World politics | POLSCI 402 | University of Massachusetts

Final Assignment

Please answer ONE of the following questions in roughly six pages of your own original writing. Your answer must engage meaningfully with at least THREE readings from the course syllabus (with appropriate citations to the authors’ work).  Outside readings will not count toward the required three readings you must draw from. Your essay must include a bibliography at the end, listing the works you cited.

Option #1: What are the root causes of inequality under the current world order? Please discuss at least two, describing how they produce wealth for some people (or some groups, or some countries) and poverty for others.

Option #2: Are there universal human rights? Why or why not?

Option #3: What are the greatest threats to the current “liberal” world order? Please compare two and explain which, in your opinion, poses the greater challenge to the liberal order.

Your paper is due via Blackboard by 11:59:59pm on December 20th. You do not need to submit a hard copy. I will use the time stamp on your electronic submission to verify that you turned your assignment in on time. Late assignments will lose a third of a grade for each day they are late. (For instance, an A- paper becomes a B+ if turned in on December 21st.)

Please remember that this is not a research paper. You will be able to answer the question based solely on the course readings. Citations to outside sources are permitted (as long as you cite them appropriately). But your answer should be based on the course readings to show that you understand the material we covered in class.