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Description: This course includes a “studio.” The goal of the studio is to provide a
forum that simulates decision-making processes in the context of
international relations. The purpose
of the exercise is to apply principles of international relations to a
particular set of real world public policy problems. The exercise has the benefit of providing
a forum for interaction among members of the class, enhancing group learning
and peer reinforcement. Thematic:
The focus for this summer’s studio is the relationship between
politics and markets. Groups: The studio groups focus on five thematic
areas relating to the problems we analyze in this class. The groups are: Drug trafficking; Weapons trafficking; Weapons of Mass Destruction;
Strategy of Insurgency and Counterinsurgency; and Ideology. Procedure: Each studio session students will meet
with their colleagues in groups to address a specific problem or task. Each studio session will start with an
analysis of the particular problem.
Students will be required to submit a written response (on the forms
provided or downloaded from the web) each session for the previous session’s
problem set. Students will be
organized into “Sector Groups”. The
Sector Groups allow the students to work in a team setting to integrate their
knowledge with that of their colleagues.
The groups function
as working groups organized under the auspices of the “Inter-state Coalition
for International Security.” This is
an (hypothetical) organization whose purpose is to help coordinate national
policies in addressing urgent threats to security. The group concludes its work with the development and
presentation of policies to promote greater international security. General Assembly: Toward the end of the summer course the
Sector Groups will compete against one another to promote the adoption of a specific
set of policies to address one of the semester’s high priority problems. The Sector Group will prepare and submit a
report to the instructor. The report
will consist primarily of the individual problem sets submitted earlier by
the students as laboratory problem sets.
The Sector Group report will be graded. The General Assembly session will feature presentations by each
of the Sector Groups. The entire
class will then rank and vote on the most reasonable policies to adopt. Position Paper:
Each student is called upon to develop a 3-5 page “Position Paper” on
the subject of a policy recommendation.
The position paper is a component of the group’s General Assembly
presentation. It is also submitted
for course credit to the instructor at the end of the term. |
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