International Relations
Taught: Winter 2023
Graduate
Course information
Juan Tellez (pronounced: “Teh-yes”)
Tuesdays, 3:10 PM - 6:00 PM
Kerr Hall 593
Course description
This course is a graduate-level introduction to the field of international relations (IR), focusing on core theoretical and empirical debates in the literature. Readings are a mix of old and new, leaning towards newer work.
The primary goal of this course is to for students to develop a sense for where the literature has been and where it is going. As students move forward with their studies, this course will help students develop a fuller sense of the context in which other work they read is situated.
Course policies
Late proposals, papers, etc. will be penalized by a letter grade per day, up to two days, then it’s a zero.
Assignments
Participation (5% of grade)
To receive full credit you must:
come to class having read
be engaged in discussion
Discussion questions (DQs; 10% of grade)
Eeach week you will post one bullet point discussion question/comment per reading to Canvas. The questions/comments need to be good. A good discussion question offers a specific critique, is thought-provoking, generates discussion among the group, etc. A not-good discussion question is above all generic – it is not specific to the reading and leaves the group without guidance on where to take the discussion.
⭐ Due dates: Sunday by midnight before each class
Peer-review (30% of grade)
You will write two mock “peer-reviews” in the spirit of working as a reviewer for a journal. Your review should eschew summary in favor of critically evaluating the paper (a great guide here). The goal is to make a recommendation to an editor (me) as to whether or not the paper should be published. If your recommendation is to “revise and resubmit” assume that implies a high probability of publication. The review should be between 500 and 800 words in length.
Due dates:
- Review 1 due by February 3rd, 2023 ⭐
- Review 2 due by March 3rd, 2023 ⭐
Choose two from the following:
Dataset presentation (25% of grade)
Instructions
The goal of this assignment is to become acquainted with an important data collection effort in our field. You will download the data, clean it as needed, learn its ins and outs, and produce some compelling visuals. You will then present on the dataset to the class for ~ 10 minutes. Points to hit in the presentation:
- What does an observation look like in this data? What is being measured? How do the authors get from raw text to the final product? (~ 1 slide)
- You will create and discuss two interesting visualizations from this dataset; could be time series, bivariate relationship, conditional means, a table, etc. (2 slides)
- Strengths and weaknesses – what is good and exciting about this project? What kinds of questions could we answer with this data? What are the limitations (temporal, spatial, conceptual)? (~ 1-2 slides)
See Data sets for a list of ideas. Below are also some good templates for making interesting visualizations of datasets:
Submission
You will work in pairs and submit jointly (sign up sheet in class). Two outputs: an R script with the code used to make visuals/tables + the presentation. Each pair of students will email me these shortly after their presentation.
Research proposal (30%)
6 pages. See the rubric. You should meet with me to talk through your idea, sooner rather than later.
⭐ Due by March 21, 2023.
Schedule
Note: the schedule is subject to change.
Week 1 – Jan 10 : What does good research in IR look like? Theory, causality, prediction
Required
- Cyrus Samii, “Causal Empiricism in Quantitative Research,” The Journal of Politics 78, no. 3 (2016): 941–955.
- John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, “Leaving Theory Behind: Why Simplistic Hypothesis Testing Is Bad for International Relations,” European Journal of International Relations 19, no. 3 (2013): 427–457.
- Michael D. Ward, Brian D. Greenhill, and Kristin M. Bakke, “The Perils of Policy by p-Value: Predicting Civil Conflicts,” Journal of Peace Research 47, no. 4 (2010): 363–375.
- Luke Keele, “The Statistics of Causal Inference: A View from Political Methodology,” Political Analysis 23, no. 3 (2015): 313–335. Focus on Section 3.
- Susan D. Hyde, “Experiments in International Relations: Lab, Survey, and Field,” Annual Review of Political Science 18 (2015): 403–424.
Recommended
- Stathis Kalyvas and Scott Straus, “Stathis Kalyvas on 20 Years of Studying Political Violence,” Violence: An International Journal 1, no. 2 (2020): 389–407.
- John Gerring, “Mere Description,” British Journal of Political Science 42, no. 4 (2012): 721–746.
- Jacob M. Montgomery, Brendan Nyhan, and Michelle Torres, “How Conditioning on Posttreatment Variables Can Ruin Your Experiment and What to Do about It,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 3 (2018): 760–775.
- Luke Keele, Randolph T. Stevenson, and Felix Elwert, “The Causal Interpretation of Estimated Associations in Regression Models,” Political Science Research and Methods 8, no. 1 (2020): 1–13.
