The reading and viewing list for this course’s first four modules includes scholars writing specifically about the post-Cold War period. At the start of the 1990s, there was an epochal conflict event that coincided with the end of the Cold War – the First Gulf War. Across the rest of the 1990s, and in particular the 1992-1995 Bosnian War and the 1999 Kosovo War, additional conflict occurred, which was also pivotal in revealing how the international system was structured and operating. In this essay, you will compare and contrast aspects of these events. Be sure to draw on that full range of readings and other learning materials to address the questions below.
Before beginning this activity, be sure to read the Module Notes and the required readings and viewings for the first four modules. Your assignment is to compare and contrast the First Gulf War and the Balkans Wars, drawing on what you have learned in the course thus far. You will write a six page essay.
REQUIRED ESSAY QUESTIONS:
In your reading, how did the conflicts differ in their nature? For example, was one a simple case of one state’s aggression against another (e.g., Iraq v. Kuwait in the First Gulf War), while the other conflict was born from the breakup of a multi-ethnic state after the Soviet collapse? For example, did the legacy of the past, or history, matter more in one conflict than the other?
Compare and contrast the “leadership” role played by the United States in these two conflicts. Did the United States take the lead and shape the international community’s response similarly, and did others follow the United States unreservedly?
Finally, consider our current environment, with globalization arguably worsening economic dislocations and ethno-religious divisions, including the rise of white nationalism in the West, plaguing regions and domestic societies. Reflect on the connections you see between the 1990s and our contemporary world – have the “Balkans’ Ghosts” been banished or are they haunting us still?
To successfully complete Project 1, you will need to organize your responses to these specific questions and then craft formatted essays. Your essays will be evaluated in terms of how thoroughly you: answer the questions; use resources to document your main points; and properly cite referenced work. Your essays should address all of the questions assigned.
Essays should consist of approximately 1,500 words of text (approximately 6 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text). Citations and a bibliography will likely make up an additional 1–2 pages. Each essay should include each of the following attributes:
A title page;
Well-developed introductory paragraph explaining the purpose of the essay and briefly referencing some of the main points/contentions offered in the essay;
The body of the essay should consist of your effort to best answer the primary questions from the assignment prompt and should consist of the required length of words of text (at least 6 pages of double-spaced and 12 point font of text. Though the method by which the paper is written is largely up to you, it is essential that the responses to the questions in the prompt be based upon scholarly readings and should remain at all times defensible (in an academic sense). You have a great deal of information to draw from in creating your essay, including the assigned readings and hyperlinked sources in the module notes. As is the case with every assignment in POL 351, presenting any unsubstantiated, illogical, or indefensible position will have an adverse effect on the final grade. Please direct any questions regarding these expectations to the instructor;
A concise concluding paragraph that briefly restates both the purpose of the essay as well as some of the primary argument offered by you, the essay’s author. Be sure the concluding paragraph does not introduce new information;
A list of all sources consulted in the preparation of the essay. The essay should be formatted according to APA-style documentationLinks to an external site.. This includes the format of the list of references.
SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
Compose your work in a .doc or .docx file type using a word processor (such as Microsoft Word, etc.) and save it frequently to your computer. For those assignments that are not written essays and require uploading images or PowerPoint slides, please follow uploading guidelines provided by your instructor.
Check your work and correct any spelling or grammatical errors. When you are ready to submit your work, click “Upload Submission.” Enter the submission title and then click on “Select a file to upload.” Browse your computer, and select your file. Click “Open” and verify the correct file name has appeared next to Submission File. Click on “Continue.” Confirm submission is correct and then click on “Accept Submission & Save.”
Turnitin®
This course has Turnitin® fully integrated into the course dropbox. This means that you should only submit your assignments to the dropbox below. Please do not submit your assignment directly to Turnitin.com.
Once submitted, your assignment will be evaluated by Turnitin® automatically. You will be able to view an Originality Report within minutes of your first submission that will show how much of your work has been identified as similar to other sources such as websites, textbooks, or other student papers. Use your Originality Report as a learning tool to identify areas of your assignment that you may not have cited appropriately. You may resubmit your assignment through this dropbox as many times as you need to check to see if you have made improvements, until the due date of the assignment. However, once you have made your first submission, you will need to wait 24 hours after each subsequent submission to receive a new Originality Report. Plan accordingly as you draft your assignment. Once the due date has passed, your assignment submission will be considered final.
