Political Science 335
Winter 2006
Dr. Bilocerkowycz
PAPER GUIDELINES
You are required to write a 10 page paper (typed and double-spaced) which will account for 30% of your grade. The purpose of this paper is to examine, analyze, and evaluate a topic bearing on U.S. national security. The paper should do the following:
1. pose a significant and EXPLICIT RESEARCH QUESTION(S)-in question form
2. discuss and analyze carefully selected aspects of the topic
3. provide and evaluate relevant data (documents, statistics, biographies etc.)
4. examine and critique contending perspectives and interpretations
5. draw your own conclusions
6. note the BROADER SIGNIFICANCE and RELEVANCE of your findings for
the study of national and/or global security
In addition to the paper's 10 PAGE BODY, do use a clear and consistent citation system which at least notes author and page number (assuming there are pages). Note that endnotes or footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the paper. Do not use the same number for a source to make multiple references to it. Do include a TITLE PAGE and utilize PHOTO IMAGES, MAPS, AND TABLES/CHARTS where possible to enhance your presentation. Note that the numbering of pages begins only with the body of the paper and that the first page of the body is normally not numbered explicitly (although it is counted and understood to be page 1) after that the following pages are numbered consecutively 2,3 etc. (please no ROMAN NUMERALS).
Also provide a CRITICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, which describes and evaluates each source used in a couple of choice sentences. This should be separate from the endnote references. Please also include a ONE PAGE SUMMARY OUTLINE of the paper to be placed after the title page. The outline should use a letter and number format (A. 1, 2, 3).
The papers will be due in class on MARCH 8 (WED). Late papers will be penalized, and may not be accepted if turned in more than one week late unless you have talked to the instructor. Late papers can be turned in to the Pol. Sci.
secretary who will note the date turned in. Papers written for other courses are not acceptable, whether revised or not, when in doubt as to the originality of your
research paper topic please check with me. Please MAKE TWO COPIES of your paper, only one need to be turned in, while the other can be used for oral presentation purposes and as "insurance."
Plagiarized work will result in a zero for the paper. Plagiarism includes quoting directly from a source without acknowledgment in a footnote, or simply paraphrasing someone's analysis or interpretation without citing the source. Common knowledge does not need to be footnoted.
You may select a topic listed below or propose one of your own. In either case, however, you need to check with me to obtain formal approval. Topical diversification will be encouraged to limit pressure on library resources.
TOPICS:
CONTROVERSIES
Panama Canal Treaty
Iran-Contra affair
Forced relocation of Japanese-Americans during WWII
Weapons or Equipment debate (e.g. Osprey milt. aircraft)
U.S. embargo on Cuba
USA Patriot Act (and its renewal)
Abu Ghraib scandal
Gays in the military
Intellectual biography of (Condi Rice, Colin Powell, Madelyn Albright, Donald Rumsfeld, Norman Schwarzkopf, Wesley Clark; Dwight Eisenhower, John McCain, Richard Holbrooke)
Intellectual approach of national security decision-makers on select issues: Henry Kissinger; Zbigniew Brzezinski; Robert McNamara; or George Kennan
Department of Homeland Security
National Security Agency (NSA)
CIA under a specific Director (Porter Goss, George Tenet, William Webster, George Bush, Stansfield Turner)
FBI under J. Edgar Hoover
Defense Contractors and the End of the Cold War
Role of National Guard and Reserves in Iraq War (and future)
Role of US Special Forces (with some comparisons to British)
Evolving Role of Women in the Military
NATO’s enlargement and evolving role in post-Cold War era
Partnership for Peace (NATO affiliate organization)
Base realignment and closures at home and abroad (BRAC)—politics and economics
U.S. political, economic, and/or security relations with a strategic country over past decade or so (Turkey; Pakistan; Saudi Arabia; Egypt; Israel; or South Korea)
Strains in US relations with old allies: Germany or France
U.S.-Russia relations since 9/11
U.S.-Ukraine relations during and after the “Orange Revolution”
U.S.-China or U.S.-India relations during the Bush administration
Civil liberties (or human rights) and the war on terror (e.g. Muslim-Americans post-9/11; or extraordinary rendition; or domestic spying)
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA)
Freedom of Information Act
Immigration and the war on terrorism
US-Canadian border security
Challenges of defending America’s infrastructure and key sites (bridges, nuclear plants, gas pipelines, etc.)
Social and cultural impact of the 9/11 attack on Americans (cite polls; distinguish between regions and demographic groups; short-term vs. long-term impact etc.)
Foreign Language study and US national security (Arabic, Farsi)
Rising anti-Americanism in a given region or set of countries (citing empirical data, historical trends, etc)
Key divisions on select security issues within the Bush Administration
U.S. arms sales abroad—trends; int. comparisons; controversies
Defense budget analysis
(compare allocation by category; money; over different administrations; politics and economics of defense budget)
Analysis of US foreign aid trends/recipients/controversies (public and private) with some comparisons with others
Imported Energy and U.S. National Security
US and Strategic Minerals
U.S. experience and capability in chemical weapons and defense
Military strategy, tactics, and the lessons of the US-Afghanistan War
Environmental threats and US national security (e.g. global warming)
Health threats and US national security (not including avian flu)
The U.S. and the Darfur Crisis
PAST CONFLICTS OR INTERVENTIONS:
(some select aspect or dimension)
Hollywood films and the Viet Nam War
Korean War
Gulf War (e.g. role of women; or health problems of soldiers since; evaluation of Schwarzkopf's leadership)
U.S. intervention into Panama or Haiti
Role of U.S. troops in promoting stability in Bosnia
U.S. troops and Somalia intervention and exit