international politics

international politics
Angelica Duran
–
Martinez
Country Paper
Assignment
Pick a country
different from the United States
.
In the paper you will
analyze
the
country along the main topics we discuss in class: democracy, economic development,
institutions, and civil war and violence.
The
objective is to apply theories, concepts and
argument
s we have discussed in the course
.
Some questions you will find
useful while
researching your country, and that you can answer in your essay are:
–
What is the situation of democracy in country X? Are there any challenges to
democratic stability? If it is a country in democratic transition, what are the
main challenges f
or the consolidation of democracy?
–
Are elections free and fair? What are the main problems with elections/political
parties?
–
What are the major challenges for economic development?
What type of
economic policies has the government of country X
promoted?
–
D
oes (or has) country X experience civil war or violence? What are the causes
of this violence? What are the main challenges for reducing violen
ce?
–
If your country is doing well economically and politically
,
think about how you
can explain these successes.
How to go about your paper:
1.
Once you choose your country start looking for information. Below I provide you with
some ideas about where to go for information. Wikipedia is a starting point but it is not
an academic source and you cannot rely on it as a
n o
nly
source. I will also be checking
very closely for “wikipedia” type papers.
2.
Start with the basic facts
geographic location, population, recent history.
Do not spend
more than
a
page on these.
Proc
eed with the political regime variables
–
unitary or feder
al
state, republic or monarchy,
democracy or
authoritarian regime
.
Then assess the main
challenges you think country X faces regarding economic development, democracy, or
civil conflict. You can choose to focus on discussing just one major area (i.e. democ
racy)
but you should at least mention challenges in the other areas
(development, institutions,
violence)
.
3.
Using the theories discussed in class, analyze the causes of the particular challenges
country X faces
(or its successes)
. For example
,
you can analy
ze how polarization
among elites affects
the prospects for democracy in
country
XX
.
Please use at least
seven
of the concepts (ID terms) we covered during the semester and underline
them
in the text
.
For example:
“
The electoral system in Colombia is based
on
proportional
representation
and this creates
fragmentation between political forces
”
4.
Cite all sources of information and provide a list with all the sources you used at the end
of your paper in the bibliography.
Do not plagiarize!
Also, avoid using long quotes
Many
sources of information are available when researching your country of choice.
Here are
some you can use:
Wikipedia (to start)
CIA World Factbook
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the
–
world
–
factbook/geos/xx.html
T
he
Library of Congress Country Studies
site
:
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/bytoc.html
,
Gapminder.com for graphs of economic and political
variables
Freedom House
http://www.freedomhouse.org/
Countrywatch.com
http://www.countrywatch.com/country_profile.aspx
International Crisis Group
www.crisisgroup.org
World Bank
http://data.worldbank.org/country
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