NOTE: Both assignments must be submitted to the corresponding dropbox in elearning. See further instructions below.

Assignment #1: Getting acquainted with indicators. Due Sunday, February 21 at 11:59 pm.100 points (10% of course grade).

This assignment will acquaint you with useful indicators for various ways to measure a country's status. Your task is to learn what each indictor measures and to use them to examine one country from the post-Soviet space. The indicators are:

• • • Doing Business Index: https://www.doingbusiness.org/en/doingbusiness.
    • Fragile State Index (published by the Fund for Peace): https://fragilestatesindex.org.
    • Gini coefficient/index (it goes by both names): https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook.
    • Global Firepower Index: https://www.globalfirepower.com.
    • Global Gender Gap Index: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GGGR_2020.pdf.
    • Gross Domestic Product at Purchasing Power Parity (GDP PPP): https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook.
    • Gross Domestic Product per capita at purchasing power parity (GDP pc PPP): https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook.
    • Human Development Index: http://hdr.undp.org/en/2020-report.

Your assignment:

1. 1. 1. Pick one country from among the 12 states listed below that came into existence when the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991.
      2. Look up each indicator for your country.
      3. Write one paragraph for each indicator detailing how its index is comprised and what specifically it measures.
      4. Make a table for your country that includes all the indicators.
      5. Write a short narrative (one or two paragraphs) in response to what you've learned. What kind of story is told by this collection of indicators?
      6. Read the instructions for both writing assignments below carefully and follow them.

Post-Soviet countries (the list excludes the Baltic states):

Assignment #2: What should American foreign policy toward Russia be? Due Sunday, April 18 at 11:59 pm. 150 points (15% of course grade).

Read the following policy reports:

• • The Columbian, "In Our View: Russia hack highlights threat of cyber war," (December 31, 2020).
  • J. William Middendorf II, "China and Russia: two big threats the U.S. military can't ignore," The Heritage Foundation (February 2, 2021).

  • Julian Barnes and David Sanger, "Russia deploys hypersonic weapon, potentially renewing arms race," New York TImes (December 27, 2019). NOTE: contact me if you cannot access this article.

  • Sarah Koch, "Dissuasion in cyberspace: the limitations of classical deterrence theory," Small Wars Journal (October 21, 2020).

  • Dmitri Simes, "Why America needs a foreign policy reset," The National Interest (December 20, 2021).
  • Rose, Gottemoeller, et.al., "It’s time to rethink our Russia policy," Politico (August 5, 2020).

Use them to write a paper on the following question:

What should American foreign policy toward Russia be?

You may agree with some, all or none of the authors. (Their policy papers are assigned to provide you with varying positions in current policy debates in Washington, so agreeing with them all will be difficult.) How you frame your response is up to you. You may frame it in normative terms, in strategic interests terms, or any way you see fit. In all cases, however, you must address at least the following:

• • • What are our challenges in formulating foreign policy towards Russia?
    • What are our principal interests in Russian/American relations? 
    • What leverage do we have over Russian policy? 

Be specific as much as possible and avoid banal statements. Acknowledge difficulties and demonstrate why your approach is both justified and realistic. 

Write no less than four full pages and nor more than six. Review the policy on academic integrity and plagiarism on the course policies page. There is a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism in this class (that is, I do not give second chances). See (and follow) other instructions below.

Grading Scale

Instructions for both writing assignments.

• • You are required to submit your assignments in the elearning dropbox. They just either be MS Word compatible or be in pdf format.
  • Refer to articles by the first author's last name only. Do not put all authors or the article title in the text.
  • You do not need a bibliography for assignment #2, nor do you need citations. Merely observe the point preceding this one.
  • Text should be double-spaced with no skipped lines between paragraphs. The exception is the table in assignment #1; it does not need to be double-spaced.
  • There should be no spelling mistakes, typos, grammar mistakes, or syntax problems. Verbs should agree with subjects. Sentences should officially end before the next one begins. Don't jump around among tenses. Never use "you." Don't capitalize nouns unless they're supposed to be capitalized (the fact that our recent POTUS did this constantly does not make it correct). Keep straight the difference between its and it's, and between their, there and they're. And never, ever use apostrophes for plural nouns.
  • Spell-check will not catch all your spelling mistakes. There is no substitution for careful proofreading.
  • Adhere to the deadline. Late penalties are draconian, and could result in your premature death or dismemberment. (Actually, I'm serious. See late penalty policy on the course policies page).