Complete a FIVE to SEVEN-page analysis of some contemporary issue in International Political Economy – IPE (e.g. NAFTA, trade and the WTO

International Political Economy (IPE)

Paper Assignment

Each student will complete a FIVE to SEVEN-page analysis of some contemporary issue in International Political Economy – IPE (e.g. NAFTA, trade and the WTO, trade and the environment, the EMU, the role of the IMF and the World Bank in less developed countries, the nascent anti-globalization backlash, etc.). Students will need to do original research on their particular topic, but all papers will be required to also:

(1) apply insight from IPE theory and

(2) place their topic in historical perspective.

1. Analyze a contemporary issue in international political economy.
2. Contemporary: last 30 years or so
3. Issue must be analytical not normative

• Analytical: why a policy was adopted; consequences of a policy, such as a trade agreement; evaluation of international financial institutions, codes of conduct, or fair trade; causes of land grabs; politics of tax havens….
• Normative: what should be done? This is not the purpose of this assignment.

1. Paper must use International Political Economy (IPE) theory to analyze/explain the issue.
2. Some suggestions for picking a topic.
3. Structure of Paper.
4. Intro – clearly defined thesis statement (no more than 1 page)
5. History – most important junctures to situate the issue and give relevant background (1-2 pages)
6. Theory and Analysis: which theories best apply and why? (2-3 pages)

• Competing hypotheses: how would the relevant theories explain the issue and which explanation is more persuasive and why.

1. Conclusion– restate main argument. Implication for theory and future research/policy (1 page)
2. Other Information:
3. 5-7 pages (quality not quantity), double-spaced, with page numbers on the pages
4. MLA citation style
5. Sources: newspapers (at least one newspaper), periodicals (at least one), newsweeklies (at least one), academic journals (as many as you need to). Use the library’s academic databases – Use many as you think necessary but I think at least 10 sources would be fine from these 10 sources two of them should be from the two text books Cohn’s text and Broad’s text.
6. 30% of course grade.