TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
POS306b, SpringSemester 2006
The Assignment:
Each student is required to write an paper that analyzes the politics of an international or foreign environmental problem. The paper is to be in the range of 5-8 pages (double-spaced in 12 point font) in length. Papers must be written by the student submitting it and the paper must be written exclusively for POS306b. Plagiarized papers (including ones purchased over the internet) will receive no credit.
The paper is due by class time on Monday, April 17. A topic should be selected and submitted to the instructor by class time, Monday, February 20, and an outline of the paper by Monday, March 27.
The Topic:
The problem should be one that (a) is environmental in some respect, (b) has foreign or international aspects, and (c) lends itself to political or policy analysis. A list of suitable topics is included below.
Narrowly defined topics normally work best. Avoid broad topics, such as the "world food problems" or "combating global climate change," which cannot be handled very adequately in a short paper.
The paper should not simply summarize one of the lecture topics on the course syllabus, such as the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, but it can be a more specific subject that is related to these topics, such as the Russian ratification of the Kyoto Protocol.
Importance of Political Content and Analysis:
In writing the paper, be sure to emphasize the political dimension of the problem. For example, what actors are involved and what are their interests in the issue? Are there international organizations and/or NGOs that are working on the problem? Are there any international treaties that are applicable? Are nations taking conflicting positions on the issue? Are there important disputes within countries that impact on national policies? Is the "tragedy of the commons" analogy relevant?--if so explain how it is relevant? Of course, some of these questions may not be applicable to your topic and others may be difficult to answer with available information.
Please keep in mind that your assignment is NOT to simply to advocate a position on a certain issue. Rather than starting with a thesis, begin by asking a question. You are encouraged to approach the topic in an objective way that acknowledges diverse viewpoints on your topic. Having considered competing perspectives, you may then conclude by making policy recommendations.
Criteria for Grading:
Papers will be graded on the basis of content (suitability of the topic, coverage the subject--including recent developments, the quality of analysis, and objectivity) and composition (organization, clarity, grammar, spelling, typos, footnotes/endnotes). For further suggestions on composition, you are strongly encouraged to click on Suggestions for Writing a Good Term Paper.
Suggested Topics:
The following are illustrations of the type of topics that would be suitable. Recently added topics are in green.
-International efforts to conserve a specific species (whales, elephants, rhinos, sea
turtles)
-the Chernobyl disaster and its aftermath (1986)
-Environmental problems of the Black Sea (or Caspian Sea, Aral Sea, Dead Sea, Great Lakes)
-International efforts to ban driftnet fishing
-Environmental issues in outer space (or Antarctica or the Arctic)
-China's Three Gorges dam project (or India's Sardar Sarovar dam)
-One country's policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g., in the United
Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Japan)
-One country's efforts to combat urban air pollution (e.g., China, India, Mexico)
-Environmental problems of a major international river system (e.g, Danube, Rhine,
Rio Grande, Mekong)
-Environmental Problems in Iraq (under Hussein), or more specifically the plight of the Marsh Arabs
- The Turbot War between Spain and Canada (or another international fishing dispute)
-Population policies of China (or of any other country, including those with negative
growth, such as Russia)
-Conflict over water in the Jordan river valley (or the Nile or the Tigris-Euphrates
river systems)
-the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 2002)
-International regulations on persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
-The Eleventh Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate
Change in Montreal (2005)
-The Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
-Russia's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol (or any other country's position on the climate change issue)
-The 60th Anniversary Summit of the United Nations (2005)
Researching Your Topic
Increasingly, websites offer convenient access to information on many of the topics that you may have selected. The following are some websites that may prove to be generally useful.
Google (all purpose web browser)
IISD (International Institute for Sustainable Development) Linkages (a website that can be used to access current and previous issues of Earth Negotiations Bulletin, an online newletter which provides detailed day-to-day coverage of major international negotiating sessions on a variety of environmental problems; also link to the electronic Linkages Journalwhich has short articles on a wide range of international environmental topics, has brief summaries of past meetings, lists forthcoming meetings, and abstracts of recent literature in the environmental field)
Environmental Treaties and Resource Indicators (ENTRI) (a highly useful database of environmental treaties and ratifications that can manipulated to provide a number of useful types of lists)
United Nations Environment Program (contains links to websites on a United Nations treaties and other initiatives that address a number of environmental problems, such as climate change, ozone depletion, pesticides, desertification, biodiversity, etc.)
Suggested Environmental Websites ( a compendium of websites relevant to the course that have been assembled by the instructor and his teaching assistants).
Also, check the list of Internet Resources that have been developed for this course, as well as the websites listed in the syllabus for specific topics.