8 pages MLA

Answer all 10 questions

No outside sources Use your own words

Make sure you separate 10 answers, you can make each question a separate small essay.

Each of those sub questions can be answered in a paragraph or so, depending on the question. Some may require very little writing some a bit more.

READ CAREFULLY: When preparing answers, make sure to address each sub-question. Be as succinct and specific as possible.

NOTE: several questions ask for your own assessment. There are NO POLITICALLY CORRECT answers, i.e. expressing a negative or positive view will not affect your grade, as long as you show that you have a basic understanding of the material presented in the lectures and the key readings. Some questions ask you to reference readings, otherwise this is not required (although it can’t hurt either).

Question 1: UN Budget and reform: You are testifying before Congress on behalf of the State Department and in support of

continuous or increased financial support for core UN budget obligations.

a) What are the key contributions the UN has made over time that you would highlight and why do we still need it?

b) Name 3 United Nations Agencies or Programs and briefly identify what they do.

c) What would you acknowledge to be the main problems/challenges the United Nations is facing today?

d) How would you suggest the UN should fix the problems you identified under (c)?

Question 2: UN peacekeeping: (reference readings)

a) How has the United Nations peace keeping mandate evolved and what are the reasons behind a changing understanding of the UN’s role in conflict zones?

b) A more robust peace keeping approach has also brought new challenges. Give 2 current examples of UN peace keeping to illustrate the challenges UN Blue helmets face on the ground.

c) What are the broader political issues related to UN peacekeeping (such as role of the UN Secretary General, funding, troops).

Question 3: The neoliberal economic development paradigm:

a) Explain the core assumptions underlying the neoliberal economic development paradigm from a theoretical economic efficiency perspective. What are policy recommendations derived from this?

b) How is economic liberalization as promoted by main donor countries and multilateral organizations expected to benefit individual countries?

c) What do critics see as the major drawbacks of standard liberalization policies promoted by the WTO, World Bank and IMF.

d) What lessons should we learn? What changes should be made?

Question 4: The World Trade Organization (WTO) oversees the compliance with trade rules which are intended to replace pure power politics with a rules-based system (international law applying to all states).

a) What are the two key trade provisions enshrined in trade rules. What are they designed to accomplish?

b) The Uruguay Round of 1993 was the last successful trade round and the subsequent Doha round launched in 2001 has yet to produce any results. What are the main advancements of the Uruguay agreement and what have been the main sticking points among countries that have stood in the way of progress in the ongoing Doha round?

c) One of the key features of the WTO is its dispute settlement mechanism. Identify three high-stakes trade dispute cases that have come before the WTO. Who was involved, what was it about and on what grounds did the WTO decide for one or the other party.

Question 5: Global environmental cooperation:

a) Highlight what the 2015 Paris climate agreement does and does not ask countries to do?

b) The Global Environment Facility – set up in 1991 – is a funding mechanism that supports the Climate Convention and the

Biodiversity Convention. Explain its unique institutional design.

c) In what ways does GEF funding differ from that of funding for traditional development aid? What is “incremental cost” and how does it apply to the GEF funding?

Question 6: European Integration:

a) What is the political background of the European Union? Who are the countries at the center of the EU?

b) Explain the governance structure of the EU, i.e. what are its key institutions and what are their roles?

c) Trace the evolution of European integration with reference to key treaties and the changes they brought in terms of transferring authority from individual member countries to European Union institutions.

d) How would you assess the accomplishments of the EU as of today and what are its largest challenges ahead and why.

(Lectures and readings on the EU like Olsen & McCormick).

Question 7: Human Rights in the UN. (Lecture and chapter by Weiss.)

a) Briefly trace the history of the human rights discourse in the UN. What is the key document coming out of the UN on

human rights?

b) How has the human rights concept evolved over time, i.e. what types of human rights can be distinguished?

c) Which agencies of the UN have been charged with promoting the protection of human rights and why have they

become so heavily politicized. Give an example of a political controversy.

Question 8: Development cooperation, UNDP and World Bank

a) What is the difference between UNDP and the World Bank in terms of their mandate and lending policies?

b) How has the World Bank evolved in terms of its priorities, objectives and policy approaches? In what ways can we

speak of normative change (for example with respect to corruption and involvement of NGOs)?

c) What explains the evolution of the World Bank over the last 3 decades identified under (b)?

Question 9: Non-governmental / civil society organizations come in all shapes and forms and are active in different

areas, such as on humanitarian aid and environment.

a) What different functional roles can NGOs play, i.e. what type of activities are they typically engaged in?

b) Discuss the relationship of NGOs with the private sector and international organizations.

b) Discuss to what extent one can see NGOs as providing an alternative governance model to formal government

institutions?

Question 10: The following is an explorative question for which there is no right/wrong or politically correct answer. But

you need to show that you have engaged with course material in developing your response.

Uncle Ted is a dedicated Trump supporter who loves the president for “sticking it to the elites” and taking a hard line

against the United Nations and other International Organizations who he sees want to destroy the American way of life.

Broadly explore the extent to which you agree or disagree with uncle Ted and why.

a) Assess the historic origin and role played by international governmental organizations in the international system?

b) What (functional and normative) value do you think they bring to international relations that goes beyond what could

be accomplished by unilateral foreign policy initiatives?

c) How you see the international institutional structure evolve in the coming 10 to 20 years. Explore what role key actors

and international organizations might play, and what the key tasks for multilateral efforts will continue to be.

Two short-summary of these 2 articles, only 1 paragraph of each, no more than 5 sentences.

– Ruhs & Palme, Immigration;

– Kaczmarski, Non-western visions of regionalism.