International relation theory
International relation theory
analytical (critical) essay.
2,000 words to include two reflections on key concepts
Can be and analytical essay about or
Human Nature: Critiquing the Concepts of Identity & Gender
What Can Human Nature Tell Us About States’ Behaviour?
Race and Racialisation in International Relations
“What Role does Gender Play in War
What Role Does Identity Play in IR?
As a final piece of advice:
Be sure to cite frequently and interact with the literature.
Be sure to develop your narrative in a way that methodically advances your discussion of the concept
Your conclusion should draw inferences from the essay main body. That is, do not come to conclusions not supported by what your essay discussed.
Your conclusion should be “forceful” – that is, convincing and well-supported
Be sure to provide a robust bibliography of sources at the end of each 1,000-word essay. All scholarly writing at this level must be accompanied by a bibliography of sources.
You can frame your chosen concept within a question: Example #1: “What Role Does Identity Play in IR?” or Example #2: “What Role does Gender Play in War?” et cetera
You can even work the concept into a case study, such as: “What Was the Role of Race in the Civil War of America”? Et cetera
Likewise, you can simply choose to discuss a concept, such as; “Classical Realism and the Role of Human Nature” Et cetera.
The permutations of possible topics/questions/ways to discuss a concept are endless. It is up to you to use your discretion in addressing the two concepts you pick for your portfolio. What is important is that your demonstrate intercourse with the literature in developing your narrative around the concept.
In developing a scholarly narrative that demonstrates critical (analytical) reasoning. You need to ask yourselves a range of questions: (1) before you begin writing, (2) as you write, and (3) when you assume your essay is finally ready for submission.
Some of the questions you should be asking might include:
How is my chosen concept defined? Why?
What is the background to the concept, and how has the current debate been shaped over time?
What are the main features of the debate around the concept?
Can I tie the concept to one of the case studies discussed in class?
What are the central narratives that the main literature sources on the concept all help build up?
What case studies can I employ (as a form of evidence) to help validate the approaches I adopt (premises) to support my position around the subject (argument).
Is there a counter-argument to the dominant popular debate around the subject?
If so, what is this counter-argument and how can I weave it into the narrative?
What is the rebuttal to the counter-argument? A rebuttal is meant to weaken the counter-argument without rehashing your original argument
Does my essay have a coherent, logical structure?
Do my sentences link well?
Each 1,000-word section of the portfolio should focus on a critical concept/theory discussed by the final lecture before reading lists. That is, any lecture/topic can be chosen, until Lecture 8.
Each 1,000-word section of the portfolio should include the following:
A brief introductory paragraph.
A paragraph summarizing the concept and its relevance to International Relations.
Two or three paragraphs that together conduct a critical analysis of the subject in question.
We shall discuss the details of conducting a critical analysis in “Lecture 2: Employing a mix
of theory and case studies to write an analytical (critical) essay.”
One or two paragraphs discussing a case study that validates the theory concepts discussed
so far in the portfolio
A recognition of the opposing views, within the critical analysis and in the discussion of the
case study
A summary that intelligently makes inferences from the portfolio main body.
Competent and consistent referencing, with a complete bibliography of sources at the end.
READINGS:
Applying Theory to the Modern International Order
Thucydides: What Can Human Nature Tell Us About States’ Behaviour?
https://learn-eu-central-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/5bfe8efc36910/3798148?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27Human%2520Nature%2520v0.2.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20191110T034414Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21599&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIZ3QX2YUHH4EOO3A%2F20191110%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=dc47d9769944ea9f67f96313570851cda7a401866c61d7d8b602cad02e263e4a
Critical concepts I: Human Nature
Essential Reading
Primary Source – Thucydides (translated by Rex Warner), History of the Peloponnesian War (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974), Pages 1-17; Book 1 and Book 2.
Donald Kagan, ‘The Peloponnesian War 431-404 BC,’ in Donald Kagan, On the Origins of War and the Preservation of Peace (Anchor Doubleday 1985, 15-80)
Mary Beard, Which Thucydides Can You Trust? New York Review of Books, September 30th 2010: https://bit.ly/2mc7AfH
Additional Reading
S.N. Jaffe, ‘The Risks and Rewards of Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War,’ War on the Rocks, July 6 2017, https://bit.ly/2ssLhAM
Russell Meiggs, The Athenian Empire (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972) pp. 23-43.
Andrew R. Novo, ‘Where We Get Thucydides Wrong: The Fallacies of History’s First
“Hegemonic” War,’ Diplomacy and Statecraft, Volume 27, 2016 – Issue 1.
