Dr. Joshua B. Rubongoya Fall 2007
Office: West Hall 119, Ext. 2444 Block 10
Office Hours: 11:45am – 1:00pm, Tues/Thurs, or by appointmentClassroom: West Hall 123
e-mail:
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS (POLI 231A)
Course Objectives:
(a)To achieve an understanding of how the international political system works.
(b)Discuss the factors which influence the perspective and behavior of states toward one another.
(c)Examine the role of non-governmental and inter-governmental actors in the international system, in particular the UN system.
(d)To enhance our understanding of the international political system through a comprehensive study of international politics theory.
(e)To relate international politics to our own day to day experiences.
Required Reading:
Rourke, John T. International Politics on the World Stage, 10th ed., (McGraw-Hill, 2003)
Scott, Gregory M. & Stephen M. Garrison. The Political Science Student Writer’s Manual, 5th ed., (UpperSaddleRiver: Prentice Hall, 2006)
New York Times (Fintel Library)
Grading:
Overall course grades will be based on formal grades for:
Three (3) short answer examinations (30%)
Research/Discussion Assignments (15%)
A research paper (25%)
A final examination (20%)
Overall class participation (10%)
(Both in-class and out-of-class exercises will be assigned to test understanding of the major issues. Expect material from these exercises on tests and exams.)
Absences will have an adverse negative impact on overall course grades. One absence will be permitted. Save it for emergencies, athletic competition and illness. A second absence and each subsequent absence will result in lowering of your final overall class grade by one percent. Chronic absences may result in dismissal from the course with a failing grade. Such dismissal will be preceded by a formal warning. Any absence from any graded exercises without prior permission from the instructor will result in a grade of "0". No make-up examinations will be given. A 10-page research paper will be used as substitute for examination grades missed due to approved absences.
Each class session begins with a 5-10 minute discussion of international political news stories via internet sources. Punctuality is therefore expected and required.
Academic integrity is required and expected. Paper assignments submitted for other courses cannot be accepted for this or any other courses. Enrollment constitutes acknowledgement by the student of his/her awareness of all definitions, rules, and procedures relating to academic integrity. Please review the contents of the College Academic Integrity Handbook.
Students are advised to consult with the instructor if they are encountering difficulty in the course.
Special Academic Needs:
If you are on record with the College’s Special Services as having special academic or physical needs requiring accommodations, please let me know as soon as possible. We need to discuss your accommodations before they can be implemented. Also, please note that arrangements for extended times on exams and testing in a semi-private setting must be made at least one week before the exams.
If you believe you are eligible for accommodations but have not yet formally contacted Special Services, contact the Office of Academic Services (x2248).
Electronic Devices:
Cell phones and pagers must be turned off prior to entering the classroom or lab.
The use of any electronic device during a quiz or exam is strictly prohibited. This includes PalmPilots, Pocket PCs, and Blackberrys. Any use of such devices during a quiz or exam will be considered a breach of academic integrity. Basic handheld calculators may be used on certain quizzes and exams only when announced by the instructor.
Post Script:
Pajamas and night gowns are not acceptable classroom attire.
