Sunni and Shia Divide - Comparative Politics in Transition

Council on Foreign Relations Interactive Infoguide

http://www.cfr.org/peace-conflict-and-human-rights/sunni-shia-divide/p33176#!/

Grading Categories for POL201 Paper - What Makes It Political?

Reminders:
You are to prove something in human life that is not usually political as political.  Samples are shoes, penguins, watching anime, planting trees.  If your topic is already obvious as political you have high risk of a failed paper.

Follow all previous lessons on paper writing.

Good luck.

Edit well.

GRADING:

Grade Categories:

Format - 5 (impeccable overall output - see FORMAT in syllabus rubric)

Bibliography and In-text Citations - 5 (see CITATION in syllabus rubric: plagiarized automatically fails)

Introduction - 5 (Creative and Attractive - see COMPOSITION in syllabus rubric)
Discussion - 15 (Argument, Explanations, Samples - see CONTENT in syllabus rubric)
Conclusion - 5 (Insightful)

TOTAL of 35 pts.

Academic papers - Writing in the Discipline

What are Academic Papers?

One of the skills that you as a Political Science graduate must master is writing academic papers. They are also known as term papers, think pieces, thought papers, or simply papers. Here in the undergrad, paper writing can serve as training for the defining output of a bachelor's degree - an undergraduate thesis. It also serves you whichever you  choose among the myriad of professions available to a thomasian AB (PS) degree holder.  In political science, it is one of the essential components that make the discipline a science.

Essentially, an academic paper is a written composition of your thoughts about a particular topic or in answer to a particular question. But it is not an essay that simply spans several pages. And it is not simply an opinion.  It must either be rich or rigorous, clearly narrates or discusses the ideas, organized and follows the standard format of the discipline, the institution, and the course professor.

The content of a paper has a particular thesis as its heart. Originating from Greek, the word thesis attempts to lay down or propose an idea that can be phrased as a single statement. This thesis must be supported by premises thereby completing a set argument. This argument when presented and subsequently passes scrutiny becomes either a theory (Kant's theory of perpetual peace), a law (Newton's laws of physics, Say's law of the market), or a policy (no plastic policy, RH law, anti-money laundering act).

Examples of theses.

• All governments need a military to function.
• Corruption in the Philippines hinders economic development.
• Political dynasties should be allowed because they establish an ordered  social hierarchy.

From these ideas, you can then write several paragraphs that support arguments about it.  Each of these paragraphs belong under sub-headings in the discussion or body of the paper (see Three main headings: Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion below).
.

E,g, for "All government need a military to function."

1. I'll discuss the purpose of a military and how it serves the purpose of the state.
2. I'll discuss stable states with strong militaries.
3. I'll discuss failed states with weak militaries.

Personally, I consider academic paper writing within the global political science community as a participating in a debate.  A thesis proposes.  Eventually another person might write a countervailing argument, which becomes the antithesis.  As scholars and scientists continue to do their research, a new thesis or antithesis can be found, or eventually a synthesis can be formed uniting the working components of a thesis and its' antithesis.

Here are important things to keep in mind in order to write a paper that's acceptable in the discipline.

• Follow the format.

Each discipline and each professor has a preferred style or form. When a professor gives you a format to follow, then by all means follow it. If there's no format, then follow the basic style.  Basic standards for format (particularly for me) are:

Font Style and Size - Times new Roman 12 / Calibri 11

Spacing - Double

Margins - 1" on all sides

Paper Size - Short Bond Paper

For courses that I handle, I require a different set of margins to compensate for my comments during checking. Please see the syllabus for my complete set of paper format requirements.

• Make sure you understand and answer the question or discuss the theme of the paper.

Many papers fail through this initial test.  Some students simply google everything that they can find in relation to the topic, and mash it in a rational order to produce a paper.  That automatically ends in a failed grade. Yes there can be a few grades for organizing it but the required item was not submitted.  It's similar to a math question where a students provide a very long and correct equation and yet at the end, the answer was incorrect.   

Remember your thesis, support it and explain it.  That is what is meant by "discuss".  If you're talking about examples, then describe them in detail.  If it's an event, narrate it in such a way that you weave an interesting factual story.  All through out, your paragraphs convey the answers to the question/s or theme/s set by the professor for you to write about.

Also remember, the answer must match the question.  If there are several questions, make sure you answer all in the entire discussion, in sequence and with "signposts".  Signposts are clues that lead the reader that this particular paragraph is about a particular topic.  This can be done by using sub-headings, or by expressing it through the paragraphs topic sentence.

• Be direct.

A thesis proposes an idea and it starts with a question. Thus the center of your world in writing a paper is that particular idea that answers that particular question. When your professor posts a question to be answered or discussed in your paper, answer it with reason and backed up with facts. The research for appropriate principles and facts gives your paper rigor. The capacity to reason out your idea in such a way that it enlightens the reader rather than make the person further scratch his or her gives your paper insight.

