APU IRLS503 Full Course Latest 2019 September

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 1 Discussion

International
Organizations: Introduction and Overview

So that we
are all on the same page from the outset, please read this blog post before
posting and raise at least one point from it that you deem important in your
Week 1 post:
http://inpublicsafety.com/2016/01/sharpening-scholarly-skills-can-enhance-professional-performance/

After
reading the Week 1 Lesson and completing the first readings, please address the
following questions:

(1) Given
that states are self-interested actors, why do IOs exist?

(2) What
IOs, or kinds of IOs, do you find the most effective or necessary in
international politics and why? Please differentiate between different types of
IOs (e.g., IGOs, NGOs) to explain your answer.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 2 Discussion

IO
Independence and Autonomy: Perspectives from Constructivism and Liberalism

After
reading this week’s lesson notes and reading, please develop an argument that
responds to each of the following questions:

(a) Do you
think IGOs create a convergence of state interests?

(b) Do you
think IGO membership results in socialization?

(b) Do IOs
more generally help foster accountability among states?

Your
answers should not regurgitate the conclusions of these articles, but rather
critique them. Feel free to disagree with the authors if you find reason. For
example, consider these questions in your answer: what assumptions undergird
the arguments of these authors? To what degree are the authors’ conclusions generalizable
across different issue areas, types of countries, or types of IOs?

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 3 Discussion

Institutions
and Regimes: Perspectives from Realism and Liberalism

In 1994,
Mearsheimer wrote an influential article in which he argued that only realism
explains the international system and dismissed other approaches to
international institutions. After reading the lesson notes and all of the
assigned articles from this week, please compose a post that addresses each of
the three points below.

Analyze the
strengths and weaknesses of Mearsheimer’s perspective on international
institutions,

Evaluate
the counterarguments offered by Pevehouse and Russett (2006), and Ruggie
(1982), and

Assess how
relevant the realist paradigm is for making sense of international institutions
and international regimes today.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 4 Discussion

Human
Rights: Treaties, NGOs, and Transnational Networks

Our
readings this week concern the question of why states adopt human rights
treaties and join human rights organizations. We also learn about NGOs and
transnational advocacy networks, and the challenges they face. Please compose a
post that addresses each of the following questions:

How do we
determine whether human rights IOs are effective?

Which types
are most effective: human rights treaties, NGOs, or transnational advocacy
networks?

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 5 Discussion

After
completing the assigned readings and the lesson, what are some of the biggest
challenges IOs face when attempting to preserve security and enact justice?
Analyze some of the factors that determine how successfully or unsuccessfully
IOs address those challenges.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 6 Discussion

International
Financial Institutions: The IMF, World Bank, and WTO

After
completing the assigned readings and reading the lesson notes, please prepare a
post that addresses the following question.

Whom are
IFIs, such as the IMF, World Bank, and WTO, accountable to? In preparing an
answer to this question, analyze whose interests are represented through the
work of these IFIs and some of the accountability challenges they face.

Note: the
objective is not to repeat and agree with one article in this forum; there is
no “correct” answer to this question. The best answers will be well-supported
with citations from our readings and display critiques of key points. We should
end up with a healthy debate.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 7 Discussion

Regional
Organizations: The European Union

The
readings this week apply different theoretical perspectives to analyze the
European Union as a regional IO. For example, in the articles, we read about
rationalism, social constructivism, multi-level governance, enforcement and management
theory, and more. In addition, the lesson notes discuss intergovernmentalism,
supranationalism, and veto player theory. Which theoretical perspective(s) do
you find the most persuasive and why when it comes to analyzing EU
policymaking? Which is the least persuasive and why? Please incorporate
specific examples to support your arguments.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Week 8 Discussion

A Global
IO: The United Nations

Questions
are often raised about the effectiveness of the United Nations in conflict
resolution and peace operations. To what extent has the UN been successful in
mitigating or preventing conflict? Under what conditions are peace operations
likely to be successful?

IRLS503 International Organizations

Assignment Research Proposal

General
Instructions for Assignments and Rubrics

All
assignments should be written in Word and uploaded as attachments within the
Assignments section of the classroom.
Use 12 pt. New Roman font and double-space. Be sure to put your name and class
information on the document and put your name on the file. Insert page numbers on all graduate-level work. Assignments will be graded using a rubric appropriate
for your class level.

