Description

Below are the questions for your final essays. Choose ONE question and write a 5-page essay on it. Essays should be double-spaced, font Times New Roman, size 12 pt, and should include footnotes or citations in parentheses.

The guidelines for this essay are the same as for the midterm. I have pasted them again here (at the end of this message).
The new part is that now you have to imagine that you are either the President of the U.S. or the Secretary of State or Defense. For this purpose, try to put yourself as much as possible in the shoes of your character. It does not have to be the current president or any of the previous ones – it could be the president you would like to be one day or the president you would like to work for. Think of the constraints these politicians are facing when making such decisions – what would Congress do, what would the media say, whether there would be public support for the option you recommend, etc. And don’t forget to address the opposing views – the counter-arguments. For example, if you are advising in favor of democracy promotion, address also the arguments of those who say that the US should not promote democracy abroad.
QUESTIONS:
1. You are preparing your first Foreign Policy Speech as the newly-elected President of the United States. What would you like to say to the American people and the rest of the world? Be sure to address some of the main themes and debates in U.S. Foreign policy discussed in class (e.g., Idealism vs. Realism, Isolationism vs. Interventionism, Unilateralism vs. Multilateralism, use of military force in foreign policy and others).
2. You are the Secretary of State and the President has asked you to advise him on whether the United States should promote democracy abroad. The President wants you to discuss the arguments in favor and against democracy promotion. Be sure to provide examples of US successes and failures in democracy promotion.

3. You are the Secretary of Defense and the President has asked you to advise him on the on-going humanitarian crisis in Numbivia***. Numbivia is a small far-away country, rich in oil but with impoverished population. The country has been governed by a corrupt dictator who has tried to suppress his people’s protests by putting them in jail, torturing and killing many of them. We also know that China and Russia are supporting the dictator because they want to get a share from his country’s oil reserves. The President wants you to advise him whether the US should intervene to save the lives of the Numbivian people. Analyze the costs and benefits of a potential American intervention in Numbivia and advise the president under what conditions the U.S. should intervene, if at all, and how – militarily or in any other non-forceful way.

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