Yes, you did the research. Read so many books to the point of monopolizing the books at the Benavides library. Yes, your reason is flawless. But all this are for nothing if you can't communicate it well. The basic of successful communication is by being direct and simple. Keep your sentences simple.  Do not use compound complex sentences. Here's one test. If your sentence has more than one idea, then it's already complex. Thus, the rule of thumb is - one sentence = one idea.

The same holds true with your paragraphs.  One paragraph = one topic.  And one paragraph = one set of interconnected ideas.  The paragraph has a topic stick to it.  The moment you add a totally different topic, then that's time to add a separate paragraph.  For example, you are discussing problems in the 3 branches of the presidential system.  Each branch must have its own paragraph.

Never ever write a sentence or a paragraph that spans the entire page or pages of the paper. One that spans on page one, then puts the period at the last page.  I once encountered and failed a 3rd year student's paper who actually did the that.     

• Three main headings: Introduction, Discussion, Conclusion.

These 3 main headings are the basic headings.  If the paper is a map, headings are location markers.  It tells the reader what to expect from the succeeding paragraphs until the next heading is encountered.

The Introduction gives the reader the gist of what the paper is about. It tells the topic, and gives a backgrounder why such a topic has a paper being written about it. It raises issues for discussion.  And most importantly raises the question or declares the thesis of the paper. A standard Introduction should be 1-2 short paragraphs only.

The Discussion contains the bulk of the paper. It is actually divided into several subheadings. Each of which are followed by 1-2 substantial paragraphs that support the thesis at the heart of the paper. This is where the reasoning and the proofs based on factual sources will be placed.

The Conclusions synthesizes the elements of the premises leading towards affirmation of the thesis of the paper. It answers the question raised in the Introduction and attempts to recommend suggestions for for plan's of action or for future researches. A basic conclusion is only 1 paragraph.       

• Practice the right style of citation.

An academic paper is graded in terms of the student's insight, rigor and rhetoric. And rigor in research is not simply the copying of text and putting them together into a coherent sequence on your paper. The data that you read from books and other sources must be rephrased in the form of either a precis or a paraphrase. Once rephrased, the text must be appropriately cited using APA (American Psychological Association) style. Failure to do so can be considered as plagiarism.  Sometimes, you might need to directly quote the statement of a canonical writer.  Such direct quote must be limited to a sentence or at least no more than three lines of a paragraph.  Direct quotes must be in quotation marks, and again must be appropriately cited.

Also note that MS Word 2007 onward has a tool for creating parenthetical citations and biblographies. And that NOT ALL TYPES OF REFERENCES are can be inserted via the MS Word tool.  Sometimes, you will have to use the manual way of citing.  N.D. or "No Date" for web sources are not acceptable.

Always cite reported or secondary sourced quotes appropriately.  For example, a present day (let's say 2003) printing of English translations of Plato's Republic is not cited as (Plato, 2014).  Use the name of the translator, and mention Plato as part of the sentence/statement.

E.g. - In his Republic, Plato emphasizes the importance of ruling as a duty and not just a privilege to the point of pointing out the ultimate consequence of not accepting such duty - which is that someone inferior might end up taking the mantle of ruling (Lee trans., 2003)

• Cite everything.

In line with the plagiarism risk above. It is ALWAYS advised to cite everything that is not yours. Images from google, from Encarta. Maps, flags, pictures, diagrams.  And there's no such thing as common knowledge about a particular quote. A serious academic paper has a clean trail of sources of where a particular information or statement came from.

Please note that writing the name of a person after a quote is not proper. e.g "It is better to be feared than loved, if you cannot have both." - Niccolo Machivelli

The right way is to cite is by knowing where was it written that Machiavelli actually said that.  Hence, there must be a translator's or editor's surname in parenthesis followed by the book's (in this case "The Prince") year of publication.    

Thesis Advisee A.Y. 2014-2015

For expediency, even if appointment has not been signed, all of my thesis group advisees should  meet with me as one big group for general orientation, tomorrow after 3:00 p.m. but not later than 5:00 p.m. Talk about the time, inform me via text message.

Be sure you know the advising policies.

Search and join the FB group "Athenaeum" which is the FB group for my advisees.  It also contains tips, so you might as well browse all posts there.

Prof. Roces' Articles

After I sent the first email to invite prof. Roces for the seminar, she sent two digital copies of her published journal articles on the politics of dress.  It's for sharing to the class.  At that time, this was distributed to the class on Comparative Politics and Government in Asia and Africa.  Now I open access to these articles to all Political Science students interested in the topic.

Here's the link:

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B30MHtoilXd4WXkyVWN3cm9BVVE&usp=sharing

Comparative Politics Paper (Level 1)

As mentioned in Comparative Politics in Transition class, your paper for the prelims period will focus on the first two reasons why we compare.  This trains you with foundation skills in a developmental succession.  A good comparative politics paper is in depth and original work.  You will not be merely repeating what information is in textbooks but rather produce data using the comparative method.  In this case, you will be describing contextually and classifying (raw) data.

