Assignment #2

6800: Conceptual Foundations of International Politics
Affinity Group Exercise

The general assignment:

Seven groups of students, comprising nearly 50 people each, will
be assigned to one of the "affinity groups" listed below. These groups
will exist only as web-based communities; they will not be expected to
meet together at any time during the semester.

Each group is asked to develop a web database on the issue to
which they have been assigned. This may include websites of advocacy
organizations, archives, government reports, and other sources of
information that would be useful to a policy-maker needing background
information on the issue.

Imagine that your policymaker has asked for the best resources he
or she might consult. You are not to conduct the research itself, simply
to recommend material which would be useful to someone who would be
exploring this issue. Remember that your hypothetical policy-maker is, as
we know, too busy to read a great deal of extraneous information; your
recommendation should be succinct, short and simple.

Each group will need to work together to identify the position or
policy-maker to whom they will be delivering this information. (The UN
High Commissioner for Human Rights? The US Head of the Joint Chiefs of
Staff? The Advocacy Director of Human Rights Watch? The Editor of the
Op-Ed Page of the New York Times? The CEO of ExxonMobil? You decide who
you want your boss to be.) Then you define the scope of the project,
develop a collective workplan, and produce the final memo or report. That
report may include any information the group deems useful but, at a
minimum, it must include an annotated list of the ten best websites on the
topic.

The purpose of this assignment is to accustom students to working
in teams, to using the Internet, and to using the Internet to work in a
team. This is a course requirement. The grade will be assigned
collectively, but individual participation in the project will be
monitored over the semester by as Cordier Fellow and students who do not
participate will not get credit for the assignment.

The topics:

1. Women and Development: (Nancy Kwak)
In no society do women enjoy equal legal, social and economic
status with men. This has moral and ethical dimensions but it also has
implications for the pace and contours of national development. What are
the costs of discrimination against women, and what are the cost of the
remedies?

2. Corporate Responsibility: (Lisa Anderson)
More and more multinational corporations are adopting the rhetoric
of the human rights and environment movements, creating offices for human
rights and advertising their commitment to sustainable development. Many
large companies embraced the UN's Global Compact. Is this merely a public
relations ploy, or does it represent -- intentionally or not -- a
significant shift in the role of the private sector in international
affairs?

3. Post-Kyoto International Environment Policy: (Holger Schmidt)
The Bush Administration's withdrawal from the Kyoto process left
the international environmental regime in turmoil. What are the pros and
cons of the US position; what are the options for the international
community in light of that position on the part of the US and what are the
pros and cons of these options?

4. Promotion of Democracy: (Nicole Hala)
International organizations like the World Bank and national
governments like the US advocate adoption of democratic institutions
throughout the world. Are the policies they adopt to promote democracy
appropriate tools of foreign policy or illegitimate interference in
sovereign states? Do they reflect universal interests or cultural
specific values?

5. International Organizations and Minority Rights: (Hisham Aidi)
The recent UN Conference on Racism saw many states cooperating to
keep sensitive issues--from caste as a form of intolerance to reparations
for slavery--off the agenda. To what extent do the efforts of
international organizations to fight discrimination and protect the rights
of ethnic and religious minorities infringe on the sovereignty of
individual states? Do state interests contradict ethnic interests? Can
international forums, like the UN Conference, affect the debates and
discourse on racism?

6. Weapons of Mass Destruction: (Evan Resnick)
The Cold War was characterized by fears of nuclear war between the
superpowers; the post Cold War world has seen rising concern with
proliferation of both nuclear and non-nuclear weapons of mass destruction
in the developing world. What kinds of strategies are these new threats
(or opportunities) prompting among the military establishments of the
world?

7. Intellectual Property and the Digital Divide: (Neema Noori)
New technologies are putting a premium on knowledge creation, and
encouraging the assertion of rights in intellectual property. At the same
time, the digital divide is deepening both within and among the countries
of the world. How are governments responding to the challenges posed by
the economic and social impact of the new information technologies?