This assignment is to write a long policy memo on an international relations topic of your choice. The memo should identify an important international challenge or problem, explain why this challenge is important, identify alternative potential policies, and ultimately advocate for the policy that you believe would be most effective. You should write this memo as an expert on international politics writing to an audience of your choice. For example, if you were writing on a problem like aid implementation or donor fragmentation, you could address your memo to NGO aid workers if that were the most appropriate audience. You may also make recommendations for countries other than the United States. We hope that this memo is a chance for you to more deeply engage the topic in International Relations that is most interesting to you.
The memo should be between 3,000 and 4,000 words, double-spaced (approximately 11–14 pp), not including bibliographical references. Within this range, more words will not necessarily mean a better grade – brevity and precision are best for communicating policy recommendations.
In general, the expectations are the same as for the earlier policy memos. These memos are designed to get you to apply the concepts you are learning in class to real world issues. Memos that regurgitate current events and do not apply key concepts from class will do poorly. Memos that creatively apply concepts from class to propose innovative policies will do well.
You are likely to have to do original research to flesh out the background, the current state of play, and the likelihood of different policy options working. This could include (1) Monitoring press outlets; (2), Looking at official policy statements to understand stated objectives; or (3) Consulting think tank reports, policy articles, and scholarly studies of the salient countries.
See the separate instructions for details about the oral presentation.
Due dates
The first draft is due at the end of week 11.
The oral presentation is due in section during week 13 and week 14 (if necessary).
The final draft is due at the end of week 14.
- What should the draft look like? Ideally, the draft would be as close to complete as you can make it. This would mean treating the first draft as if it were the final draft, so all the normal standards apply. Pushing as far as you can now has several benefits. First, you get better feedback—it’s difficult to give constructive feedback on an outline. Second, you don’t get redundant feedback…there’s little use in getting criticism on the things that you already knew you were going to fix in a later draft.
- Should I write on a topic that’s “close to home” for me? Probably. We generally find that people write better papers when they are invested in the topic. That investment can come from a variety of sources, but having a personal interest in the topic is perhaps the best. Perhaps you’re concerned that you can’t be objective if it’s a topic you’re invested in. We think it’s very good practice to take a political issue on which you have strong feelings and force yourself to justify your preferred policy in the face of the strongest possible counter-arguments. Don’t worry about bias per se—almost all policy advisors have a bias. There’s a risk with topics that touch you personally because it can be hard to give a fair representation of the “other side’s” arguments, and there’s a temptation to make claims based on emotion rather than evidence. But if you keep these two risks in mind and make sure to avoid them, working on a topic that’s personal to you is best.