Graduate
Rubric 500-600 Level

Specific
Instructions for the Research Proposal:

The purpose
of this assignment is to derive a specific research focus and create a plan for
carrying out your research. Please prepare a document that addresses each of
the points below. Label each section and comprehensively address the points
within each section. This assignment should be 2-3 pages in length.

(1) IO
Selection and Research Question: Select an international organization to focus
on and do some initial research to identify a problem with this IO. For
example, is its effectiveness debatable? Does it suffer from accountability or
legitimacy issues in its institutional design or decision-making processes? Is
it unable to achieve its goals? Dominated by a few powerful member states?
Unsuccessful in socializing certain member states? Unable to influence the
behavior of states? Experiencing internal power struggles? Struggling for
external support? Identify the problem and develop a specific research question
to explore.

(2)
Dependent Variable Identification, Definition, and Measurement: Take your
research question and use it to identify your dependent variable (the outcome
you are trying to explain). Example: Why is the UN not more effective at
preventing conflict? Based on this research question, the outcome you are
trying to explain is effectiveness at conflict prevention; therefore, that is
your dependent variable. Next, explain how you will define your dependent
variable and what criteria you will use to measure it. (Based on the example
above, “effectiveness” would need to be defined, and you’d need to come up with
some specific criteria for how to measure effectiveness.)

(3)
Independent variable: An independent variable is a factor that influences the
dependent variable. For example, if effectiveness is the dependent variable, it
might be affected by the strength of cooperation among states in the IO.
Identify at least one independent variable that you believe influences the
dependent variable you identified above, and explain why.

(4)
Hypothesis: A hypothesis is a prediction that puts forth a relationship between
at least two variables. For example: stronger cooperation between states will
increase effectiveness. In this example, you are proposing that variable A (the
independent variable) increases variable B (the dependent variable). Using your
dependent and independent variables, propose a preliminary hypothesis that you
plan to investigate in the research paper. Make sure that your hypothesis is
specific and can be tested in the analysis section of your research paper.
Note: the goal is NOT to prove that your hypothesis is right; rather, it is to
investigate the hypothesis to see how much support it has (or lacks). It’s OK
if you don’t find strong support for your hypothesis. In that case, you’d use
the Conclusion section of your research paper to explain why and to suggest
avenues for future research.

(5)
Research Method and Proposed Data Sources: Identify a research method that will
allow you to test your hypothesis (examples: case study; comparative case
study; content analysis in which you look for themes in documents/websites;
statistical analysis to include percentages, correlations, or regression
analysis). Explain the research method you will use and what it will entail.

Now that
you have a research method, what quantitative or qualitative data will you use
to investigate your hypothesis? If you are interested in using quantitative
data, there are many publicly available datasets available from the World Bank,
V-Dem, the CIA World Factbook, Transparency International, the World Values
Survey, etc. Quantitative data can be
used, for example, to establish trends or changes over time, to compare member
states of an IO on certain indicators, etc.

Qualitative
methods include case studies and comparative case studies in which you go into
a great deal of depth (as opposed to the breadth of quantitative research).
Qualitative studies also rely on data –
data of a qualitative nature. Qualitative information can be collected
from previous case studies, from collecting information from the websites of
the IO and its member states, etc. Please name specific qualitative data
sources that you will evaluate in your analysis. A common way of conducting
qualitative research is to do a content analysis in which you look for specific
words or phrases in texts such as websites or past case studies. See
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/guide.cfm?guideid=61.

IMPORTANT:
the data that you use in your analysis (either quantitative or qualitative)
must be different from the sources that you will review in your literature
review.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Assignment Multimedia Literature Review

Assignment
Instructions

There are
two parts to this assignment: a 5 page written literature review and an audio
summary. Each is described below. The literature review should be written in
Word and uploaded as an attachment within the Assignments section of the
classroom. Use 12 pt. New Roman font and
double-space. Be sure to put your name
and class information on the document and put your name on the file. Insert page numbers on all graduate-level
work. The audio portion of this assignment should be uploaded along with the
written literature review, and instructions are below. Assignments will be
graded using a rubric appropriate for your class level (please see the rubric
below for the required number and type of sources, and the other criteria on
which you will be assessed).

The
Literature Review

The purpose
of this assignment is to propose a theoretical perspective that informs your
research and assess the scholarly literature that has been written on your
research question, including how it informs your research question and
hypothesis. It should be 5 pages in length, and accompanied by an audio
component (see below).

