Introduction to International Relations Book Review Assignment
This class will introduce a wide range of topics, and this assignment gives you a chance to explore them in greater depth. The first step of this assignment is to pick a topic in contemporary global politics that interests you and select a book in that area. It should relate in some way to themes we review in this class, should be non-fiction, and should address dimensions of global politics in the 21st century. Please note: the book cannot be one that is assigned for another course.
After reading the book, the paper should begin by discussing the author’s thesis or main argument and describing the evidence that supports their thesis. This portion of the review should be brief (no longer than 1 page). The review should focus primarily on critically analyzing the book by describing the relationship between its findings and theories, concepts, or issues examined in this course. How does it relate to this class? How can you better understand arguments in the book by using theories or conceptual lenses from the class? Finally, the paper should conclude by discussing whether the author convinces you of their argument. Why or why not? What are the book’s shortcomings?
A brief statement on the book selected is due on Friday, November 2nd. This task is worth 5% of the assignment grade and should include the following information: the title of the book, author, publisher, year of publication, number of pages, and a one-paragraph description of the book. The final paper should be 5-7 double-spaced, typed pages of text and should include source citations (Chicago author-date style). For example:
Students are encouraged to discuss ideas for the book review assignment with the professor. The book review is due Monday, December 3rd. Submit both the statement and the final draft on Blackboard.
The following is a sample list of the types of books that would be acceptable for this assignment:
David Albright, Peddling Peril: How the Secret Nuclear Trade Arms America’s Enemies, 2010 Graham Allison, Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides’s Trap?, 2017 William Bernstein, A Splendid Exchange: How Trade Shaped the World, 2008
David Bosco, Five to Rule Them All: The United Nations Security Council, 2010
Ian Bremmer, Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World, 2015 Michaela Burleigh, Sacred Causes: Clash of Religion and World Politics, 2007 Neil Caplan, The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Contested Histories, 2009
Richard Clarke, Cyberwar: The Next Threat to National Security, 2011
Grazer, Brian, and Charles Fishman. A Curious Mind: The Secret to a Bigger Life. New York:
Simon & Schuster, 2015.
Ha-Joon Chang, Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism, 2008
Juan Cole, Engaging the Muslim World, 2009
Paul Collier, The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It, 2007
Karl Cordell and Stefan Wolff, Ethnic Conflict: Causes, Consequences, and Responses, 2010 William Easterly, Reinventing Foreign Aid, 2008
Michael Fabey, Crashback: The Power Clash Between the U.S. and China in the Pacific, 2017 Lawrence Freedman, The Future of War: A History, 2017
Howard French, China’s Second Continent: Building a New Empire in Africa, 2014
Shadi Hamid, Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East, 2014
Suzy Hansen, Notes on a Foreign Country: An American Abroad in a Post-American World, 2017 Gary Haugen, The Locust Effect: The End of Poverty and the End of Violence, 2015
Bill Hayton, The South China Sea: The Struggle for Power in Asia, 2014
Alexander Klimburg, The Darkening Web: The War for Cyberspace, 2017
Matthew Kroenig, Exporting the Bomb: Technology Transfer…Spread of Nuclear Weapons, 2010 Jay Lemery and Paul Auerbach, Enviromedics: Impact of Climate Change on Human Health, 2017
Marc Lynch, The Arab Uprising: The Unfinished Revolutions of the New Middle East, 2013
David Marsh, The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency, 2009
Avi Melamed, Inside the Middle East: Making Sense of the Region, 2016
Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid: Why Aid is Not Working and How There is a Better Way for Africa, 2009
Robert Paarlberg, Food Politics: What Everyone Needs to Know, 2010
Christian Parenti, The Tropic of Chaos: Climate Change and New Geography of Violence, 2011 Jeffrey Sachs, The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, 2005
Fredrik Stanton, Great Negotiations: Agreements that Changed the Modern World, 2010
Angela Stent, The Limits of Partnership: US-Russian Relations in the 21st Century, 2014
Nikolaos van Dam, Destroying a Nation: The Civil War in Syria, 2017
Jessica Weeks, Dictators at War and Peace, 2014
Benjamin Wittes, The Future of Violence: Robots and Germs, Hackers and Drones, 2015
Sheryl WuDunn, Half the Sky: Oppression and Opportunity for Women Worldwide, 2010
Joseph Stiglitz, Making Globalization Work, 2007
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