Europe and the International System

Writing Assignment and Oral Presentation Guidelines

Theme and Thesis

    The theme of the paper should elaborate on how best to understand the nature of European integration. That is to say, the paper should be centered on a “why?” question and its thesis should finish the sentence: “European integration is best understood…” There are an infinite number of ways of answering this question which allows students to tailor their paper to their interests regarding European politics and policy. Some examples of theses that might build on the essay set-up are as follows:

• “European integration is best understood through the perspective of functionalist theories of regional integration.”
• “European integration is best understood as a process that involves periods of rapid change followed by periods of relative stasis.”
• “European integration is best understood as a process led by those EU states with the most power.”
• “European integration is best understood in terms of multiple levels of governance.”
• “European integration is best understood as a process in which economic integration has been achieved more easily than the creation of a unified European Union foreign policy.”
• “European integration is best understood on the basis of the EU’s response to the financial crisis that began in 2008.”
• “European integration is best understood as a function of the construction of political identities.”
• “European integration is best understood using the theory of intergovernmental institutionalism.”

    Notice that each of these theses could come about by asking a question about some curious aspect of European politics and policy. The type of question each thesis above corresponds to are as follows:

• Why are some policy issues delegated to the institutions of the European Union more readily than others?
• Why has European integration taken so long?
• Why are some issues resolved in the European Union more easily than others?
• Why are there so many laws and regulations in the European Union?
• Why hasn’t the European Union responded rapidly to international crises?
• Why have political divisions occurred recently in the European Union over economic policy?
• Why has immigration policy been difficult to resolve in the European Union?
• Why do national elections often alter the agenda of European integration?

    In other words, writing the paper for this course involves three main tasks—finding something interesting about European politics and policy that needs to be explained, using the theories of European integration discussed in course readings and classroom discussions to come up with an answer, and then finding empirical evidence to support the paper’s thesis statement.

Why the Emphasis on European Integration?

    A fair question could be asked, why should the paper’s theme and thesis center on European integration? The main reason for this is that right now European integration is where the most interesting analytical and theoretical debates are in the study of European politics and policy. One of the important aspects of this course is to prepare students for senior theses in the social sciences. A key element in any social science analytical essay is the evaluation of competing theories, paradigms, frameworks for analysis, and schools of thought that seek to explain interesting and curious outcomes. In the study of European politics and policy today, theories of European integration comprise the most vibrant analytical debates in the study of politics and foreign policy. Therefore, crafting an essay that utilizes competing theories of European integration is a good exercise to prepare for a social science senior thesis.

    The emphasis on European integration also permits a range of issue areas on which each student’s paper can be focused. That is to say, developments in myriad aspects of European domestic and foreign policy can be elucidated analytically by situating them in the context of European integration. Thus, the paper can take European integration as a starting point and then be about some aspect of European politics and policy that is made intelligible within the context of European integration.

Identifying a Question and Developing a Thesis

    The first task in an analytical paper of this nature is to identify a question worthy of asking. The best questions typically begin with the word “why?” because they prompt and answer that comes in the form of an explanation. Political science (and other social sciences such as economics and sociology) are interested in explaining why certain outcomes occur because those explanations will aid in creating theories that explain similar outcomes. For this class, identifying a worthwhile question can be as simple as observing something curious about European politics and policy, the explanation for which is not readily apparent or obvious. (A question to which the answer is readily apparent or obvious either has already been explained or does not raise a curiosity.) Students should be able to identify a curious aspect of European politics or policy that begs an interesting question simply by following the news about Europe or doing a small amount of research into the contemporary history of European politics.

    Once an interesting question has been identified, students can begin to develop an answer (the paper’s thesis) using the theoretical essays provided in course readings. For the most part, in developing their theses students should be able to avail themselves of the main theories of European integration (to be discussed over the course of the semester). Students may also want to draw on the broad paradigms and theories of international relations covered in the introductory International Politics (POLI 214) course (if they have taken it or its equivalent at another institution) as well as additional theoretical materials on European integration either cited in course readings or readily available at the Hatfield Library or online (e.g., in online scholarly journals). In most cases, course readings should be sufficient for developing the paper’s thesis, although use of other theoretical works (i.e., those referenced and/or cited in course readings) available at Hatfield and online will be useful in fleshing out the paper’s themes.

    Students should also consider alternative arguments, theses, and points of view in their paper. That is to say, if a paper’s thesis explains some aspect of European politics and policy using a specific theory or European integration, at least one other rival theory of European integration should be evaluated somewhere else in the paper. This is an essential ingredient of any analytical social science paper.

Research and Empirical Evidence

    Evidence to support the paper’s thesis can be about any aspect of European politics and policy. Relevant topics/issue areas that could serve as the paper’s subject matter include, but are not limited to, the following (i.e., this is only a partial list):

• European Union relations with prospective member states
• European security and defense policy
• European Union support of nascent democracies
• Immigration policies in Europe
• Free trade policy in the European Union
• Economic and monetary policy in the European Union
• European Union relations with international organizations such as the Word Trade Organization
• Harmonization of human rights standards in the European Union
• European Union environmental policy
• Policies on crime and law enforcement in the European Union
• The European Union and conflict resolution
• European Union foreign aid to poor countries
• Peacekeeping operations of the European Union
• Social policy in the European Union
• Standardization of European Union health and safety policy
• European Union relations with other countries

    Empirical evidence for the paper can be acquired simply by reading daily news accounts of European integration, politics, and policy. Additionally, students can find ample information about European integration, politics, and policy through books and articles readily available in the Hatfield Library and online as well as newspaper and other news organization archives also readily available via library and online resources.