Content of
the literature review:

The
literature review should assess (1) which theoretical approach that we have
covered in the course best informs your overall argument and hypothesis (e.g.,
socialization and interest convergence, liberal institutionalism, structural
realism, feminist theory, etc.) and (2) evaluate the findings from the
scholarly literature that exists on your research topic.

Structure
of the written literature review:

The
literature review is NOT an annotated bibliography. Rather, it is an analytical
exercise in which you evaluate a body of literature. As such, your literature
review should be organized by theme (NOT an article-by-article summary). A good
literature review is a thoughtful study of what has been written, a summary of
the arguments and findings that exist (whether you agree with them or not), and
is arranged thematically. The literature review should be written in coherent
narrative style. At the end of the evaluation, there should still be gaps in
the literature that you intend to fill with your research.

Here is a
site explaining various ways to construct a literature review. Note that a good literature review is not a
list of sources with description, but it involves synthesis and dissection of
sources, with minimal use of quotes.

All
references must be cited in Chicago/Turabian format, which means including page
numbers.

The audio
component:

Along with
your written literature review, please submit a 5 minute audio file in which
you summarize the main themes, areas of agreement and disagreement among
scholars, and any gaps in knowledge that remain that your research can help
address. Some options for recording the audio are below.

– Windows
media audio file

– Audacity
(audacity.sourceforge.net/) Audacity is an open source digital audio
editor. You can use this tool to create
audio files to share. Compatible across
most of the major platforms, Audacity also works with a variety of audio
formats.

IRLS503 International Organizations

Assignment Research Paper

General
Instructions for Assignments and Rubrics

All
assignments should be written in Word and uploaded as attachments within the
Assignments section of the classroom.
Use Times 12 pt. font, double-space, and use standard one-inch margins.
The research paper should be 10-16 pages in length (cover page and references
do not count toward page length).
Citations will conform to the Chicago/Turabian format and citations
should be in-text parenthetical citations (author, date, page number). Be sure
to put your name and class information on the document and put your name on the
file. Insert page numbers on all
graduate work. Assignments will be
graded using a rubric appropriate for your class level.

Graduate
Rubric 500-600 Level

The
Research Paper

The final
research paper should build on the information in your research proposal and
should incorporate your week 5 literature review. It should also include
revisions based on the feedback you have received on those assignments.

Here’s the
format of the paper:

Title Page
of the Paper. The title of your paper should be brief but should adequately
inform the reader of your general topic and the specific focus of your
research. Keywords relating to parameters, population, and other specifics are
useful. ALWAYS use a title page and insert page numbers for graduate work! Your
title page will include the title, name, course name and number, and
professor’s name.

Please
label each of the following sections in your research paper:

Introduction
(1-2 pages): This section provides an
overview of the topic that you are writing about. It situates your topic in a
broader context. In addition, the introduction should clearly state your research
question and hypothesis.

Literature
Review (3-5 pages): This section should
incorporate your week 5 literature review and any revisions based on feedback
received.

Data and
Methodology (1-2 pages): This section
should incorporate any feedback received on your week 2 research proposal. This
section provides the reader with a description of your strategy to conduct
research for this paper. It identifies your dependent and independent variables
and how you operationalized them. It describes the data you used (whether
quantitative or qualitative) and the method you used to analyze it to arrive at
your findings. This section also describes any limitations you discovered about
your strategy and how you overcame them.

Analysis
and Findings (4-5 pages): The results
section of the research paper is where you report the findings of your study
based upon the methodology you applied to gather information. The results
section should simply state the findings of the research arranged in a logical
sequence without bias or interpretation. When formulating the results section,
it’s important to remember that the results of a study do not prove anything.
Findings can only confirm or reject the hypothesis underpinning your study.
Make sure that you make connections back to your hypothesis and the extent to
which it was supported or not. Remember, we can also learn something from a
hypothesis that was not supported by the data.

Conclusions
(1-2 pages): This section will contain
the concluding analytical arguments based on what research has revealed to
answer the research question. Like any
conclusion, it should provide a synopsis of the project, the strategy, and the
results and what they add to the body of knowledge. This section should also
offer suggestions for avenues of future research for other scholars, as all
knowledge is evolutionary.

References
(or Bibliography): This section will contain all references, cited in Turabian
format, properly indented, and alphabetically arranged. You should compile
these and add to them as you’ve gone along. They should be error free!