First, read a news story from the newspaper or the Internet.  Answer the following questions regarding your news story: 1) What is the main issue, who are the main actors being discussed;  

Second, read all the articles and watch all the videos assigned in this module.  Answer the following questions regarding one of the assigned articles or videos: 1) What are the basics of this article/video (who, what, when, how, why, etc.);  2) What is the overall main point the author is trying to convince you of?  3) Do you agree with the author’s argument?  Why?  Why not?   

Finally, tie together your news story with what you learned from the assigned article and videos for this week.  Type your answers using your own words, no outline or bullets, complete sentences and paragraphs, single-spaced, full-page. 

This week we are getting introduced to International Theories that try to explain why the world is the way it is and how global actors relate to each other .  The readings I have assigned should show you there are many ways we can describe global politics.

Listed below are the Learning Objectives for this week.  In other words, after this week you should be able to do the following:

Learning Objectives

1. 2.1Identify at least three assumptions of the theory of realism. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
2. 2.2Describe two different ways to conceptualize and measure power. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
3. 2.3Define anarchy and explain its importance in preventing international cooperation. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
4. 2.4Explain the purpose of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance and how the purpose has changed over the history of the alliance. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
5. 2.5Describe the Prisoner’s Dilemma game, and explain how it is an analogy for the international system. (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
6. 3.1Compare two explanations for the trend toward less warfare in the past century.
7. 3.2Distinguish between two different theories to explain why democracies do not wage war on one another.
8. 3.3Illustrate how social theories could explain two countries moving from rivalry to alliance.
9. 3.4Distinguish Marx's domestic theory of class struggle from that of Lenin's theory of imperialism.
10. 3.5Describe the ways in which mediation can be used to resolve conflict in international relations.
11. 3.6Identify two global issues in international relations where gender is an important factor in understanding or solving the problems.