INTERDISCIPLINARY MASTER OF ARTS DEGREE
WITH AN EMPHASIS IN
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

EFFECTIVE SPRING 2007- QUESTION'S LISTED BELOW WILL BE USED AS SAMPLE QUESTIONS ONLY.

(see comprehensive examination page for more details)
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
1.
 Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan (1996) establish clear conditions for democratic consolidation, as do several of the authors in the Diamond and Plattner volume. Using Linz and Stepan, chapters from the Diamond and Plattner volume, or the framework established by another scholar that you can cite specifically, analyze the prospects for successful consolidation of democracy in at least two emerging democracies anywhere in the world. (The countries you choose must be democracies, but not ones that have been long consolidated.) Whether you choose the Linz and Stepan framework, draw upon works in Diamond and Plattner, or use another source, be certain for the cases you have chosen to:
 

a. articulate and analyze three factors or conditions of democratic consolidation; and
b. identify and explain any deficits of democratic consolidation.
 
2. You have just applied for a job at the Department of State. As part of the interview process you have been asked to write an in-depth analysis of a region of your choice. You must discuss at least two countries from that region. Comparative political analysis is oriented around issues of political structures (legislatures, executives, unitary v. federal systems, the bureaucracy, the military) and political processes (political culture, political participation, electoral behavior, political parties). In your analysis, you should discuss two political structure topics and two political process topics, making use of the Hague/Harrop/Breslin, Linz/Stepan, and/or Diamond/Plattner volumes, as well as additional relevant materials. Your analysis should address the following questions:
 

a. What are the major analytical issues raised by these comparisons?
b. What are the differences and similarities between the two countries on these topics?
c. What are the sources and consequences of the differences you have highlighted?
d. How important are international factors in explaining the politics and policies of the countries you are examining?

 
3. In the 1960’s a "Young Turk" movement emerged in the study of International Relations that criticized elements of the then-dominant and long-standing "Realist" paradigm. That movement later splintered into two approaches identified in the Viotti and Kauppi text as "Pluralism" and "Globalism." Using readings and specific citations (e.g. Allison, Keohane and Nye, Wallerstein, etc.) from the Kauppi and Viotti text, identify the major lines of argumentation from one of these two new approaches that writers of this era employed in their critiques of traditional Realism. What contemporary events affected their arguments? Which earlier writers did they draw on for inspiration? How have "neo-Realists" such as Waltz and Gilpin attempted to rescue core Realist concepts from these critics? Have they been successful? Finally, offer a brief opinion on which approach (or combination of approaches) to the study of world politics you find the most useful and why.
   
4. Utilizing specific authors, arguments and models from the Kegley and Wittkopf text American Foreign Policy, assess how U.S. foreign policy can best deal with the "New Agenda" of world problems that includes terrorism, small-scale conflicts (SSC), environmental degradation and world economic interdependence.
 
5. With the demise of the Soviet Union, the United States should have become more secure. There still appear, however, to be many threats to our national security interests, as the events of September 11, 2001 well illustrate. Drawing on the Kegley and Wittkopf readings, or other relevant sources, please discuss the main political and military threats to the US global interests - threats that are posed by (1) major powers such as Russia and China; (2) smaller, but potentially dangerous countries such as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea; and (3) various non-state actors such as international terrorist organizations. Based on you readings and study, how would you characterize the threat posed by each, and what policy responses are required?
   

READING LIST
 

Diamond, Larry, and Marc Plattner. The Global Resurgence of Democracy, 2nd ed. Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0-8018-5305-2.
 

Hague, Rod, and Martin Harrop. Political Science: A Comparative Introduction, 3rd ed. Palgrave Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0312294603.
  Kauppi, Mark V., and Paul R. Viotti. International Relations Theory: Realism, Pluralism, Globalism and Beyond. 3rd ed. Prentice Hall PTR, 1999.
 

Kegley, Charles W., and Eugene R. Wittkopf. World Politics: Trend and Transformation, 8th ed. St Martins Press, 2001.
 

Kegley, Charles W., and Eugene R. Wittkopf. American Foreign Policy: Pattern and Process 5th ed. NY: St. Martins, 1995. ISBN 0312075367.
 

Linz, Juan J., and Alfred Stepan, Problems of Democratic Transition and Consolidation, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801851580.

Guidelines for the Politics and Government Questions

1. Each of the questions is actually a set of questions. Read the question carefully, identify each of its parts, and be sure to answer each part fully. If you are asked to discuss specific cases, make sure you discuss the correct number and kinds of cases. Edit your writing so that everything in your response contributes clearly to answering the questions asked.
   