- Jacob Westfall and Tal Yarkoni, “Statistically Controlling for Confounding Constructs Is Harder Than You Think,” PloS One 11, no. 3 (2016): e0152719.
- Scott F. Abramson, Korhan Koçak, and Asya Magazinnik, “What Do We Learn about Voter Preferences from Conjoint Experiments” (2022).
- Ethan Bueno De Mesquita and Scott A. Tyson, “The Commensurability Problem: Conceptual Difficulties in Estimating the Effect of Behavior on Behavior,” American Political Science Review 114, no. 2 (2020): 375–391.
- Carlos Cinelli, Andrew Forney, and Judea Pearl, “A Crash Course in Good and Bad Controls,” Sociological Methods & Research (2021): 00491241221099552.
- Thomas B. Pepinsky, “A Note on Listwise Deletion Versus Multiple Imputation,” Political Analysis 26, no. 4 (2018): 480–488.
- Guido W. Imbens, “Better LATE Than Nothing: Some Comments on Deaton (2009) and Heckman and Urzua (2009),” Journal of Economic Literature 48, no. 2 (2010): 399–423.
Week 2 – Jan 17 : What are the fundamental characteristics of the international system? Cooperation and conflict under anarchy
Required
- Robert Axelrod and Robert O. Keohane, “Achieving Cooperation Under Anarchy: Strategies and Institutions,” World Politics 38, no. 1 (1985): 226–254.
- Alexander Wendt, “Anarchy Is What States Make of It: The Social Construction of Power Politics,” International Organization 46, no. 2 (1992): 391–425.
- Martha Finnemore and Kathryn Sikkink, “International Norm Dynamics and Political Change,” International Organization 52, no. 4 (1998): 887–917.
- Daniel H. Nexon, “The Balance of Power in the Balance,” World Politics 61, no. 2 (2009): 330–359.
- Laura Sjoberg, “Gender, Structure, and War: What Waltz Couldn’t See,” International Theory 4, no. 1 (2012): 1–38.
Recommended
- Joseph M. Grieco, “Anarchy and the Limits of Cooperation: A Realist Critique of the Newest Liberal Institutionalism,” International Organization 42, no. 3 (1988): 485–507.
- Joseph Grieco, Cooperation Among Nations (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1990).
- David A. Lake and Robert Powell, “International Relations: A Strategic-Choice Approach,” in Strategic Choice and International Relations, ed. David A. Lake and Robert Powell (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999), 3–38.
Week 3 – Jan 24 : Why war? Bargaining and information
Required
- James D. Fearon, “Rationalist Explanations for War,” International Organization 49, no. 3 (1995): 379–414.
- Robert Powell, “Stability and the Distribution of Power,” World Politics 48, no. 2 (1996): 239–267.
- Branislav L. Slantchev, “The Principle of Convergence in Wartime Negotiations,” American Political Science Review 97, no. 4 (2003): 621–632.
- Robert J Carroll and Brenton Kenkel, “Prediction, Proxies, and Power,” American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 3 (2019): 577–593.
- James D. Fearon, “Signaling Foreign Policy Interests: Tying Hands Versus Sinking Costs,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 41, no. 1 (1997): 68–90.
Recommended
- Austin Carson and Keren Yarhi-Milo, “Covert Communication: The Intelligibility and Credibility of Signaling in Secret,” Security Studies 26, no. 1 (2017): 124–156.
- Robert Powell, “Bargaining in the Shadow of Power,” World Politics 15, no. 2 (1996): 255–289.
- Robert Powell, “Bargaining Theory and International Conflict,” Annual Review Political Science 5 (2002): 1–30.
- Robert Powell, “The Inefficient Use of Power: Costly Conflict with Complete Information,” American Political Science Review 98, no. 2 (2004): 231–241.
- Robert Powell, “Bargaining and Learning while Fighting,” American Journal of Political Science 48, no. 2 (2004): 344–361.
- Robert Powell, “War as a commitment problem,” International Organization 60, no. 1 (2006): 169–203.
- Matthew Fuhrmann and Todd S. Sechser, “Signaling Alliance Commitments: Hand-Tying and Sunk Costs in Extended Nuclear Deterrence,” American Journal of Political Science 58, no. 4 (2014): 919–935.
- James D. Fearon, “Cooperation, Conflict, and the Costs of Anarchy,” International Organization 72, no. 3 (2018): 523–559.
