IR Theories: Strengths and Weaknesses After viewing the text “Perspectives help us decide what the primary cause of an event is” (Nau, 2014). Intrinsic in description are three principal perspectives; the realist, liberal, and identity perspectives. As we look over the strength of the realist perspective. In the text it is stated that “The realist perspective focuses on conflict and war, not because people adopting […]

From the realist perspective, ethnic conflicts pose the greatest threat to the world today. According to the textbook, “Realists emphasize the struggle for power among states, not because they are blind to the growing influence of international institutions or nonstate actors such as terrorists, but because states remain the most powerful actors in contemporary world affairs” (Nau, 2017). While terrorist groups can be small and […]

One common understanding of fascism is that the historical context from which it emerged (i.e. post-WWI Europe) was unique, and that fascist movements are unlikely to achieve such dominance.  Is fascism effectively a dead ideology?  Do the underlying ideas of nationalism or anti-rationalism seem to have any appeal within contemporary society?  In writing your essay, provide contemporary examples to support your arguments. Write a 500-800 […]

Final Paper Prep To prepare for your Final Paper (due in Week Five), complete the following written assignment and then submit it to your instructor for feedback. Topic: Select one of the five topics listed below for your Final Paper topic: Nationalism – Discuss the role of nationalism in 20th century Europe. Race & Ethnicity – Discuss the role of race and ethnicity in 20th […]

Discuss if your assigned common pool resource is best managed by privatization or through collective action and why: (FOREST) The decision to privatize forest can be difficult to achieve because of the sheer amount and size of a forest. One of the best ways to maintain this common pool resource would be by using collective action. By utilizing collective action, communities can establish management rules […]

Directions : The purpose of this exercise is to become familiar with the workings of Congress.  It is an Article I (of  the U.S. Constitution) study tool.  Please follow these instructions carefully. 1. Visit either of the congressional websites:   www.senate.gov or  www.house.gov . 2. Select a  CURRENT Senator or Member of Congress from the website that is of interest to you.  It may be  […]

This week, we focus on the idea of “grand strategy.” Grand strategy refers to the general strategies developed by nation-states—countries like the United States, France, or Australia, for example—to survive and even thrive in the international community. In short, the leadership of every country follows some sort of general plan, which might include the acquisition of natural resources, the defense of a certain region, maintaining […]

The United States military plays a vital role in the international community. While the military plays a role in many areas around the world to include promoting diplomacy, by way of its protection of diplomatic posts worldwide, the most important role it plays in deterring war. The military plays a pivotal role in protecting the U.S., allies, as well as U.S. interests. While U.S. diplomacy […]

I agree with Colin Powell’s assessment of leadership. It is extremely simple the way he talks about leadership but he shows the importance of being trusted while being a leader. I unknowingly did this while in the Air Force but I knew the kind of leader I wanted to work with while being on a team so I always went out of my way to […]

  Aldrich’s Chapter 1 provides several theoretical perspectives on political parties. Composed during a particularly moderate time in American party history (1950s), the Responsible Parties Thesis has four components. Which of these four components do you think today’s political parties do well? Which component is currently lacking? Cite examples to illustrate your points.  *Note: Reaction posts should be approximately 2-5 paragraphs in length. Responses to other […]