2. This exam asks you to demonstrate a mastery of the relevant texts. Be sure, therefore, to cite these texts frequently throughout your response. Most questions ask that you show you understand both a theoretical framework and that you have knowledge of specific cases. Be sure to address both the theoretical and empirical aspects of each question.
   
3. Follow standard academic practices when citing your sources.
(a) Cite the sources of all of the ideas and information that are not general knowledge, whether you paraphrase or quote directly.
(b) Enclose in quotation marks all words and phrases taken from other sources. When quoting directly, take care that everything between the quotation marks is exactly the same as in the original. Use ellipsis points (…) to indicate that you have left something out, and brackets ([added text here]) to indicate that you are inserting text. If a quote is longer than three or four lines, you should place it in a block-quote format.
 

(c) You may use parenthetical citation (Moore 1994, 27), footnotes, or endnotes. Always include page numbers in your citations, unless the source has no page numbers.
  (d) At the end of your response, you should include a list of works cited in proper bibliographical style, preferably APA or MLA.
  e. If you cite a source that is referenced in a textbook, you should make sure that the citation is relevant to the point you are making and you should indicate that the cited source is derived from (referenced in) the text from which you have taken it. Thus, (Smith 2001 as cited in Kegley and Wittkopf 2001 p.xxx). Your reference list should include all sources cited in your paper.
   
4.

Carefully proofread a hard copy of your response before turning it in. Your exam should contain no errors of spelling or diction. Number your pages.
   
CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION
1. Present an overview of intercultural/cross-cultural communication as an area of study by addressing the following issues:
 

a. What are the global and domestic conditions that contribute to the significance of this area of study?
 

b. What are the 10 concepts and/or issues of intercultural/cross-cultural communication that you regard as central to the area of study? Why?
 

c. Which two major intercultural/cross-cultural communication theories do you find particularly important or useful? Why?
 

d. Which two major research studies of intercultural/cross-cultural communication do you find particularly important or useful? Why?
   
2.

People disagree about the proper role of the United States in today’s "global village." Many are "internationalists" while others are "isolationists." Articulate and justify your own view with respect to these two positions. In so doing, address the following issues:
 

a. The overall situation of the global communication system and the various forms of communication activities taking place in this system (e.g., mass media, communication in governmental and non-governmental international organizations, grass-root level communication systems via the internet/travel/migration/etc.);
 

b. The impact of international communication on the cultural identity, nationalism, adaptation, and transformation of people around the world.
 
3. Removed-to be replaced
 
4. It is important in international and transnational business for managers and supervisors to possess an awareness of and appreciation for cultural variation within their labor force.

a. Identify at least five diversity practices utilized by successful organizations.

b. Discuss the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of each method.

c. What are the pros and cons of mandatory diversity training?
 

5.

 Discuss the measurement issues involved in conducting cross-cultural research. Include the following areas:
 

a. Compare culture specific and culture general approaches. Discuss when each should be used and the pros and cons of using them together.

 

b. Discuss measurement validity and reliability with cross-cultural research. Be sure to include discussions of criterion-based validity, content validity, construct validity, and internal consistency.
 
6. Globalization necessitates international training and development for employees of international businesses.
 

a. Discuss the challenges faced by an international corporation in training employees to function effectively in a multinational culture.
 

b. Compare three cultures on at least four critical areas (i.e., cultural values, negotiations, meetings, introductions, nonverbal communication) that need to be understood by employees who work in an international corporation.
 

c. According to the literature, what happens to the productivity and effectiveness of organizations when they become culturally diverse?
   

READING LIST
 

Gudykunst, W.B., and Kim, Y.Y. Communicating with strangers: An Approach to Intercultural Communication. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. ISBN 0072321245.
 

Wiseman, R.L. (Ed.). Intercultural Communication Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishers, 1995. ISBN 0803972431.

 

Nordenstreng, Kaarle and Herbert I. Schiller, eds. Beyond National Sovereignty: International Communication in the 1990’s. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Pub. Corp., 1993. ISBN 0893919608.
 

Henderson, George. Cultural diversity in the workplace: Issues and Strategies. Wesport, CT: Quorum Books, 1994. ISBN 0275950956.
 

Henderson, George, and Dorscine Spigner-Littles. A Practitioner's Guide to Understanding Indigenous and Foreign Cultures. 2nd ed. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas, 1996. ISBN 0398065942.
 

Landis, Dan and Rabi Bhagat. Handbook of Intercultural Training. 2nd ed. Sage Publishers, 1996. ISBN 080395834.
   
