analytical essay discussing major contemporary debates H u m a n i t i e s

National Security

Course Paper Assignment
 

According to some scholars and analysts, the United States should replace its
“unnecessary, ineffective and expensive” grand strategy in international affairs
with a more “restrained” one. Others accuse advocates of American
“retrenchment” of “overstating the costs of the post-Cold War strategy and
understating its benefits.”
Making maximum use of ideas and specific examples from the reading
assignments/lectures/documentaries, write an analytical essay discussing major
contemporary debates about American national security  and  grand strategy.
Make sure to ground your analysis in the key themes discussed in the readings
such as realist and liberal insights about international security, evaluation of grand
strategic options available to the US, assessment of national security doctrines and
foreign policy records of different administrations, as well as the future of
America’s global position.
Paper Guidelines
1. Make maximum use of ideas and specific examples from your reading
assignments/ lectures/documentaries. The minimum number of reading
sources you are expected to use is 15 (including assigned book).
2. Focus on the assigned course material. If you want to use an outside
source, please consult me first. 

3. Paper length— 15-20 pages including references.
4. Papers should be double spaced, using a  font like Times New Roman, 12pt  
5. Avoid lengthy direct quotations. It is always better to put ideas/examples
from the readings in your own words.
6. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. When you use ideas and examples from
the readings, please make sure to cite your sources by one of these methods:
a. Putting the name of the author, the year of publication of the book/article,
and the page number immediately after the sentence that refers to the
idea/example from the reading in question. (If you cannot determine the
page number, do not include it.)
Example:  (Mearsheimer and Walt 2016, 75)
or
b.  Putting full name of the book/article and page number in the
footnote/endnote following the sentence that refers to the idea/example from
the reading in question:
Example:  John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt, “The Case for Offshore
Balancing. A Superior U.S. Grand Strategy,” Foreign Affairs 95, 4, 2016,
75.