Course Outline:Part I:
Week 1
Aug 30 & Sep 4 / Evolution of World Politics Systems (2) / Rourke, Ch. 2
Week 2
Sept 6 & Sep 11 / Levels of Analysis and Foreign Policy / Rourke, Ch. 3
(Tentative) Sep 11 / Test One / Chapters 1, 2 & 3
Part II:
Week 3
Sep 13 & Sep 18 / Nationalism / Rourke, Ch. 4
Week 4
Sep 20 & Sep 25 / Globalization & Transnationalism / Rourke, Ch. 5
Part III:
Week 5
Sep 27 & Oct 2 / National States / Rourke, Ch. 6
Week 6
Oct 4 and Oct 9 / Intergovernmental Organizations / Rourke, Ch. 7
(Tentative) Oct 9 / Test Two / Chapters 4, 5, 6, & 7
Part IV:
Week 7
Oct 11 / National Power & Diplomacy / Rourke, Ch. 8
Week 8
Oct 15 - 19 / Fall Break
Week 9
Oct 23 & Oct 25 / International Law and Justice / Rourke, Ch. 9
Part V:
Week 10
Oct 30 & Nov 1 / National Security
International Security / Rourke, Ch. 10/11
(Tentative) Nov 1 / Test Three / Chapters 8, 9, 10 & 11
Week 11
Nov 6 & Nov 8 / Wilson & Barber Articles*
Coffee Shop Discussion I
Part VI:
Week 12
Nov 13 & Nov 15 / National Economic Competition
International Economic
Cooperation / Rourke, Ch. 12/13
Week 13
Nov 20 / Huntington & Said Articles
Nov 22 / Thanksgiving
Part VII:
Week 14
Nov 27 & Nov 29 / Human Rights & Dignity / Rourke, Ch. 14
Week 15
Dec 4 / Hoffman & Fukuyama Articles
Coffee Shop Discussion II
Week 16 Dec 14 / Final exam: 8:30 – 11:30am
* Presentation schedules will be provided after Fall Break.
International Politics (POLI 231A)
Fall 2007
RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT
The research paper must be 8-10 (double-spaced) pages in length, exclusive of bibliography. The
paper will focus on one of the broad topics (attached) from which a clearly defined thesis is to be derived.
It must include a historical background to your topic. Theoretically the paper is to be written using the
following theoretical frameworks: the three levels of analysis; realism/idealism and many other
conceptual models e.g. nationalism, transnationalism, etc. You’ll be expected to submit your choice of
topic, a paper outline (inclusive of thesis), a theoretical framework, and bibliography on the dates indicated below. Once your topic and outline are approved, no later changes will be permitted.
Please note that your paper will be graded based on the following criteria:
1. The presence of a clearly stated thesis that is developed and demonstrated throughout the paper.
2. Thoughtful application of the course material, i.e. regimes, historical precedents, theoretical principles, etc.
3. Organization of the paper and
4. Grammar, spelling and overall presentation of the essay.
Research notes, and drafts must be used and submitted (these will be returned). The completed paper, one good copy AND your disk must be submitted. The graded original with comments will be returned, the disk will not. The instructor may require that poorly researched or written papers be re-written prior to the assignment of a paper and course grade. Handwritten papers are not acceptable and all papers must include textnotes and a bibliography following the format indicated in the "Guidelines for Research Papers" (attached). Please use a paperclip and be sure to submit the paper (plus all material required for submission) in a folder or secure envelope.All work must be original for this course. Failure to utilize proper citation and quotation procedures (use Cuba as the guide) and/or failure to meet any of the above mentioned requirements constitutes a violation of academic integrity. Students are expected to be aware of and to review the contents of the College Academic Integrity Handbook.
Choice of topic:September 13
Choice of theoretical framework, paper outline and bibliography (typed):September 27
Completed Paper is due:November 20
No papers will be accepted later than November 26. Failure to submit all required materials by this date will result in a grade of "0".
Two points will be deducted from the overall grade for each day that the topic proposal or outline and bibliography is overdue. These will not be accepted after September 17 and October 1 respectively. Four points will be deducted for each day the completed paper (plus all material required for submission) is overdue. Papers will not be accepted later than November 26. All materials are due at the beginning of class on the date indicated. Papers not handed in at the beginning of class will be considered late. Computer related excuses will not be entertained!
Consult the instructor if there are any questions regarding the research for or writing of the paper. If you are not in the habit of writing drafts, begin to do so. PC users should print hard copies and retain disks which may be requested by instructor if necessary. Computer gimmicks like enlarged marginalization or font-size reduction will adversely affect your paper grade.
International Politics (POLI 231A)
Fall 2007
Suggested Research Paper Topics
1. Nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferation
2. The Kashmir question
3. Prospects for peace/causes of conflict in the Middle East
4. Significance (or insignificance) of international law in contemporary international relations
5. The role of oil in shaping the international system and/or in the distribution of power around the world
6. Health pandemics/epidemics and the politics of containing them.
7. Nation building in the 21st century: Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.
8. American foreign policy in the 21st century
9. Stability/instability on the KoreanPeninsula
10. World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF): What impact on Africa and/or Latin America
11. Terrorism: Motives, causes, history and dynamic
12. Trading blocs – North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), European Union (EU), Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS): Significance to world distribution of wealth and power.
