This assignment asks you to summarize and evaluate a scholarly journal article on the topic of international organizations OR international relations (i.e. politics between or among countries and NOT domestic politics that simply takes place in one or more foreign countries). Examples of topics include international (not civil) war, economic sanctions, the effectiveness of select international organizations, international trade, alliances, international environmental cooperation or conflict, etc. The article must have been published since 1990 and be from one of these scholarly journals: International Studies Quarterly, International Organization, Journal of Conflict Resolution, Journal of Peace Research, or Conflict Management and Peace Science; journals such as the British Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, American Journal of Political Science, and American Political Science Review also qualify, though these journals tend to have fewer international relations articles. To access the journal articles via the CU library (https://www.colorado.edu/libraries), you will need to be either on campus or use the campus VPN. Important: Only actual articles on the topic of international relations from one of the above journals will count; research notes, data features, book reviews, etc. or articles focusing on other topics do not count. You are strongly encouraged to check whether a particular article you have found qualifies by contacting the instructor at least 10 days before the due date. Assignment format: the report is to be 1000 words in length, with 12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1 margins, and be broken down into the below-identified sections. Note that only your own words apply to the word count. Quoted text, citations, the article title, prefacing information (e.g. your name, the class name, the turn-in date, etc.) do NOT count. Also note that while you are expected to write at least 1000 words, there is no benefit to an excessively long report. Also note the following requirements: Include page numbers Provide the full citation for the article in MLA format. In your own words, summarize the articles main argument. Do not copy the abstract. In your own words, explain whether the empirical evidence supports what the authors are arguing. Are there some parts of the argument that are not supported by the evidence? Evaluate the articles strengths and weaknesses. What do the authors do well? What can be improved? What other critiques can you offer? Include headings over each section (Main Argument, Empirical Evidence, Strengths and Weaknesses, etc.). For example: Empirical Evidence Grading criteria for the assignments includes (but is not limited to): objectivity organization quality of research understanding writing style clarity quality of analysis mechanics and grammar.
