IR Theories

NSTRUCTION

You will be required to write a paper one of the IR theories we have covered in class to a current event of your choice.

The first step in this process will be to explain your IR theory. What are the general assumptions of the school of thought? How do those that adhere to the theory think about the interaction between actors on the global stage? What does the theory assume about human nature? Etc… You then must provide a brief explanation of your event. Finally, you must indicate the way that someone from your school of thought would interpret the event you have just explained. You only have 3-4 pages so you must carefully choose the most important aspects of the theory and the event you are explaining. (Note: this paper does not require that you defend or make an argument for a particular theory rather you are only to apply a theory to a specific case in question) The theory you have chosen may not be able to explain all aspects of the event. What is it able to cover? What does it fail to take into consideration? Be explicit and thorough.

This paper should be approximately 3-4 pages double spaced (not including the bibliography) in Times New Roman 12 point font with 1 inch margins. You should have 3 sources outside of the class reading material that provides more information about the IR theory and current event that you are explaining. Your paper should be free of grammatical errors and be in the MLA citational formatting style.

IR Theories to choose from (Sign up day April 8th …switching must be approved by the instructor) Realism Liberalism Postmodernism Feminism Constructivism