Week 4 – Jan 31 : How and when do states intervene in each other’s affairs? Third-party interventions
Required
- Virginia Page Fortna, “Does Peacekeeping Keep Peace? International Intervention and the Duration of Peace After Civil War,” International Studies Quarterly 48 (2004): 269–292.
- Kyle Beardsley, “Agreement Without Peace? International Mediation and Time Inconsistency Problems,” American Journal of Political Science 52, no. 4 (2008): 723–740.
- I. Salehyan, K. S. Gleditsch, and D. Cunningham, “Explaining External Support for Insurgent Groups,” International Organization 65, no. 4 (2011): 709–744.
- Nikolay Marinov, “Do Economic Sanctions Destabilize Country Leaders?” American Journal of Political Science 49, no. 3 (2005): 564–576.
- Austin Carson, “Facing Off and Saving Face: Covert Intervention and Escalation Management in the Korean War,” International Organization 70, no. 1 (2016): 103–131.
Recommended
- Stephen E. Gent, “Going in When It Counts: Military Intervention and the Outcome of Civil Conflicts,” International Studies Quarterly 52, no. 4 (2008): 713–735.
- James D. Fearon and David D. Laitin, “Neotrusteeship and the Problem of Weak States,” International Security 28, no. 4 (2004): 5–43.
- Lindsey A. O’Rourke, “The Strategic Logic of Covert Regime Change: US Backed Regime Change Campaigns During the Cold War,” Security Studies 29, no. 1 (2020): 92–127.
- Robert A. Pape, “Why Economic Sanctions Do Not Work,” International Security 22, no. 2 (1997): 90–136.
- Jordan Roberts, “State Preferences, Viable Alternatives, and American Covert Action, 1946-1989,” Intelligence and National Security (2022): 1–24.
- John M. Owen, “The Foreign Imposition of Domestic Institutions,” International Organization 56, no. 2 (2002): 375–409.
- Navin A Bapat and Sean Zeigler, “Terrorism, Dynamic Commitment Problems, and Military Conflict,” American Journal of Political Science 60, no. 2 (2016): 337–351.
- Melissa M. Lee, “The International Politics of Incomplete Sovereignty: How Hostile Neighbors Weaken the State,” International Organization 72, no. 2 (2018): 283–315.
Week 5 – Feb 7 : How does national politics shape foreign policy? Domestic audiences and incentives for war
Required
- Ryan Brutger and Joshua D. Kertzer, “A Dispositional Theory of Reputation Costs,” International Organization 72, no. 3 (2018): 693–724.
- Alexandre Debs and Hein E. Goemans, “Regime Type, the Fate of Leaders, and War,” American Political Science Review 104, no. 3 (2010): 430–445.
- Sarah E Croco, “The Decider’s Dilemma: Leader Culpability, War Outcomes, and Domestic Punishment,” American Political Science Review 105, no. 3 (2011): 457–477.
- Casey Crisman-Cox and Michael Gibilisco, “Audience Costs and the Dynamics of War and Peace,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 3 (2018): 566–580.
- Michael A. Goldfien, Michael F. Joseph, and Roseanne W. McManus, “The Domestic Sources of International Reputation,” American Political Science Review (2022): 1–20.
Recommended
- Bruce Bueno de Mesquita and Alastair Smith, “Domestic Explanations of International Relations,” Annual Review of Political Science 15 (2012): 161–181.
- James D. Fearon, “Signaling Versus the Balance of Power and Interests: An Empirical Test of a Crisis Bargaining Model,” The Journal of Conflict Resolution 38, no. 2 (1994): 236–269.
Week 6 – Feb 14 : How much do leaders matter? Leaders, autocrats, regimes
Required
- Jessica L. Weeks, “Strongmen and Straw Men: Authoritarian Regimes and the Initiation of International Conflict,” American Political Science Review 106, no. 2 (2012): 326–347.
- Michael C. Horowitz and Allan C. Stam, “How Prior Military Experience Influences the Future Militarized Behavior of Leaders,” International Organization 68, no. 3 (2014): 527–559.
- Michaela Mattes and Mariana Rodrı́guez, “Autocracies and International Cooperation,” International Studies Quarterly 58, no. 3 (2014): 527–538.
- Michaela Mattes and Jessica LP Weeks, “Hawks, Doves, and Peace: An Experimental Approach,” American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 1 (2019): 53–66.
- Daniel Krcmaric, “Should i Stay or Should i Go? Leaders, Exile, and the Dilemmas of International Justice,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 2 (2018): 486–498.
