Critique of the Role of Hegemonic Stability Theory in Today’s Global Political Economy Assignment | Buy assignments online
The essay MUST pertain to the work of CHARLES KINDLEBERGER.
If any of the following names : Keohane, Gilpin, Strange, Kindleberger, Cox, Krasner and Katzenstein have work on hegemonic stability please BRIFELY MENTION within essay.
The essay guideline is attached in word document This work will represent 70% of my final grade, whether I fail or pass is totally dependent on the grade I get on this essay.
Please i need A++ quality of work and in the time frame I’ve given you.
Writing a Research Essay in International Relations and Political Science
This is some basic advice on writing an essay in International Relations. The advice is generic, and obviously particular assignments, topics, questions have their own requirements – but this general advice should apply most of the time.
Be aware of what a criteria grading sheet looks like, as this sets out the way in which the essay will be graded. The standard grading sheet looks like this, and you will notice that there are four separate criteria. We will deal with each in turn.
| 1. Structure/Organization: Have you answered the question? Do you have a clear argument that you defend throughout? Is it well organized with appropriate use of paragraphs? | |
| 2. Research: Are you demonstrating research skills? Have you used a range of sources? Is it thoroughly referenced, using an appropriate system, with a bibliography? | |
| 3. Content: Do you set out clear arguments/evidence to support your position? Have you considered counter-arguments/evidence? Is their evidence of critical thinking? | |
| 4. Presentation: Is the paper well-written? Is it proof-read for grammar and spelling errors? |
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- Structure/Organisation
Essays need a clear and concise introduction, which sets out a position: the thesis or argument that the essay will defend. If a question has been set, the introduction needs to clearly answer this question. It does not provide a broad introduction to the topic (avoid waffle or ‘flowery’ introductions), but rather, specifies the particular position that the essay will pursue. The essay then defends this position clearly throughout! I strongly suggest beginning the essay with the line “This essay argues…”.If you can clearly set out your position at the start, it will solve a lot of the structural problems that many essays have. You can then use the rest of the introduction to expand on your argument, detail the case material you are using to support your position, explain how your position allows you to propose an answer to the question(if one is set), and outline the structure of the essay. When outlining the structure of the essay, using first, second, third can be a clear and informative approach for the reader.
The main body of the essay is organised in short, sharp, concise paragraphs. It is important to consistently link the material, ideas, theories, concepts, debates, arguments, evidence,and case studies that you evaluate in the main body of the essay back to the question, and to your argument. Though different courses and different types of written assignments have different objectives, normally it is a good idea to have a balance between theoretical/conceptual debates and discussion, and empirical evidence. Theory comes first – detail the argument/counter-argument, analyse this material in the context of your argument (as clearly set out in the introduction!). Then provide case study material, data, and evidence to reflect upon this debate. You can then draw both empirical conclusions about your evidence as interpreted through the theoretical framework(s), and theoretical conclusions concerning what the empirical material has to say about the theories, debates, and/or concepts in question. Obviously a political theory or IR theory essay may look different, and be all theoretical evaluation, but in most cases this model would apply. A structure which is all case study, however rich and detailed, is not a good idea. What is it a case study of, what argument, debate, concept is the case study being used to reflect upon? Empirical evidence in the absence of a frame or context is of little utility.
The conclusion is like a mirror of the introduction, it reiterates the position the essay has taken, detailing how this position has allowed the essay to answer the question. Essays are not murder mystery novels – markers do not want to find out on the last page “whodunit” – so set out your thesis clearly in the introduction. Sometimes essays where the argument is finally expressed in the conclusion could have been massively improved by making the conclusion the introduction, then re-drafting the essay to clearly defend the position set out therein. Hence, the importance of using more than one draft when writing an essay… Both the introduction and conclusion should be short, sharp, clear and concise.
- Research
A significant part of your essay grade is based on your capacity to undertake AND utilise academic research. Use HARVARD or CHICAGO as a referencing system (details provided below). A full bibliography with full bibliographical references is required for every essay. Page numbered references are essential!Detailed, accurate referencing is how you show control of the source. Hobbes (1651) is a terrible reference – this book is hundreds of pages long, how is the reader supposed to follow your research to its source? You should never quote without providing the page the quote comes from, and you should also provide page numbers when paraphrasing (rewriting someone’s work in your own words). If your sources don’t have page numbers, why not? The vast majority (99% or more) of peer reviewed academic sources do, as does almost any source in .pdf format (which most NGOs, governments, corporations, UN agencies etc publish documents online in) – so why are you using sources that don’t have page numbers? DO NOT CITE LECTURE NOTES – they are not peer reviewed, they are meant to introduce you to the literature not serve as a substitute for doing some proper research.
