The objectives of this assignment are to help students learn how to put together a coherent and convincing argument about one or more theories of international relations. The assignment combines skills in research and writing that have been foreshadowed and/or practised in the bibliographic assignment.
The essay questions are available here.
- What is the Westphalian system of states and how relevant is it today?
- Explain the role of the United Nations in world politics using one of the theories
covered in this course (plz check the lecture notes i sent). - Is peace between powerful states possible? Evaluate using either a liberal or
neorealist approach. - Why do states want nuclear weapons? Critically discuss this question, applying a
neorealist analysis. （demonstrate in two perspective） - How does a Marxist approach to IR help us to understand underdevelopment? Use
one or more examples from contemporary IR to illustrate your point. - How does feminist IR approach questions of power? Outline one issue in IR using a
feminist approach. - What roles do norms play in the reduction of conflict? You may refer to issues such
as crimes against humanity, war crimes, R2P in your response. - What is poststrustructuralist international relations, and does it afford a better
understanding of power in international relations than the other approaches? (This
question can be answered by choosing a contemporary issue and demonstrating the
power of poststructuralism, or by comparing poststructuralism to alternative theories) （200words）
Here are some required reading, You can use them as reference:
Required Readings
Neil Smith, ‘The Geography of Uneven Development’, in Bill Dunn and Hugo Radice (eds) 100 Years of Permanent Revolution. London: Pluto Press, 2004.
Andreas Bieler and Adam David Morton, ‘Historical Materialism and International Relations: the social relations of production’, Theorising the International, Class 6, https://sites.google.com/site/irtheoryresource/home (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Required Readings
Cox Michael. (2017) From the end of the cold war to a new global era. In: Baylis J, Smith S and Owens P (eds) The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Seventh ed. Oxford, United Kingdom; New York: Oxford University Press, 68-82.
Hoffman Frank G. (2007) ‘Conflict in the 21st Century: The Rise of Hybrid Wars (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.’, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, pp. 7 – 17.
Required Readings
Dunne Tim. (2017) Liberalism. In: Baylis J, Smith S and Owens P (eds) The globalization of world politics: An introduction to international relations. Seventh ed. Oxford, United Kingdom; New York: Oxford University Press, 116-128.
Doyle Michael. (2005) Three Pillars of the Liberal Peace. The American Political Science Review 99(3): 463-466.
Panic Mica. (1995) The Bretton Woods System: Concept and Practice. In: Michie J and Grieve Smith J (eds) Managing the Global Economy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 37-54.
Oxfam. (2017) An Economy for the 99% – Executive Summary (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. Oxfam Briefing Paper, accessed 5 February 2017, 1-8.
Required Readings
Best Anthony, Hanhimaki Jussi, Maiolo Joseph A and Schulze Kirsten E. (2014) The First Cold War in Europe. In: International history of the twentieth century and beyond. Routledge, 229-260.
Gaddis John Lewis. (1992) International relations theory and the end of the Cold War. International Security 17(3): 5-58.
Hara Kimie. (1999) Rethinking the ‘Cold War’ in the Asia-Pacific. The Pacific Review 12(4): 515-536.