Week 7 – Feb 21 : Do interstate ties constrain state behavior? Networks
Required
- Timothy M. Peterson, “Dyadic Trade, Exit Costs, and Conflict,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 58, no. 4 (2014): 564–591.
- Brandon J. Kinne, “Network Dynamics and the Evolution of International Cooperation,” American Political Science Review 107, no. 4 (2013): 766–785.
- Kyle Beardsley et al., “Hierarchy and the Provision of Order in International Politics,” The Journal of Politics 82, no. 2 (2020): 731–746.
- Halvard Buhaug and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, “Contagion or Confusion? Why Conflicts Cluster in Space,” International Studies Quarterly 52, no. 2 (2008): 215–233.
- Zeev Maoz, “The Effects of Strategic and Economic Interdependence on International Conflict Across Levels of Analysis,” American Journal of Political Science 53, no. 1 (2009): 223–240.
Recommended
- Mark S. Granovetter, “The Strength of Weak Ties,” American Journal of Sociology 78, no. 6 (May 1973): 1360–1380.
- Brandon J. Kinne, “Multilateral Trade and Militarized Conflict: Centrality, Asymmetry, and Openness in the Global Trade Network,” The Journal of Politics 74, no. 1 (2012): 308–322.
- David A. Lake, “Escape from the State of Nature: Authority and Hierarchy in World Politics,” International Security 32, no. 1 (2007): 47–79.
- Jesse Hammond, “Maps of Mayhem: Strategic Location and Deadly Violence in Civil War,” Journal of Peace Research 55, no. 1 (2018): 32–46.
Week 8 – Feb 28 : When do states cooperate? Agreements and IOs
Required
- Virginia Page Fortna, “Scraps of Paper? Agreements and the Durability of Peace,” International Organization 57, no. 2 (2003): 337–372.
- Brett Ashley Leeds, Michaela Mattes, and Jeremy S. Vogel, “Interests, Institutions, and the Reliability of International Commitments,” American Journal of Political Science 53, no. 2 (2009): 461–476.
- Beth A. Kelley Judith G .and Simmons, “Politics by Number: Indicators as Social Pressure in International Relations,” American Journal of Political Science 59, no. 1 (2015): 55–70.
- Ilyana Kuziemko and Eric Werker, “How Much Is a Seat on the Security Council Worth? Foreign Aid and Bribery at the United Nations,” Journal of Political Economy 114, no. 5 (2006): 905–930.
- Phillip Y. Lipscy, “Explaining Institutional Change: Policy Areas, Outside Options, and the Bretton Woods Institutions,” American Journal of Political Science 59, no. 2 (2015): 341–356.
Recommended
- Allison Carnegie and Austin Carson, “The Disclosure Dilemma: Nuclear Intelligence and International Organizations,” American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 2 (2019): 269–285.
- Rush Doshi, Judith G. Kelley, and Beth A. Simmons, “The Power of Ranking: The Ease of Doing Business Indicator and Global Regulatory Behavior,” International Organization 73, no. 3 (2019): 611–643.
- Daniel Krcmaric, “Does the International Criminal Court Target the American Military?” American Political Science Review (2022): 1–7.
- George W. Downs, David M. Rocke, and Peter N. Barsoom, “Is the Good News About Compliance Good News About Cooperation?” International Organization 50, no. 3 (1996): 379–406.
- Peter Buisseret and Dan Bernhardt, “Reelection and Renegotiation: International Agreements in the Shadow of the Polls,” American Political Science Review 112, no. 4 (2018): 1016–1035.
- Erik Voeten, “Making Sense of the Design of International Institutions,” Annual Review of Political Science 22 (2019): 147–163.
Week 9 – Mar 7 :How does the international affect the domestic?
Required
- Anton Strezhnev, Judith G. Kelley, and Beth A. Simmons, “Testing for Negative Spillovers: Is Promoting Human Rights Really Part of the ‘Problem’?” International Organization 75, no. 1 (2021): 71–102.
- Lachlan McNamee and Anna Zhang, “Demographic Engineering and International Conflict: Evidence from China and the Former USSR,” International Organization 73, no. 2 (2019): 291–327.
- Nicholas Sambanis, Stergios Skaperdas, and William C Wohlforth, “Nation-Building Through War,” American Political Science Review 109, no. 2 (2015): 279–296.
- Kaitlyn Webster, Chong Chen, and Kyle Beardsley, “Conflict, Peace, and the Evolution of Women’s Empowerment,” International Organization 73, no. 2 (2019): 255–289.
