Essay #3

This essay is due in my office, 324 Muller, by 10 am on Thursday December 20.

It counts for 25 percent of your final grade.

Drawing on the assigned readings on the global economy and on culture and international relations, write a paper of about 9 pages in which you:

1. Explain clearly the arguments in favor of the liberal global economy that are made in the readings by Rosecrance ("The Virtual State"), Friedman ("It's a Flat World") and Barnett ("The Pentagon's New Map"). What are the main assumptions that underlie this perspective?

2. Explain the critiques of the liberal global economy that are laid out by Lynn ("Unmade in America") on the one hand, and Finnegan ("Economics of Empire"), Hilton ("Made in China"), and Greider ("It's time to ask..."), on the other. Why do they disagree with the liberal arguments? What are the assumptions that lead them to disagree?

3. How are the conflicts that are described in cultural terms (ethnic, religious) related to issues of the global economy? In your answer you should contrast specifically the arguments of Huntington ("Clash of Civilizations") to those of Sen ("Civilizational Imprisonments") and Esposito (excerpts from "The Islamic Threat").

4. Briefly explain your own position on the global economy, referring to assigned readings and class discussion.

In citing articles from the Course Reader use the format (Greider, p.255) or (class discussion, 11/15).

What am I looking for?
You will be graded on the coherence of your essay, as well as on the extent to which you show that you have read and thought about the readings we have done in the last part of the semester.

The best essays are those that are well-organized and demonstrate a significant degree of thought and effort. The more specific your answers the better, though avoid getting bogged down in detail. Also please explain the concepts and argument in your own words; avoid lengthy direct quotes from the articles.

This essay is due in my office, 324 Muller, by 10am on Thursday December 20