Organization

    Analytical essays of the nature assigned for this course typically adhere to some variation on the following organization:

• Introduction
• Brief statement of empirical issue to be explained
• Review of theoretical literature, i.e., schools of thought that might explain the empirical issue
• Presentation of evidence, facts, and information
• Analysis of theoretical literature in light of evidence, facts, and information
• Conclusion

Each draft of the paper should be divided into sections and the sections should be indicated by descriptive subject headings (e.g., not just “Brief statement of empirical issue to be explained”).

Multiple Drafts

    Three drafts (plus a peer editing draft) of the paper will be handed in over the course of the semester. The paper represents a single analytical and research project to be revised over the course of multiple iterations. Therefore, the paper’s thesis could and should be sharpened, revised, or even altered to take account of competing theories and/or newly uncovered evidence. Additionally, over the course of multiple drafts students should take the opportunity to alter the order of sections or subsections to accentuate the theoretical and empirical propositions and conclusions, add or remove sources to the literature review, evaluate additional existing claims, add or delete additional or unnecessary empirical information, rectify errors of analysis in the evaluation section, strengthen or clarify the introduction and/or conclusion, correct errors of grammar and syntax and improve the prose.

Length

    There is no required minimum or maximum length for each draft of the paper. There is an old adage (variously attributed to Abraham Lincoln or J. D. Salinger) that, in answer to the question “how long should a man’s legs be?,” the answer is “long enough to reach the ground.” In other words, your paper should be long enough to accomplish its task (no longer, and no shorter). Having said that, it is most likely that a good first draft will range between 2000 and 4000 words (7 to 13 pages), a good second draft probably will fall into the 3000 to 5000 word range (10 to 17 pages), and a good final draft most will most likely run between 4000 to 6000 words (13 to 20 pages), all give or take. Each draft of the paper should include a title (on a title page), an abstract, and a bibliography.

Abstract

    Each draft of the paper should be accompanied by an abstract that precedes the main text. An abstract is a short (typically one paragraph) summary of a paper and its findings. Most scholarly journals include abstracts that accompany published articles. Students should consult some scholarly journals of political science and international studies to familiarize themselves with the standard method for crafting a one-paragraph abstract.

Style

    Students may use any accepted style (e.g., Chicago, MLA, etc.) in formatting the paper. Students should ensure, however, that they use whatever style they choose consistently throughout the paper.

Grading and Deadline

    Because the main written work for this class is a research paper with an extended period to complete it, assignments handed in late will be assessed a third of a grade penalty for every day after the deadline they are submitted (for example, an “A–” paper handed in one day late will be marked down a third of a grade to a “B+”). Papers are due no later than the start of class on the day they are due (or the equivalent if the paper is due on a day on which class is not regularly held). The only exceptions made will be for serious illness.

Evaluation of Written Work

    An excellent paper will demonstrate excellence in the following:

• It will be well written in terms of prose, grammar, and syntax.
• It will be well organized and follow a logical progression of thoughts.
• It will have a clearly stated and cogent thesis.
• Its thesis will be supported by logical arguments.
• Its thesis will be balanced with counter-arguments and/or competing explanations.
• It will cite relevant course readings and other material as relevant.
• It will be illustrated with empirical examples and other factual material as relevant.
• It will have the appropriate scope, i.e., not too narrow or broad in focus.
• It will adopt an analytical (not partisan) tone unless otherwise directed.

Grading Criteria

    Generally speaking, when affixing grades to essays and other assignments, the instructor will adhere to the qualitative assessments associated with letter grades as specified in the CLA Catalog:

A = Excellent
B = Good
C = Satisfactory
D = Below Standard
F = Failing

See http://www.willamette.edu/cla/catalog/resources/policies/

Note on Originality

    The paper must be your own written work. You may not copy, borrow, or appropriate other authors’ work, unless you are doing so in the form of a cited quotation. All references to other authors’ work must be fully documented in the form of citations and/or footnotes, and direct quotes must be indicated as such with quotation marks. Suspected cases of plagiarism will be pursued vigorously and appropriate penalties (including an “F” for the course) will be applied.

Oral Presentation

    In their oral presentations students should convey to the rest of the class the themes developed in their papers. The purpose of the oral presentation is to succinctly convey in speech the ideas that are laid out in greater depth and detail in writing. One way to think about the oral presentation is to imagine that you are explaining your project to a reasonably well-educated person who has not taken this particular class. Each section of the paper should be included in the oral presentation (the presentation in most cases will follow the organization of the paper), but technical details (particularly dealing with theoretical material) in most cases should be simplified so that someone who has not necessarily studied European integration can still make sense of the analytical perspectives that inform the paper’s thesis.

    Visual presentation software (e.g., Powerpoint, Prezi) may be used for the oral presentation but is not required. If you do use visual presentation software, remember that text-heavy slides typically are not effective as they distract the audience. Keep it simple. Also, it is each student’s responsibility to make sure files and devices used for visual presentation are compatible with the electronic devices installed in the classroom.