- Kelebogile Zvobgo, Wayne Sandholtz, and Suzie Mulesky, “Reserving Rights: Explaining Human Rights Treaty Reservations,” International Studies Quarterly 64, no. 4 (2020): 785–797.
Recommended
- Stathis N Kalyvas and Laia Balcells, “International System and Technologies of Rebellion: How the End of the Cold War Shaped Internal Conflict,” American Political Science Review 104, no. 3 (2010): 415–429.
- Kelebogile Zvobgo, “Demanding Truth: The Global Transitional Justice Network and the Creation of Truth Commissions,” International Studies Quarterly 64, no. 3 (2020): 609–625.
- Maria J. Stephan and Erica Chenoweth, “Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict,” International Security 33, no. 1 (2008): 7–44.
- Zachary M Jones and Yonatan Lupu, “Is There More Violence in the Middle?” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 3 (2018): 652–667.
- Yonatan Lupu and Geoffrey P. R. Wallace, “Violence, Nonviolence, and the Effects of International Human Rights Law,” American Journal of Political Science 63, no. 2 (2019): 411–426.
- Melissa Dell and Pablo Querubin, “Nation Building Through Foreign Intervention: Evidence from Discontinuities in Military Strategies,” The Quarterly Journal of Economics 133, no. 2 (2018): 701–764.
- J. P. Azam and V. Thelen, “The Roles of Foreign Aid and Education in the War on Terror,” Public Choice 135, no. 3–4 (2008): 375–397.
- E. Berman and D. D. Laitin, “Religion, Terrorism and Public Goods: Testing the Club Model,” Journal of Public Economics 92, no. 10–11 (2008): 1942–1967.
- Patrick T. Brandt and Todd Michael Sandler, “What Do Transnational Terrorists Target? Has It Changed? Are We Safer?” Journal of Conflict Resolution 54, no. 2 (2010): 214–236.
- J. Conrad, “Interstate Rivalry and Terrorism,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 55, no. 4 (2011): 529–555.
Week 10 – Mar 14 : Borders, territory, migration
Required
- Scott F. Abramson and David B. Carter, “The Historical Origins of Territorial Disputes,” American Political Science Review 110, no. 4 (2016): 675–698.
- Beth A Simmons and Michael R. Kenwick, “Border Orientation in a Globalizing World,” American Journal of Political Science (2021).
- David B. Carter and Paul Poast, “Barriers to Trade: How Border Walls Affect Trade Relations,” International Organization 74, no. 1 (2020): 165–185.
- Paul K. Huth, Sarah E. Croco, and Benjamin J. Appel, “Bringing Law to the Table: Legal Claims, Focal Points, and the Settlement of Territorial Disputes Since 1945,” American Journal of Political Science 57, no. 1 (2013): 90–103.
- Yang-Yang Zhou and Andrew Shaver, “Reexamining the Effect of Refugees on Civil Conflict: A Global Subnational Analysis,” American Political Science Review 115, no. 4 (2021): 1175–1196.
Recommended
- Douglas M. Gibler and Jaroslav Tir, “Settled Borders and Regime Type: Democratic Transitions as Consequences of Peaceful Territorial Transfers,” American Journal of Political Science 54, no. 4 (2010): 951–968.
- Egon F. Kunz, “The Refugee in Flight: Kinetic Models and Forms of Displacement,” International Migration Review 7, no. 2 (1973): 125–146.
- S. D. Roper and L. a. Barria, “Burden Sharing in the Funding of the UNHCR: Refugee Protection as an Impure Public Good,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 54, no. 4 (2010): 616–637.
- Idean Salehyan and Kristian Skrede Gleditsch, “Refugees and the Spread of Civil War,” International Organization 60, no. 2 (2007): 335–366.
- Fiona B. Adamson, “Crossing Borders: International Migration and National Security,” International Security 31, no. 1 (2006): 165–199.
- Devesh Kapur, “Political Effects of International Migration,” Annual Review of Political Science 17 (2014): 479–502.
- Christina Davenport, Will Moore, and Steven Poe, “Sometimes You Just Have to Leave: Domestic Threats and Forced Migration, 1964-1989,” International Interactions 29, no. 1 (2003): 27–55.
- Christian Breunig, Xun Cao, and Adam Luedtke, “Global Migration and Political Regime Type: A Democratic Disadvantage,” British Journal of Political Science 42, no. 4 (2012): 825–854.
