Think about the importance of the various (secret) agreements that were made during World War I relating to the Middle East. Which agreement was most interesting to you? Why? Please be specific, including the agreements themselves. Include a reference to the podcast by Shuster (MUST USE IN TEXT CITATION).
What are the strengths of the stages model of the policy process? What are its weaknesses? How would you propose we improve on this model? What are the strengths and weaknesses of any systems model of a political or social process? How might you overcome the weaknesses you have identified? The trends shown in this […]
What characteristics do you think voters look for when choosing a president? Do you think voters choose the characteristics they are looking for depending on the socioeconomic and political environment – lack of jobs, riots, COVID-19, environmental concerns, and other issues, etc.? Explain your answer.
From the El Salvador case studies, can you identify several examples in which the Operational (Joint) Function of Information was used by U.S. forces and/or the U.S. country team and/or the ESAF and/or the GOES (i.e. they engaged in some act that generated information that influenced the progress of the counter-insurgency operation in a significantly positive […]
For the memo, you should imagine that you are a state or city government policy advisor. Your governor or city mayor needs your boss to brief them on a critical problem facing your community. You need to develop a memo that will help your boss “get smart” on the problem and come up with some […]
Explain how the insights from Hume’s Draining the swamp game could be used to understand the following situations: (1) two politicians competing for the same office must decide whether or not to use negative campaigning; (2) two opposing interest groups consider whether or not to contribute to a senator’s reelection campaign; and (3) the largest […]
Can you provide a general analysis of the El Salvador counterinsurgency (COIN) effort and assess how well the U.S. forces, U.S. country team, ESAF, and GOES did in relation to the tenants of COIN: Understanding the operational environment, develop a COIN narrative, Primacy of politics, and population security?
What is the problem with modern civilization, according to Gandhi? Why does he consider morality and passive resistance the ways to achieve self-rule? How could Marx’s historical materialism critique Gandhi’s diagnosis and solution? Which perspective do you find more persuasive and why?
South Africa presents a powerful example of how music has helped people overcome oppressive systems of governance. Why do you think the people of South Africa turned to music during their darkest moments, and in their times of joy? How do you think music propelled the struggle against apartheid?
For your final assignment, you will be rewriting a part of the U.S. Constitution using what you have learned in this class about the US Constitution, how it differs from other constitutions, and alternative methods of constructing a government. You are free to start with what is already in the US Constitution and then add […]
