Unit 101737: World Politics: An Introduction

TAKE-HOME EXAM
Chose two of the available questions and write two 700- to 800-word long essay-type responses to each of the two questions that you have selected. You need to indicate the questions which you have chosen and provide the exact word-length of your essays. You will need to submit your Take-Home Exams by 4pm on 1 November 2012 (Thursday) in the assignment box for the unit. REMEMBER: For the take home exam, the penalty for late submission is 10% for every 1 hour that is, marks equal to 10% of the assignments weight will be deducted as a flat rate from the mark awarded. There is NO minimum number of citations. However, whenever you use somebody else's words - either directly or paraphrasing them - you need to indicate your sources. You will be expected to use the Harvard referencing style in your Take-Home exams. Since this is a timed assessment, the extensions will only be for up to 3 or 4 additional hours! Please, bear this in mind if you are considering applying for an extension. PLEASE, read ALL the questions carefully before deciding which two to choose! Best of luck to everyone! 1. When and why did the modern state system come into being? How would representatives of classical political economy explain the reasons for the emergence of the modern state system? 2. Why has secularism come under attack in the context of globalisation? Do you think that Samuel Huntingtons clash of civilization thesis offers a sufficient explanation for the waning of secularism in contemporary world politics? 3. How does the notion of terra nullius described on p. 205 of the Unit Reader explain the expansion of European imperialism? What is the contribution of such Eurocentrism to the environmental challenges defining life in the Anthropocene? 4. On pp. 428-430 of your Unit Reader, the author insists that because the environment is a global collective good, it is difficult to get countries to cooperate in meeting environmental threats, not least because they adopt a short time horizon. Explain the reasons for such difficulty and what made possible the prioritisation of short-term gains over long-term planning? 5. What has allowed transnational criminal organisations and terrorist groups to become such a prominent feature of post-Cold War world politics? How does the concept of complex interdependence promoted by liberalism help you explain the prominence of transnational criminal organisations and terrorist groups? 6. Most commentators note that ever since the third wave of democratisation swept the world there has been an increasing tendency among democratic state to use force to promote the establishment of democracy in other parts of the world. This tendency has become a prominent feature of world politics ever since the terrorist attacks on the US on 11 September 2011. Why do you think democracies have been increasingly willing to use force to spread their model of governance? Does this challenge the democratic peace thesis? 7. As we have indicated several times this semester, identity is a crucial factor informing the contemporary patterns of world politics. Explain the continuing significance of identity in international affairs using constructivism. 8. How does the three worlds perspective explain the contemporary prevalence of weak and failed states in the Global South? At which level of analysis are the key contributing factors for such prevalence of weak and failed states in the Global South? 9. What made possible the redefinition of sovereignty in the post-Cold War period from control of a particular territory to responsibility towards the people that live on that territory? Explain why such a redefinition represents a significant change in the practice of world politics. 10. On p. 167 of your Unit Reader, the author insists that many of us tend to resist unfamiliar information and ideas that undermine [our] habitual ways of viewing and thinking about world

affairs. Provide an example from contemporary world politics that illustrates this statement and use it to explain the impact of perceptions on the patterns of international relations. 11. On p. 111 of your Unit Reader, the author claims that what made total war possible in the early twentieth century was a unique confluence between the rise of nationalism and the industrial revolution. Do you agree with this statement? How does the emergence of nationalism and the industrial revolution support the realist reading of world politics? 12. The United Nations (UN) represents one of the most prominent attempts by states to create a collective security arrangement in world politics. What do you think is the key reason for the relative success of the UN to maintain peace and security during the Cold War and its relative failure to do this in the post-Cold War period? At which level of analysis are these levels located? 13. On p. 204 of the Unit Reader, the author insists that the place where you are born, or where your parents are from, determines many of the conditions that will affect the rest of your life. Do you agree with this statement? How would Marxist political economy explain this statement? 14. The Cold War is long over, but its influences linger. Can you think of three examples in which the Cold War continues to shape world politics today? 15. Many commentators suggest that world politics affect profoundly our daily lives. Can you identify the most obvious ways in which the dynamics of world politics affect your life?