Extra stuff, no room
Reputation
state capacity
China
Miscellaneous
Power, deterrence, reputation
- Brett Ashley Leeds, “Do Alliances Deter Aggression? The Influence of Military Alliances on the Initiation of Militarized Interstate Disputes,” American Journal of Political Science 47, no. 3 (2003): 427–439.
- Mark J. C. Crescenzi, “Reputation and Interstate Conflict,” American Journal of Political Science 51, no. 2 (2007): 382–396.
- Allan Dafoe and Devin Caughey, “Honor and War: Southern US Presidents and the Effects of Concern for Reputation,” World Politics 68, no. 2 (2016): 341–381.
- Jonathan Renshon, Allan Dafoe, and Paul Huth, “Leader Influence and Reputation Formation in World Politics,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 2 (2018): 325–339.
Repression and protest
- Emily Ritter and Courtenay Conrad, “Preventing and Responding to Dissent: The Observational Challenges of Explaining Strategic Repression,” American Political Science Review (Forthcoming).
- Olga V. Chyzh and Elena Labzina, “Bankrolling Repression? Modeling Third-Party Influence on Protests and Repression,” American Journal of Political Science 62, no. 2 (2018): 312–324.
Terrorism
- Ethan Bueno De Mesquita, “Conciliation, Counterterrorism, and Patterns of Terrorist Violence,” International Organization 59, no. 1 (2005): 145–176.
- Ethan Bueno de Mesquita and Eric S. Dickson, “The Propaganda of the Deed: Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Mobilization,” American Journal of Political Science 51, no. 2 (2007): 364–381.
- Ethan B. Bueno de Mesquita, “The Quality of Terror,” American Journal of Political Science 49, no. 3 (2005): 515–530.
- Jacob N Shapiro and David A. Siegel, “Moral Hazard, Discipline, and the Management of Terrorist Organizations,” World Politics 64, no. 1 (2012): 39–78.
- Stathis N. Kalyvas, “Jihadi Rebels in Civil War,” Dædalus 147, no. 1 (2018): 36–47.
- Efraim Benmelech, Claude Berrebi, and Esteban F. Klor, “The Economic Cost of Harboring Terrorism,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 54, no. 2 (2010): 331–353.
- Berman and Laitin, “Religion, Terrorism and Public Goods”.
- S. Brock Blomberg, Rozlyn C. Engel, and Reid Sawyer, “On the Duration and Sustainability of Transnational Terrorist Organizations,” Journal of Conflict Resolution 54, no. 2 (2009): 303–330.
Resources
Data ideas
Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of datasets you might consider:
- The COW datasets
- LEAD (leader characteristics dataset)
- POLITY IV
- UCDP GED
- Minorities at Risk project
- ACLED
- Social Conflict Analysis database
- Global Terrorism Database
- Political Instability Task Force
- ICEWS
- Quality of Governance data
- Varieties of Democracy (VDEM)
- Transparency International
- AID Data (William & Mary)
- Nonviolent and Violent Campaigns
- Change in Source of Leader Support (CHISOLS) Data
- The Varieties of Coups D’état: Introducing the Colpus Dataset
- Electoral intervention dataset 1946–2000
- Bread before guns or butter: Introducing Surplus Domestic Product (SDP)
- Yes, Human Rights Practices Are Improving Over Time
- Introducing the Military Intervention Project: A New Dataset on US Military Interventions, 1776–2019
- DCAD dataset
- Conflict Events Worldwide Since 1468BC: Introducing the Historical Conflict Event Dataset
- frozen conflicts in world conflict dataset
- UN Fatalities dataset
- Partisan electoral interventions by the great powers: Introducing the PEIG Dataset
- near crises in world politics
- Post-Cold War sanctioning by the EU, the UN, and the US: Introducing the EUSANCT Dataset
- Threat and imposition of economic sanctions 1945–2005: Updating the TIES dataset
- Financial contributions to United Nations peacekeeping, 1990–2010: A new dataset
- The Autocratic Ruling Parties Dataset: Origins, Durability, and Death
Final research design rubric
6 pages MAX, double-spaced.
- Introduction (1 pages)
- Motivate why we should care about the question you want to answer (e.g., because of its real-world impact, as a gap in the literature)
- BRIEFLY preview what the project will do (I will argue that X) and how it will do it (I will collect XYZ data)
- Literature review (2 pages)
- Briefly describe what we already know about your topic
- Highlight what is unknown or what gap your project will fill
- Theory + hypotheses (3 pages)
- Big note: theory != literature review
- Need an argument about a causal process
- Think about who the actors are in your story, what they want, and how their interactions produce different outcomes