ESSAY TOPIC: For this paper, you will choose a current issue/problem in world politics. The issue should be one which involves at least two competing perspectives or interests. It also must involve at least 2 countries, so that it is an international, rather than domestic, issue. Once you have chosen your topic, you need to critically analyse the situation to discern the root of the conflict. Discuss the actors that have a stake in this issue and describe their positions and interests. Make sure you move below the surface to describe these competing interests in depth. Finally, discuss possible solutions to this issue. What would be the consequences of different policy solutions? Frame this discussion against the backdrop of the theories we have discussed (i.e. what would realism say about this solution?)

ESSAY REQUIREMENTS: Students will write a 1,600-1,800 word paper. Essays are to be typed or words processed, double spaced, contain a title page and page numbers. All ideas, phrases, and sentences which come from another source must be accompanied by a reference, whether they are paraphrased or quoted. You must cite your sources in footnotes, endnotes, or parenthetical. You may choose to follow any legitimate style guide that you like, but you must follow it consistently. Regardless of style chosen all footnotes and endnotes must be consecutively numbered throughout the text and contain the author’s name, the title of the publication, the location of the publisher, the name of the publisher, and the date (and for journals the volume number and number of the publication) and the page number(s) on which you found the information. The papers must contain a bibliography and you must have a minimum of three source materials for every page of text with a minimum of 10 academic sources being used in the paper as a whole.

Approved Outline:

A) Research Question: On 17th December 2014, American President Barack Obama declared new regulations on Cuba after 54 years of ruthless sanctions. What are the main reasons for the recent change in the American policy towards Cuba and how can International Relation’s theory best explain the past and present relationship of the two countries?

B) Thesis Statement: In this research paper, firstly a brief introduction and historical background explanation will be given to show the roots of the conflict and the situation of the Cuban-American relations before new regulations. Secondly, a well- constructed explanation on constructivism will be offered and its connections to the selected current issue will be analyzed further in depth. Also, the other international actors who have a stake in this conflict and their stand will be explored to provide a better international understanding. Finally, the main interests of parties, possible solutions and consequences will be offered. The main statement of the paper is: for an issue to linger more than 50 years between one powerful state and one weak state where they are no longer an immanent threat to each others’ survival and security, one should look with a constructivist approach to the conflict to better analysis the depth of it.

C) Chosen IR Theories: Dominantly constructivism, however realism and liberalism will be used as well for better explanation.

D) Brief Explanation of Theory: In international relations, constructivism is one of the main three theories that explain the nations’ reactions, behavior and policies. It argues that nations and its people build their international relations with other countries on historically and socially constructed values, beliefs, policies and norms. Unlike realism and liberalism, it does not relate international relations firstly to the conditions of human nature but relates to social, historical and cultural norms, values and policies.

E) Initial List of Academic Sources

1) The Infernal Little Cuban Republic: The United States and the Cuban Revolution by Schoultz, Lars
2) Cuba Between Reform and Revolution by Perez, Louis A
3) New Cold World: How the Kremlin Menaces both Russia and the West by Lucas, Edward
4) Cold War US Foreign Policy: Key Perspectives by Hurst, Steven
5) International Politics: Enduring Concepts and Contemporary Issues by Jervis and Art

More sources are required.