, 2) They must be properly punctuated and composed of complete sentences and paragraphs of sensible length, 3) they must make use of at least five academic sources; this means articles published in academic journals or in newspapers, as appropriate (Wikipedia, though a useful reference, is not an academic source and is therefore not acceptable as a citation); websites (not to be confused with articles accessed or downloaded online) may not account for more than two of the necessary five sources, 4) these sources must be cited according to a recognized academic standard (e.g. MLA, Chicago, APA), 5) the sources must be listed in a bibliography at the end of the paper. Papers must be approximately 1000 words in length. Your approach to this length should be based on common sense, but anything under, say, 750 words is unequivocally too few, while anything over 1,500 is likely too much. Papers must have a point. Generally speaking, this means an argument or controlling idea that elevates the paper above a simple collection of facts. As a rule, it is best to clearly state the argument near the beginning (that is, no later than the second paragraph) of the essay, then develop the argument in a series of paragraphs in the middle section, before concluding with a paragraph that sums up the essays claims. Do not plagiarize. You dont need to. You are welcomeindeed you must use other sources to inform your work; just quote and cite such work. Topics Topics should be based on some current aspect of international relations. following are some possibilities: The

FTAs: do they benefit developing countries? If so, how? (this topic, as with all of these suggestions) will require specific focus: you should choose a specific case and use it to illuminate the topic)

The Arab Spring: analyze a specific uprising and speculate about its likely outcome Food: choose a relevant food-related question (e.g. what effect will climate change have on food production? or Can the world produce enough food to feed a growing planet? or What are the implications of genetically modified food? or How is globalization changing food production and distribution?) Economic crises in the US and EU: analyze the likely global effects of the economic instability in either of these regions. Social capital: a valuable concept? Explore the fashionable concept of social capital and its implicationsusing a specific examplefor developing countries. The environment and economic development: are development and environmental protection compatible? Find a specific case to support your argument War and security threats in the 21st century: is nuclear deterrence a relevant concept in the post Cold War world? Will terrorism likely continue to be the mainor at least most talked aboutthreat to security in the next decades? Will climate change cause wars? Find a question such as one of these to ask, and then answer it. US/Colombia relations: is the US really a friend to Colombia? strategic and/or economic interests in Colombia? What are the USs

A topic of your own choosing: find a topic that interests you, or something that puzzles yousomething that doesnt make senseand try to make sense of it. If you choose your own topic, you must email me with it to make sure that it is appropriate. Important note: it is not necessary to answer all of the questions asked after the possible topics above. You may choose one of them, or create your own; the point is to be focused and to have a specific point of view. Due date Papers should be submitted to the drop box for the purpose no later than October 15. Do not forget to put your name on the document! Hint: When you write your paper, imagine that you are selling me the information it contains. The grade you receive will in effect represent how much Im willing to pay for what youre selling. The clearer you present your case, the more compelling your argument, the more interesting, the funnier (though be careful with this one; being funny in formal writing is difficult to do)the more that I, in a word, enjoy reading what you produce, the higher the value I will place upon it.