State Making in International Politics

Students are graded on the basis of the following assignments:

(1) Participation (20%): This is a reading-heavy and interactive class. Each student is expected to read all assigned texts and participate actively in class discussions.

(2) Paper and presentation (40%): Each student writes a discussion paper of about 800 (plus/minus 100) words on one of the two assigned readings of one particular session (sessions 3-6). The paper should not summarize the reading but critically engage with its key arguments and take a stance. Papers must be submitted (by midnight) the day before the respective class session. Each student presents her or his paper and main positions in a short presentation in class (5-10 minutes). Specifics will be provided in class.

(3) Debates (40%): In sessions 7 and 8, group debates will be organized on particular questions to draw on the literature discussed in the course and craft and defend arguments about state creation and demise. Specifics will be provided in class.