There are three types of sources your research will uncover:
PRIMARY – government/IGO publications, speeches, documents, interviews etc, NGO or corporate reports etc
SECONDARY –Peer reviewed academic journal articles and books
TERTIARY – Media sources
Priority is to SECONDARY (ACADEMIC) sources. Your essay should revolve around secondary sources, and the majority of your research should be in this area. It is however good to display your research skills by also using a range of alternative sources. Primary sources are particularly useful, providing data, evidence, case material – but you do not want too much primary material. Rather, using a small number of primary sources well, contextualising the primary source material in the academic literature, is normally the right approach. If the essay is in political theory or IR theory, the key thinkers being dealt with may well constitute primary sources, and be used almost exclusively to write the essay. Remember that individual assignments may differ in requirements from this generic advice – if you are in doubt, ask! Tertiary sources are the least favoured type of source, though they can be useful for cutting edge case study material, or for presenting certain perspectives on a problem or issue. Even then, some tertiary sources (FT, The Economist, Times/Guardian/Telegraph/Independent etc) are more valid than others (The Sun, The Dail Mail etc). Of course, if your essay is ON the Media then these sources can in effect become primary sources…
The morematerial you use the better, to demonstrate the breadth of your reading and your research skills (though specific assignments in political theory for example may require you to make more in-depth use of only 1 or 2 sources – the specific assignment requirements matter!). Do not place any sources in the bibliography that you have not actually cited in the actual essay! Do not use arbitrary web-sites such as blogs where you can never be sure of the quality of the material made available. WIKIPEDIA, online Encyclopaedias etc are best avoided. If you can’t identify the author that is a bad sign, don’t use the source (The Economist is a tertiary source exception to this rule – authors are not identified as a rule, The Economist is the author). You need to be THOROUGH in referencing. Any data, evidence, or fact you cite needs a reference! Individual sentences are referenced, not entire paragraphs. If these means your paragraphs are filling up with citations to the same source, you should then ask yourself: Am I over-dependent on this source? Can I diversify and find other sources to support? If this scholar is saying all these things, what am I saying? What is my analysis or evaluation of this material? Am I agreeing or disagreeing with what this person is saying? Does this support or contradict my argument? You should be able to separate what other scholars are saying (which you are citing) and what you are saying in the light of your argument.
- Content
Essays should not be ‘polemic’ (heavily one-sided). You need to address the weaknesses of your position and the limits of your data/evidence/case studies. Attention must be paid to counterarguments and counterevidence. What undermines the credibility of an argument is not acknowledged weaknesses but blindness to, or complacency toward, objections – especially obvious objections – that might be raised against it. If you glide over contentious claims too often your argument will fast lose all credibility. If you treat credible adversaries in a dismissive or unsympathetic way, the reader will find it very difficult to trust your arguments.
Obviously, for regression analysis and other data-driven methods, a large number of data points is usually required. However, most essays in International Relations and Political Science are based on qualitative case studies. It is usually better to go into depth on a single case study than to provide a multitude of brief,anecdotal examples. Depth trumps breadth – at most, two case studies for comparison, but if you are going to compare you need to be clear on exactly what the comparison is focused on, and why the cases have been selected (i.e. the comparative method). The two cases should ideally be different from one another in some important regard which is then linked to the position that your essay has taken i.e. to your argument or your answer to the question. If your two cases say the same thing, why not go into a single case in more detail?Case studies MUST be based on multiple sources, and this should be a mix of primary and secondary sources. Make sure your case study evidence is solid by ensuring that multiple source support your facts, evidence, examples.
You cannot write a speculative essay about the future! You need to analyse and present material and evidence which has already happened. A speculative essay about the future cannot be graded in any objective terms, and this is not science fiction you are writing. You are, in effect, using the power of hindsight, ensuring that your evidence is real evidence and not hypothetical or speculative statements masquerading as evidence.“Will China be the next Hegemon?” is a non-starter, while “How has the rise of China threatened US Hegemony” is fine, for obvious reasons.
Your content should reflect the progression of a logical argument or thesis. If you are setting out a particular theoretical or conceptual debate in the first part of the essay, make sure that your case study pertains to this debate! Critical engagement with the material is important – don’t just describe empirical facts, explain and analyse them in the context of your argument, or of the theoretical/conceptual debates. Avoid arguing by analogy, or using hypothetical cases when real ones are required!
- Presentation
In part, an essay must be looked at as an exercise in public relations (PR). GRAMMAR AND SPELLING ARE IMPORTANT. Always spell-check your work! And, if your grammar isn’t so good, get someone to proofread your work for grammatical errors. Always proofread your work anyway to eliminate typographical errors (typos). Be professional! Use non-gender specific language, don’t use slang, and don’t make jokes or use other informal writing practices. Use proper sentences to write your essay. You should be providing a document that is well-presented and easy to read. Use an appropriate font (i.e. Calibri, TNR) and an appropriate point (12-point). Full-justify the text, and separate and indent (1cm each end will suffice) long quotes – preferably using 11-point. Clarity of expression is very important – writing clearly and being easy for the reader to comprehend is far more impressive than a jumble of big words that are difficult to make sense of.
Don’t over-quote – be judicious. Better to be quoting key thinkers or key documents, making the most important points, not a description which could easily be paraphrased. Quote in full, and do not cut quotes up using “…” if this can be avoided. Very long quotes are probably not a good idea – you want your quote to say something, not many things. Don’t start the essay with a quote, don’t quote in the middle of sentences. Separate and indent long quotes. Essays do not use bullet points, or numbered points (1, 2, 3, 4 – though written numbers first, second, thirdare fine). Sub-headings can be a useful tool for organising the material, but in a short essay the number of subheadings should be very limited, or no subheadings be used in the final draft at all. The essay should flow neatly and coherently without sub-headings if possible. A dissertation, obviously, needs to be broken up more as it is a much longer piece of work. Essays are usually written impersonally, avoiding “I” and the royal “We” – “This essay will argue…” is the preferred approach. Again, use short, sharp and concise paragraphs to organise – no paragraph, under any circumstances, should run longer than a page – this block-text look is extremely unappealing!
Are you meeting the set Word Count requirements for the essay? The university has a clear policy (on the portal) with set penalties for word count violation, so make sure you know what you are doing. For example, the bibliography and footnotes (if you are using Chicago) are not included in the word count. If you are using Harvard (in-text references), then references are included in the word count.
