AIR102 T2 2020 – RESEARCH ESSAY QUESTIONS (50%)
Choose one of the following questions and respond with a 2000 (+/- 10%) word research essay.
Please remember to do the following:
- a) Evaluate the question carefully and define any terms or ideas that are central to the question.
- b) Make a detailed plan before you start writing. Ensure that you have a strong argument, an introduction, a conclusion and well-constructed body-paragraphs. Please use Deakin’s Essay Paragraph Guide and Paragraph Planner to help you. TIP: THIS IS A 2000 WORD ESSAY. YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST 8 PARAGRAPHS.
- c) You should use AT LEAST ten (10) sources to back up your arguments. Importantly, AT LEAST five (5) of these must be scholarly (peer reviewed) sources like journal articles or scholarly books, and these must be used to back up your central arguments. (Get in touch with your tutor ASAP if you have any questions about this).
- d) Please use Harvard in-text referencing and include a reference list of all materials cited in your paper.
Questions:
- Are military responses an effective solution to the threat posed by terrorism?
- Imagine that human security issues are a state’s top priority. How would this alter its foreign policy objectives? Discuss with reference to Australia’s relationship with one of the following states: i. North Korea; OR United States; OR Indonesia
- Feminist scholar Cynthia Enloe famously asks: “Where are the women?” Why does gender matter in our study of security?
- Does the pursuit of military security make states feel more secure, or less?
- Why do we say that ‘security’ a contested concept?
- “An unpleasant truth often overlooked is that although war is a great evil, it does have a great virtue: it can resolve political conflicts and lead to peace” (Luttwak 1999). Do you agree? Discuss.
- Is forced migration best understood as a security issue or a humanitarian issue? In your answer, consider the policy implications of each approach.
- Are ‘new wars’ really new? Discuss the main features of ‘new wars’ and how they are similar or different to ‘old’ ones.
- Should Australia sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Ban Treaty)? Why or Why not?
- Can or should human rights violations be resolved through the use of force?
There are no hard and fast rules regarding how many paragraphs an essay should have – but a 2000 word essay needs more than 3 (forget what you learned in high school please- those essays were shorter). Paragraphs should each advance ONE new idea and shouldn’t be longer than 250 words. Read the paragraph guide and planner resources for more tips.
