irls 492 are ir theories useful tools in identifying emerging issues in 21st century international affairs if so how if not why not

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Quiz1:

Week 4 Midterm Assignment

This assignment is a take-home essay assignment of 1 question, 3 full pages, to test knowledge and assimilation of the course objectives. Use required readings and outside scholarly sources as needed. This means that you must use materials from the course lessons on this assignment, focusing on integrating as many readings as possible from lessons 1-3 in addition to reliable outside sources. This is a formal assessment; you must demonstrate that you can synthesize and analyze the material. This means quotations can only be used sparingly, if at all. Be sure to attribute ideas to the authors by paraphrasing and then citing them at the end of the sentence as in (Author year, page).

Question: Are IR theories useful tools in identifying emerging issues in 21st-century international affairs? If so, how? If not, why not?

Please submit your assignment as a Word doc, using Times New Roman 12-point font, standard one-inch margins, and double spacing.

Name your file LastnameIRLS492midterm

Readings

All readings are found by title at https://apus.libguides.com/er.php?course_id=6099.

Schwab, Susan C. 2011. “After Doha.” Foreign Affairs 90(3): 104-117.

Feldstein, Martin. 2012. “The Failure of the Euro.” Foreign Affairs 91()1: 105-116.

Rajan, Raghuram. 2012. “The True Lessons of the Recession.” Foreign Affairs 91(3): 69-79.

Subramanian, Arvind. 2011. “The Inevitable Superpower.” Foreign Affairs 90(5): 66-78.

Additional Resources

Robert Gilpin, “The theory of Hegemonic War,” The Journal of Interdisciplinary History Vol. 18, No 4 (Spring 1988): 591-613. http://ezproxy.apus.edu/login?url=http://www.jstor…

The Theory of Economic Stability, https://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/pol116/hegem…

International Monetary Fund, www.imf.org

World Trade Organization, “The Doha Round,” http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dda_e/dda_e.ht…

CFR Crisis Guide: The Global Economy

For further information from one of the most prominent and controversial international economic institutions, the World Bank, see the Global Economic Prospects slideshow.

Quiz2: Week 6 Image and Audio Presentation

Attachments checked for originality? Yes

Assignment Instructions

This week, you will hand in Part 1 of the final assignment.

The final assignment will be an analytical policy recommendation on an international/foreign policy issue. It will take the form of a three-part multimedia presentation to a decision maker who has to determine the policy on this issue. All topics must be approved by the instructor. Please account for any feedback that you received on your proposed issue of focus in the Week 3 forum.

Directions:

There are three components to this multimedia presentation:

1. The image and audio presentation (due Week 6);

2. The video presentation (due Week 8); and

3. The written executive summary (due in the Week 8 forum) – limit 150 words.

Part 1: Image and Audio Presentation (Due Week 6):

The goal is to provide an overview and background information regarding your issue. Think of this part as setting the stage, or creating some buzz for your final assignment. Avoid going into your specific policy recommendations in Week 6; you will do that in a later assignment. Focus on establishing the current policy and discussing the reasons for change. You will accomplish this by describing the current policy and the reasons for change through a presentation of relevant images with audio description (5 minutes in length). Please do not go over the 5 minute length limit. You will lose points if you cannot keep the audio to under 5 minutes – and it will be difficult to upload the file in the classroom if it is too long.

This part of the presentation should consist only of images that represent the main points or themes you will discuss, and the accompanying audio should depict the “story” you want to communicate through those images. You will submit the images with audio, and a written script. Pull the images and audio together by using Screencast-o-Matic or any other video-making program. The resulting file should be an .mp4 file extension. It’s easiest to set up a PowerPoint presentation that you control from your screen – and then use Screencast-o-Matic’s features to record your audio as you move through the slides. The final product will be a video.

Please submit the transcript in a Word document in the Assignment folder Week 6. Then upload the video to the Media Gallery tab on the left side of the classroom. Remember, it should be 5 minutes and no more or else it will be difficult to upload. Make sure that you upload these parts of the assignment:

1. The image presentation with audio in .mp4 video and

2. A written script of your verbal presentation.

Please label your files as follows: LastName.FirstName.Week6Assignment (note: is it very important to include your name!)

Some questions to consider:

Statement of purpose – Why is the decision-maker being asked to consider a policy change at this time?

Review the Current Policy – What are we currently doing, why are we doing it this way, what is the public’s perception of the policy? Assess how well it is or is not working.

Statement on the Necessity for Change – What circumstances (e.g., changes in government, leadership, stability, etc.) have changed that make a new approach advisable or necessary?

