IDENTIFY A GLOBAL ISSUE – ANYTHING FROM SAY WAR AND PEACE, DEVELOPMENT, HEALTH OR PANDEMIC, ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC, WHATEVER – AND EXPLAIN SOME OF THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN ADDRESSING THE ISSUE.

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Writing assignment is to answer any two of the three questions below, in about 500-800 words for each essay, or approximately 2-4 pages each (1.5 or double-spaced), a chance to sum up some of the key lessons learned in the course. It’s more of an “essay”, so no need to worry about formatting or numbers of references, but the essay should demonstrate knowledge gained from the course readings and discussions. Be sure to identify the essay number at the beginning of your essay.
(1) Consider the two books we read for the class, by Kissinger and Zakaria, and identify two or three main “takeaways” from each book. What did you learn about the nature and evolution of the international system? How does the book help you better understand global issues?
(2) Identify a global issue – anything from say war and peace, development, health or pandemic, environmental, economic, whatever – and explain some of the challenges and opportunities in addressing the issue. What lessons can you draw from the course to help explain and understand the issue? Is it an issue that has a “solution” or is the best hope that we somehow “manage” it into a better state?
(3) It’s January 2019, and you’ve just been nominated as Secretary of State (equivalent to our foreign minister) in a new administration. Your first task is to assemble a team of experts as part of your new foreign policy team and to provide a brief report to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on the top priorities for the administration, part of your confirmation process as the new top diplomat. You can’t do everything — and besides, Senators have little time to read since they spend most of fundraising — so you need to select two or three top priorities to focus American foreign policy toward. What are they? What are some of the challenges faced by the United States in the current international system, and what do you plan to do about it? Be very specific and offer some concrete proposals or identify particular countries or issues you believe need immediate attention.