Writing Assignment One: An Open Letter!
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Rationale, Guide, and General Skills Developed in this assignment!
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When you read a chapter or article for this course you should be able to identify its
argument by isolating its key premises, and you should be able to situate the author(s)
(even if they do not self-identify as a Realist, Liberal, Constructivist, Marxist, Normative
theorist, and so forth) within the various perspectives of the field of international
relations. While some authors are squarely within a specific tradition, many others defy
easy classification, and/or straddle the often porous boundaries of the field’s many little
boxes. That okay…. the point is not to be precise about placement, but to be skilled in
drawing out theoretical premises and the more or less optimistic assessments of the
world to which they lead, and from which they derive. Take the following example:!
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…if you think Peace!
Is a common goal!
That goes to show!
How little you know (The Smiths, “Death of a Disco Dancer,” 1987)!
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What assumptions does the song make about war and its place in the world? What sort
of war does it allude to? What, if any, are the prospects for peace? It won’t be long
before you come to the conclusion that this lyric at least presents a quintessentially
Realist rendering of the world. !
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This assignment requires that you direct these sorts of assessments, at least partly at
yourself. As I write my letter, what are my assumptions about the actors in world
politics? Who matter more? nation-states, intergovernmental organizations, groups,
classes? How do I think interdependencies shape actors’ intensions and behaviour? are
interdependencies good, bad, inevitable? How do I feel about notions like power,
multilateralism, unilateralism, power, and legitimacy? What makes the world go round?
gender? class? great power rivalries? systemic power balancing? It is your reflection on
these and related questions that make you a theorist of international relations. !
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Here is a practical example of why awareness and attentiveness to this matters: if you
decide to ask PM Justin Trudeau to enhance Canada’s commitment to The United
Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) you are advocating
for something that has the power to erode and compromise Canadian sovereignty as
traditionally understood under the principles of the modern state system enshrined in
the treaties of Westphalia (1648). Would a Realist do that? Short answer: no—the
Realist letter to PM Justin Trudeau would almost certainly demand that Canada, which
has already signed the UNDRIP Declaration, make sure that this document never
becomes legally binding.!
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Things to consider when you write your letter: you are role playing in this assignment,
so who am I? and how do I see the world? What is my stake/perspective in this? How