13. The shift to the left in Latin America.
14. Globalization: boon or bane?
15. Nationalism, transnationalism and fundamentalism: what implications for global stability?
16. Human Rights and Democratization: Africa, Asia, Latin America.
GUIDELINES FOR RESEARCH PAPERS
1.All papers should be organized around the theme, have an introduction, a discussion of the problems or issues addressed by the theme and a conclusion.
2.Textnotes and bibliographies using the style conventions listed on the accompanying sheet (entitled "ASA Documentation Style") are required.
3.Further guidelines for political science research may be found in Lee Cuba's A Short Guide to Writing About Social Science.
4.Captions, sections and chapters should be used only to give coherence to the paper. A title page including title, name, date, and course is required.
5.All papers must be typed, double-spaced. Two copies must be submitted. A graded annotated copy will be returned.
6.Poor grammar, documentation, construction, and spelling will be used as criteria for grading and will result in the lowering of one's grade. One cannot demonstrate one's knowledge or argue a case persuasively unless one can communicate properly. The instructor may require that poorly written papers be rewritten and resubmitted prior to the assignment of a grade.
7.Promptness in submitting the paper is a requirement. Exceptions will be granted only for the most compelling reasons after prior consultation with the instructor. Penalties will be assessed for failure to submit requirements on time, as defined in the Syllabus.
8.Bindings or fancy folders are not necessary. Papers should not be stapled.
9.Submit all notes, rough drafts, and PC hard copies for evaluation. They will be returned.
10.Students should consult with the instructor while developing paper topics and during the course of research.
11.Be sure to follow all directions contained in the research assignment directions.
12.All students have received and are assumed to be cognizant of the pamphlet Academic Integrity at Roanoke College. Read that document, especially the sections concerning papers and plagiarism, prior to beginning your research.
ASA DOCUMENTATION STYLE (i.e., Reference Format)
References in the Text
All source references are to be identified at the appropriate point in the text by the last name of the author, year of publication, and pagination where needed. Identify subsequent citations of the same source in the same way as the first.
1.If author's name is in the text, follow it with year in parentheses:
According to Duncan (1959), most corrections officials operate in a vacuum.
2.If author's name is not in the text, insert in parentheses the last name and year:
At least one researcher (e.g., Gouldner 1963) has offered evidence contrary to the Commission's report.
3.Pagination follows year of publication after a comma:
As Kuhn (1980, p. 71) makes clear, no one is willing to make a public statement.
No one has made a more public cry for "scientific revolutions" than Kuhn (1970, p. 71).
4.Give both last names for dual authors. Give all last names on first citation in text for more than two authors: thereafter use "et al." in the text. When two authors have the same last names, use identifying initials in the text. For institutional authorship, supply minimum identification from the beginning of the complete citation.
Clinard and Meier (1986) report findings that are similar to those reported by Poole, Regoli, and Lotz (1979).
Poole et al. (1979) were able to replicate the studies of both A. Smith (1972) and B. Smith (1974).
Less than 50 percent of the population understands sentencing disparity (U.S. Bureau of the Census 1963, p. 117).
5.Separate a series of references with semicolons and enclose them within a single pair of parentheses.
The deprivations of prison life have been well-documented (Burgess 1968; Cohen 1962; Maxwell et al. 1971).
6.More than one reference to the same author and year is to be distinguished by the letters a, b, etc., added to the year.
"Rehabilitation is likely to be little more than rehabituation" (Jones 1983a, p. 73).
References in the Appendix
List all items alphabetically by author and, within author, by year of publication, in an appendix titled "REFERENCES". The reference appendix must include all references in the text. List the names of all authors, using full first names.
1.More than one reference to the same author and year is to be distinguished by the letters a, b, etc., added to the year.
2.The first letter of each word in a title should be capitalized. Titles of books, journals should underlined or italicized.
