POL 101 World Politics – Spring 2020 Homework #1 Literature Essay

Record and analyze 7 different political world news stories. Make sure to check the World news
relevant for POL 101.pdf posted on Blackboard. I recommend picking one or two important
stories per day (don’t try to find 7 stories at once!). The stories have to be recent (2020 dates
only). You cannot use the stories posted on Blackboard but you can use similar stories. (Always
check Blackboard to see if the story that you are about to pick is already posted).
For each story, write:
- 2-3 sentences, in your own words (!), summarizing the story.
- 2-3 sentences discussing whether the events in the story are more consistent with realism
or liberalism (or both, in which case you need to explain why).
Required reference format: (1) “Title of the story”, (2) DATE, (3) URL.
Hard copy only, typed, standard 12 font (e.g., Times New Roman), single spaced, 1 inch
margins.
Please watch and follow the instructions carefully

POL 101 World Politics – Spring 2020 Homework #1 Due: The day of midterm #1 (2/24/20), in class, printed, typed. The homework must be printed BEFORE the exam. Record and analyze 7 different political world news stories. Make sure to check the World news relevant for POL 101.pdf posted on Blackboard. I recommend picking one or two important stories per day (don’t try to find 7 stories at once!). The stories have to be recent (2020 dates only). You cannot use the stories posted on Blackboard but you can use similar stories. (Always check Blackboard to see if the story that you are about to pick is already posted). For each story, write: - 2-3 sentences, in your own words (!), summarizing the story. - 2-3 sentences discussing whether the events in the story are more consistent with realism or liberalism (or both, in which case you need to explain why). Required reference format: (1) “Title of the story”, (2) DATE, (3) URL. Hard copy only, typed, standard 12 font (e.g., Times New Roman), single spaced, 1 inch margins. Emails are not accepted. Student collaboration is allowed but you need to have your own stories. That is, feel free to discuss your analysis with other students but do not copy others’ stories and analysis. Do NOT print out the original articles. Do NOT copy/paste from the original articles (points will be lost, see below). Grading guidelines. Graded: 0 – 100 points. Points can be lost for the following reasons: No summary in your own words (i.e., only the news story title): -50 points. Copying & pasting of the news story text: up to -40 points. No discussion of realism or liberalism: -50 points. No justification whether realism or liberalism is the better explanation: -40 points. Obvious errors in justification: up to -20 points. Not political world news: -10 points per irrelevant story (not to exceed -50 points). No references: -20 points. No title, or date, or URL: -10 points. Late homework: -100 points (i.e., not accepted, unless there is a documented medical excuse). Email submission: -100 points (i.e., not accepted). Hand-written submission: -100 points (i.e., not accepted).

World news relevant for POL 101 Stories that involve two or more countries Stories that focus on political and economic issues (or have political and economic implications) Stories that involve intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations Stories that focus on problems of global importance (even if one country is affected), e.g., international terrorism, genocide, major violations of human rights, separatist movements, etc. Examples of relevant stories/topics: 1) Civil war in Syria, ISIS, external intervention 2) Iraq, Afghanistan, counter-insurgency 3) Ukraine, conflict with Russia 4) US-China, trade, conflict and cooperation 5) US-Russia, diplomatic crises, UN gridlock 6) EU, major developments 7) NATO, expansion, budget 8) Iran nuclear deal, sanctions 9) North Korea, nuclear weapons 10) Israel and Palestine 11) India, Pakistan, conflict over territory 12) African nations, civil wars, genocide And potentially many others.