You do not have to limit the policy to something that is occurring in US foreign policy. You could take the view of another state or non-state actor, or you could take a global view from an IGO like the United Nations.

WARNING: Do not use PowerPoint with embedded audio to make this presentation. It will not load properly in the classroom because the file is too big.

Reading & Resources

The first six articles are part of an exchange between leading economic development economists in the Huffington Post:

Sachs, Jeffrey. “Aid Ironies.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/aid-ir…

Sachs, Jeffrey, and John W. McArthur. “Moyo’s Confused Attack on Aid for Africa.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/moyos-…

Moyo, Dambisa. “Aid Ironies: A Response to Jeffrey Sachs.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dambisa-moyo/aid-iro…

Easterly, William. “Geography Lessons: Correcting Sachs on African Economic Development.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-easterly/geo…

Sachs, Jeffrey. “No Need to Oversimplify Poverty.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-easterly/geo…

Easterly, William. “Back to Sachs: Astrology, Despotism, and Africa.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-easterly/bac…

Letters: “Up from Poverty.” The Washington Post. March 27, 2005.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A645…

Bollyky, Thomas J. 2012. “Developing Symptoms.” Foreign Affairs, 91(3): 134-144. https://apus.libguides.com/er.php?course_id=6099.

Arias, Oscar. 2011. “Culture Matters.” Foreign Affairs, 90(1): 2-6. https://apus.libguides.com/er.php?course_id=6099.

Additional Resources

Global Policy Forum, https://www.globalpolicy.org/social-and-economic-p…

United Nations Development Program (UNDP), http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home.html

The World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/

International Monetary Fund (IMF), http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

Quiz 3: Week 8 Video Presentation

Assignment Instructions

This week, you will hand in Parts 2 and 3 of the final assignment.

Part 2: Video Presentation:

In the video presentation, you will provide an analytical discussion and conclude with an actual policy recommendation (no more than 10 minutes in length). You must create a transcript of the video with scholarly references included, but you do not need to speak the references. You can use the Media Gallery tab on the left side of the classroom to upload your video presentation. You also may use the webcam feature in the Media Gallery to record your video presentation, or you may use Screencast-0-Matic audio and video. This assignment will be a video of you – your voice, your face. Please make sure you are prepared for the technology required to complete the assignment. Practice early in the term with a mock video and then reach out to me or Classroom Support if you are having trouble. Please add this to your Media Collection and be sure to share it. Please label your file as follows: LastName.FirstName.Week8Assignment (note: is it very important to include your name!)

Discussion:

Discuss the alternatives to the current policy option by enumerating and explaining each policy option in turn. You should present several policy alternatives, and they must be serious alternatives. The alternatives presented must be serious contenders that have been weighed in terms of pros and cons.

Pros and cons of each policy option should be discussed next. Identify the political, economic, and security implications for each option. Each policy option should be compared and contrasted to the other options as well as to the current policy. The analysis should seriously consider the feasibility of implementation, not only in terms of economic or strategic implications, but also in terms of political feasibility. There are always going to be some benefits and some costs to any policy proposal – there is no proposal so good that it does not have some costs associated with it. Trade-offs are the heart of the policy process.

Recommendation:

Clearly identify which option will be recommended and which options will be discounted.

Clearly lay out the argument for why that option is better than each of the others.

Support your arguments with both quantitative and qualitative evidence from academic literature.

Part 3: Written Transcript and Executive Summary:

Written transcript: In creating the video, it is easier to write your script first and then create the video. Write as if you are preparing an analytical essay, but edit the language and tone for video presentation. Upload your transcript to the Week 8 assignment folder as a Word document. Don’t forget to include the in-text references and a References List, just like a normal academic paper. (Do not speak the in-text references – just skip over them in the video. If it’s important for your audience to know whose work you are citing, add something like “Stephen Walt suggests that foreign policy should …”.)

Executive summary: This component will consist of a 150-word written executive summary, which you will post in the Week 8 forum. It is due by 11:55 pm Eastern time on Thursday of Week 8.

The executive summary should include the following information:

A statement of current policy;

Reasons for initiation changes;

Policy options to be considered; and

Recommended course of action.

Be prepared to defend your reasoning for the new policy in the Week 8 forum, including pros and cons of the alternatives.

Readings

“Risks and Opportunities in International Affairs 2018” – Adam Ward, Chatham House Perspectives – https://reader.chathamhouse.org/chatham-house-expert-perspectives-2018-risks-and-opportunities-international-affairs#

Additional Resources

Teaching Tips Live Student Video Presentations –

 
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