3.Give the publisher's name in as brief a form as is fully intelligible (e.g., John A. Wiley and Sons should be "Wiley").
4.If the cited material is unpublished, use "forthcoming" with name of journal or publishers; otherwise use "unpublished".
Books:
U.S. Bureau of the Census. 1960. Characteristics of Population. Vol. 1. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
van den Haag, Ernest. 1975. Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question. New York: Basic Books.
Periodicals:
Cullen, Francis T., Bruce G. Link, Nancy T. Wolfe, and James Frank. 1985. "The Social Dimensions of Correctional Officer Stress". Justice Quarterly. 2(4):505-534.
Goodstein, Lynne, and John Hepburn. 1986. "Determinate Sentencing in Illinois: An Assessment of its Development and Implementation". Criminal Justice Policy Review 1(3):305-307.
Collections:
Cohen, Jacqueline. 1978. "The Incapacitative Effect of Imprisonment: A Critical Review of the Literature". Pp. 187243 in Deterrence and Incapacitation: Estimating the Effects of Criminal Sanctions on Crime Rates, edited by Alfred Blumstein, Jacqueline Cohen, and Daniel Nagin. Washington, DC: NationalAcademy of Sciences.
Tjaden, Patricia Godeke, and Claus D. Tjaden. 1981. "Differential Treatment of the Female Felon: Myth or Reality?" Pp.8388 in Comparing Female and Male Offenders. edited by Marguerite Q. Warren. Vol. 21, Sage Progress Series in Criminology, edited by Michael R. Gottfredson: Beverly Hills: Sage.
A RESEARCH PAPER CHECKLIST
Name: Date:
Topic:
Title:
Writing a research paper involves a long but orderly process which must be followed step by step. Use this checklist to guide you through the process, scheduling enough time to complete each phase thoroughly. Your schedule may have to be revised several times as you go along.
Date Completed / Steps to Be CompletedSchedule / Actual
1.Select a Subject. Unless your subject has been assigned, pick one that genuinely interests you, one that you can live with for a long time and that can be researched with the resources available to you. Keep a notebook of new items, facts or names that catch your attention from back issues of Time. You may notice a pattern of interests that you want to research further.
2.Survey the Subject by Preliminary Reading. Get an overview of your subject by reading background articles in general works, such as an encyclopedia, or cover stories in Time. This helps you identify the significant aspects of the subject and the research material you will need to use. It also helps you narrow your topic and formulate the preliminary thesis for your paper.
3.Narrow the Subject into a Topic. The topic must be one that you can explore in depth. Reject topics that are too big, too familiar or too complicated for the assignment. Make sure you can generate a thesis for your topic.
4.State Your Preliminary Thesis. A thesis is the controlling idea around which the research paper will take shape. A good thesis presents a point that can be proven by the facts gathered in research.
5.Prepare a Preliminary Bibliography. To make this list of sources, look in your library's card catalog, The Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature, special reference works in the library and in non-book sources, such as interviews, letters, local newspaper files or museum exhibits. List sources on 3x5 index cards which can be rearranged as your research progresses.
6.Prepare a Working Outline. The thesis goes at the top of the page and is divided into subheadings which are the categories to research. Categories can be found by leafing through your bibliography or by asking questions about your thesis: Who, what, when, where, why and how?
7.Conduct Research and Take Notes. Use 3x5 index cards which can be sorted and rearranged when it is time to write your paper. Each card should have a main heading summarizing the idea on the card and should include only one idea, fact, or quote from one source. It should also include the category from your working outline and the source from your preliminary bibliography.
8.Review Your Notes. Make sure you have covered your topic thoroughly. Facts or quotations you have found in your research may cause you to modify your original thesis or outline.
9.Arrange Note Cards and Outline Paper. Organize note cards by their headings and arrange them in a logical manner. With your thesis at the top of the page, write down the headings in outline form.
10.Write the First Draft. A good research paper contains an introduction which states the thesis, a body which develops ideas from the outline through specific information contained on you note cards and a conclusion which summarizes your research and restates the thesis. Be sure to put quotes around another person's words or words that are copied verbatim from a source.