Reference no: EM133596471

PART 1:

find a recent news article that covers a specific interaction between two or more countries (e.g., recent militarized conflict, trade deal, human rights treaty, etc.). In your initial post to the discussion, answer the following question:

How might a Constructivist explain the interaction described in your article? What role do identity, interests, and/or norms play in the interaction described in your article? Explain your reasoning.
Make sure to include a link to your article in your discussion post. Additionally, ensure that the article is NOT behind a paywall, so that your classmates, and the instructor, can read the full article referenced in your discussion post.

Part 2:

Section 1: Research Question

CHOOSE ANY INTERNATIONAL RELATION TOPIC

Follow the guidelines below for developing your research question:

You should include an explicitly stated research question about a specific dynamic of international relations, directly related to their already selected topic. This should specifically be in question form.
The research question also needs to be focused. For instance, it should not be something as broad as "how does the economy affect international conflict?" Rather, it should be something more specific like "how do trade relationships affect the probability that countries go to war with each other?" or "how do international economic sanctions affect human rights abuses?"
You should also avoid including the specific case or cases they will use to test their hypothesis in their research question. As noted below, you should mention the case or cases you want to use in your prospectus. However, instead of asking something like "how did foreign intervention affect the outcome of the American Revolution," you should ask something like "how does foreign intervention affect the outcome of civil wars?" (You would then mention later in the prospectus that you are interested in using the case study of the American Revolution).
In sum, you need an explicitly stated research question, specifically in question form, that addressed a specific dynamic of international relations, directly related to their already selected topic. While the questions should address a specific topic, they should not be specific to an individual case (even if an individual case is used to help address the question).

Section 2: Hypothesis

You should also include a specifically stated hypothesis. This should be a direct statement of your expectation about how an independent variable (X) affects a dependent variable (Y).

An example of a hypothesis is:

"H1: Foreign military intervention on behalf of a rebel group increases the probability that the group will defeat the government."

In sum, you need to include a statement about how you believe changes in one variable will affect changes in another. You may have more than one hypothesis but are only required to have one.

Section 3: Method(s):

Follow the guidelines below for developing your methods section:

You should also describe the method(s) they intend to use to test their hypothesis. This includes both the general approach they will take, as well as the specific ways in which they plan to implement these approach(es). For instance, are planning on using one or more case studies? If so, what cases? Will you be focusing on specific countries, international organizations, policies, etc.? Briefly describe why the case fits into your research topic (e.g., if you are interested in multilateral trade agreements, briefly describe what agreement is being studied and the nature of the agreement).
Are you planning on implementing statistical analysis? If so, what data will they use? And how will these data be analyzed? Why are these data and methods being used?
Describe any other method you plan to implement and how this method relates to their topic.
In sum, describe what type of method you are using, how you will implement that method, and why you are implementing that method. You can use multiple methods but are only required to use one.