ECONOMICS
1. In theory, we studied that countries gain from free trade. In practice, trade protectionism remains high and the world is breaking up into several major trading blocs. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) forms such a bloc. Do you perceive these practices as problematic? If yes, propose and evaluate possible solutions. If not, justify your answer using trade theories.
2. In the recent international financial markets, there have been several episodes of currency crises. These include the Latin American crises represented by the Mexico peso crises in 1994 and 1995, the more recent Asia-southeast Asia currency crises in countries such as Thailand, Indonesia and South Korea, and the currency crises in Russia and some Eastern European countries. Explore the reasons behind these crises and propose and evaluate policy solutions. Justify your answer in using relevant international monetary and financial theories.
3. "The economic development of the Less Developed Countries can not be explained by economic forces alone." Explain and discuss.
4. "Measuring the economic development of the Less Developed Countries is complex and difficult." Discuss. 
5. "Global interdependence has increased in recent years." Explain and offer examples of such interdependence.
   

READING LIST
 

Dominick, Salvatore. International Economics, 7th ed. John Wiley & Sons, 2000. ISBN 0471364479.
 

Grabbe, Orlin J. International Finance Markets, 3rd ed. Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN 0132069881.
 

Greenaway, David, ed. Current Issues in International Trade, 2nd ed. St. Martins Press, 1996.
 

Kondonassis, A. J. Economic Development and Economic Integration. University of Oklahoma College of Continuing Education, 2001. ISBN 0963069837.
 

World Bank Staff. World Development Report 2001: Institutions for Markets. New York: Oxford University Press,2001. ISBN 0195216067

Todaro, Michael P. Economic Development in the Third World, 7th ed. Addison-Wesley Longman, 1999. ISBN 0201441306

INTERNATIONAL AREA STUDIES
1. A program in International Relations is likely to center on the perspective that political scientists bring to global and regional studies. That perspective can and presumably should be supplemented by the perspective of other specialists who in looking at the world focus on a different set of problems--or at least focus on the political scientist's problems in different ways. What, then, is the perspective that geographers bring to international relations? In defining this "geographical perspective," you may bring to bear whatever knowledge you possess, but be sure to draw on materials from the geography course(s) you took as part of this degree program. Please identify that course or those courses at the top of your paper. You may write comparatively if you wish, contrasting the geographer's approach with that of people in other fields.
2. "Geography is a technical subject, but it is also a non-technical subject. In other words, it is based on calculation, but it is also based on perception and judgment." Explain this statement. You may draw illustrative material from your general knowledge but you must draw as well upon the geography course(s) you took as part of this degree program. Please identify that course or those courses at the top of your paper.
3. A French geographer long ago wrote that all geography is about a bit of earth, a bit of water, and people. Write an essay in which you identify the merits AND the weaknesses of this view. Substantiate your points with illustrations drawn, if you wish, from your general knowledge but also, without fail, upon the geography course(s) you took as part of this degree program. Please identify that course or those courses at the top of your paper.
4. The philosopher, George Santayana, once famously said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." This statement assumes that knowing history will help people make more enlightened decisions about the future. Taking this maxim as your guide, what lessons have you gleaned from your work on the history of international relations that might help guide foreign policy decision-making in the future.
5. "International relations are driven by economic desires and needs, by money, resources, and markets. Strip the verbiage away and you will find that economic self-interest is at the heart of international relations. In this sense, the Marxist analysis of imperialism is basically on the mark. International relations are driven by imperialist competition among the capitalist powers." Discuss the adequacy of this statement in light of the your work in the history of international relations.
6. Either of the following might be equally plausible. First, one might argue that international relations are driven by impersonal forces like economic conditions, demographic changes, resource needs, and geo-political concerns. Regardless of who is in power, these factors would push international relations in a given direction. Second, and conversely, one might argue that international relations are driven by specific people making specific decisions, that international relations are best understood as an exercise in comparative biography. Using your work in the history of international relations as a guide, which of these approaches makes the most sense historically? Which is a more compelling and insightful way of investigating the history of foreign policy?
READING LIST
Atlas of the World. 10th ed., Oxford University Press, 2002. ISBN 0195219198
Haywood, John. World Atlas of the Past. Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0195214439.
Hudson, John C. and Edward B Espenshade, Jr., Editors. Goode's World Atlas. 20th ed. Rand McNally, 1999. ISBN 0528640003
Reynolds, David. One World Divisible: A Global History since 1945. Norton, W.W. and Company, Inc., 1999. ISBN 0393048217
Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500-2000. Knopf Publishing Group, 1989. ISBN 0679720197.