Eric Robinson, ‘What Thucydides Teaches us About War, Politics and the Human
Condition,’ War on the Rocks, August 9 2017, https://bit.ly/2iwpsNJ
Kori Schake, ‘The Summer of Misreading Thucydides,’ The Atlantic, 18 July 2017,
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/07/the-summer-of-misreading- thucydides/533859/
Human Nature: Critiquing the Concepts of Identity & Gender
Race and Racialisation in International Relations
https://learn-eu-central-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/5bfe8efc36910/3816787?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27PL2015%2520-%2520Lecture%25205%2520-%2520final.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20191110T040008Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIZ3QX2YUHH4EOO3A%2F20191110%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=2a0858ee1dbb9df264fb24e2a4de63ed3ea76fa3ed5a640a140f1ce1e91724c8
Critical concepts II: Identity, Gender, and Race
Essential Reading
Tilden J. Le Melle, Race in International Relations, International Studies Perspectives, Volume 10, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 77–83, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1528- 3585.2008.00359.x
R. J. Vincent. “Race in International Relations.” International Affairs (Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944-), vol. 58, no. 4, 1982, pp. 658–670. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/2618476.
Martin van Creveld, ‘The Great Illusion: Women in the Military’, Millennium, vol.29, no.2, (June 2000), pp.429-442. [N.B. Read van Creveld and Elshtain together]
Jean Bethke Elshtain, ”Shooting’ at the Wrong Target: A Response to van Creveld’, Millennium, vol.29, no.2, (June 2000), pp. 443-448
Additional Reading
Saldanha, A. (2011) ‘The concept of race,’ Geography 96 (1): 27-33.
Song, M. (2018) ‘Why we still need to talk about race, Ethnic and Racial Studies 41 (6):
1131-1145.
Mark Tessler, Jodi Nachtwey, and Audra Grant, “Further Tests of the Women and Peace
Hypothesis: Evidence from Cross-National Survey Research in the Middle East,” International Studied Quarterly, Vol. 43, No. 3 (September 1999), pp. 519-532.
Case Study: American Civil War
Realism
https://learn-eu-central-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/5bfe8efc36910/3836236?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27PL2015%2520-%2520Lecture%25206%2520Final%2520Update.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20191110T040050Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIZ3QX2YUHH4EOO3A%2F20191110%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=efb506f9e0e5d8f5f95b01d33b94e9448c641881dccd307c8f35cc4d1e31670d
https://learn-eu-central-1-prod-fleet01-xythos.s3-eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/5bfe8efc36910/3865877?response-content-disposition=inline%3B%20filename%2A%3DUTF-8%27%27American%2520Civil%2520War%2520-%2520final.pdf&response-content-type=application%2Fpdf&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20191110T040110Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=21600&X-Amz-Credential=AKIAIZ3QX2YUHH4EOO3A%2F20191110%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=4af8909a89ec8ab0a4fe2716a5e4dda0bcdeb968f2e15c1b2c05aabffd0d5908
Realism Essential Reading
James M. McPherson, “What Caused the Civil War?,” North and South, 4 (Nov. 2000), 12–22
T. Dunne and B.C. Schmidt, “Chapter 6: Realism,” in J. Baylis, S. Smith and P. Owens (Eds.), The Globalisation of World Politics (Oxford, 2014), pp. 99-112.
Barry Posen, ‘The Best Defense,’ The National Interest, No. 67 (Spring 2002) pp. 119-26.
WilliamC.Wohlforth,’Realism,’inChristianReus-SchmidtandDuncanSnidal,TheOxford
Handbook of International Relations (Oxford, 2008)
Additional Reading
§ John J. Mearsheimer, “Structural Realism,” in Tim Dunne, Milja Kurki and Steve Smith, eds.
International Relations Theories: Discipline and Diversity, 3rd Edition (Oxford, 2013), pp. 77-
John J. Mearsheimer, The Tragedy of Great Power Politics, (New York & London: W.W.
Norton, 2001).
Hans Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations, (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1948).
Kenneth Waltz, ‘Realist Thought and Neorealist Theory,’ Journal of International Affairs, Vol.
44, Issue 1, (Spring 1990) pp. 21-37
“WE’VE HAD A GOOD SUCCESS RATE ON THIS ASSIGNMENT. PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH SCHOLAR WRITERS AND GET AN AMAZING DISCOUNT”
The post International relation theory appeared first on Essaysgalore.
For any questions, feedback, or comments, we have an ethical customer support team that is always waiting on the line for your inquiries.