Finished product: 8-10 page, double-spaced, 12 point font brief with a one-page executive summary. Your work should be adequately subheaded in bold to give your reader a roadmap.
Early in 2013, Stephen Walt’s blog provided a list of intractable conflicts. As a group he coined them “the ‘too-hard’ box.” Not all of them are intractable in the sense that the parties have engaged in open conflict, but still, they are puzzles when we think about applying international negotiation tactics. Some of them, through the negotiation process, have made considerable headway since 2013. Please choose one of Walt’s ideas and write a background paper on the conflict, what specific international negotiation efforts to solve the conflict that have been made, and future prospects. See http://walt.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2013/02/26/the_too_hard_box. Just close the advertising box and read the blog – you don’t need to sign up or register with Foreign Policy. If that does not work for you, here is a list of the conflicts to choose from:
1. Cyprus – the Greece-Turkey territorial division
2. The Arab-Israeli conflict
3. The Korean Peninsula
4. Kashmir
5. UN Security Council Reform
6. The Democratic Republic of the Congo
7. The Cuba Embargo – solved in 2015 but issues remain
8. The European Union
9. Climate Change
10. Former Soviet Fragments – Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nadgorno-Karabakh; Chechnya; breakaway provinces South Osetia and Abkhazia. (What about Ukraine?)
Your final project should be 8-10 pages, double-spaced, not counting a cover page (if you wish – not necessary), the References List, and any appendices.
Please note: You should be using Turabian author/date reference list style. If you are unsure what this means, please review the Turabian Quick Guide, noting the use of “author/date” style. This is not optional in the MA in International Relations and Conflict Resolution degree. If you are under another degree plan that mandates a certain citation style, please let your instructor know.
The background paper should consist of the following subheaded sections:
1. Statement of the problem
2. Issues
3. Complicating factors
4. Possible solutions within the framework of international negotiation methods – Note: If progress has been made, indicate what international negotiation methods were used.
5. Recommended course of action
6. Anticipated Outcomes and analysis
References List
Any appendices
Although these sections may beg for enumerated points, please do not use bullet lists or other short-cuts to academic writing. Write in full sentences, not fragments. Position your arguments as the first sentence of the paragraph for clarity. Follow arguments, ideas, main points, etc. with evidence as support, analysis, and a transition to the next point. In other words, follow a basic IRAC structure for each paragraph – issue, rationale, analysis, conclusion.
About footnotes and endnotes: For everyone in all programs, you may use footnotes or endnotes – but not to hold sources. Footnotes in Turabian author/date style are meant to hold superfluous information – things you’d like your reader to know but they are not critical to your argumentation and support. Sources belong only in the References List and are noted in the text parenthetically as (author date, page).
General Instructions for Assignments and Rubrics
All assignments should be written in Word and uploaded as attachments within the Assignments section of the classroom. Use 12 pt. font and double-space. Be sure to put your name and class information on the document and put your name on the file. Insert page numbers. Assignments will be graded using a rubric appropriate for your class level.