LOGISTICS:

Date of Submission:  August 26, 2014

Place: In Class

NO COVER PAGE 3-4 PAGES:

NEW FORMAT: upper part of page 1.

 NAME OF COUNTRY

Creative Title

A Single Country Comparative (Contextual Description / Classification) Study of (insert Political Object of Study in the Country)

Researcher: Name of Student (Surname, First name)

Professor: Ronald M. Castillo

1st Semester 2014-2015

Your paper's text beginning with the Introduction immediately follows.

Follow the capitalization, boldface, center.  Times New Roman size 12.  1.5 spacing.  1.5 right margin, .5 left margin 1.0 top and bottom margins.  Justified paragraphs.  Appropriate indention.  No extra spaces.

GRADING:

Metric: 

1-2 (1-3) submitted the wrong work

3-4 (4-6) substantial flaws (unproven claims, simply reported common knowledge that can be gained from general references)

5-6 (7-9) average work, several common errors, accomplished the task and nothing more.  No student insight. 

7-8 (10-12) very good work, very minimal (1-2) errors, there is insight in student's ideas.  

9-10 (13-15) Excellent (added something new to the study of comparative politics)

Grade Categories:

Format - 10 (creative impeccable overall output)

Bibliography - 10 (rich and well documented + note: plagiarized automatically fails)

Contextual Description - 15 [described in detail and orderly (high level of abstraction if not multiple instances of comparison) + citation)] OR Classification - 15 [typologized data into correct data containers (high level of abstraction if not multiple instances of comparison) + proof/samples)

TOTAL of 35 pts.

CONTENT WRITING GUIDE:

First what you definitely need:  Secondary (if not primary) literatures (sources) that provide details (not just general/overview) discussions on the topic.  Most common are news (print, audio, video), and documentaries.  There are also several country studies in book form at our library.  Again, prefer to use sources that are in depth.

Just like any paper, this must have the basic 3 main headings.  For this paper, it will be: Introduction, Discussion and Conclusion (you will have an analytic conclusion even if it's description or classification, see below).

So what are we writing?

There must be a research direction.  Yes, you already have a country.  But as defended in the cosplay, you must focus on one particular political phenomenon.  Take for example: the Republic of Nonamia, I'm writing about the struggle of LGBT interest groups.  Hence, what I'll be contextually describing is this struggle of the nonamians.  I'll answer the question of which institutions did the interest group lobby with?  How did they lobby?

The data will also have to reflect on the sources type.  An example is a political event, which must be sourced from the news, and other books with narratives.   A political system on the other hand will be sourced from the constitution (primary source).  Another source for a political system are country studies (secondary source).  Be mindful that if you use country studies, then pick the best (which must be info rich).  If the country profile is not info rich, you'll need other sources to depict the dynamics of that system (again sourced from the news or related data source).

If it’s too basic that anyone with an encyclopedia can answer it, then why write the paper?

For the Introduction, you are given only one - two paragraph/s to give a background. This should 1) make the reader want to read, 2) inform the reader about the basics of your country, and 3) let the reader know what to expect in the discussion (is it description or classification?  What means did you use do it?).

For the Discussion you may choose either to do a contextual description or classification.

Generally comparison finds out things that are “most similar” or “most different” between objects being studied.  Both can be used whether you are doing description or classification.  But the question is what object are you studying?  This helps determine whether you will use description or classification.  You also need to ask what particular characteristics are your objects of study similar or different?  Sometimes, you need to find something deeper than what is obvious, not just simply relying on the objects as being both elections or they are both leaders, or they differ in time or differ place (though location can be a factor/variable in some studies).        

A contextual description will be a detailed “narrative”.  It can be one or more of the following.  1) Tells a detailed story of a political event.  2) Explains the roles and powers a political actors and/or institutions.  3) Tells the dynamics between political actors and/or institutions. 4) Described in detail the behavior of a political actor, institution or group of people.  A paper that used contextual description must provide a paradigm or conceptual framework that illustrates what was described.  Your research must produce “concepts” or general ideas that surfaced as you have dug deep in order to describe the politics of your chosen country.

A paradigm is a diagrammatized idea.  Using symbols or drawings, you will make an abstract idea more concrete, or at least help create a picture in the mind of the reader.  Variables in your paper must appear in the diagram along with a way to show relationships or dynamics between the variables (see Figure 1).  The size of your paradigm, table or matric will range from 1/4 - 1/2 of a page.

A paper focusing on classification explains both 1) how and 2) why you placed a certain political phenomenon, behavior, actor, or institution under a certain category or “data container”.  If you chose to do classification, you must provide one data treatment tool that you used to classify.  The common way is by using a table or comparative matrix.  The table or matrix must contain highlights of indicators (qualities) or measures (quantities) that your variables exhibit showing an easier way of comparing or classifying (see table 1, table 6, and matrix 1).  Your research must produce either typologies or sub-typologies of political events, behaviors, actors, or institutions.

For your conclusion, you are to simply sum up your new concepts or new typologies while briefly explaining the scientific method that you used to accomplish such.  It tells the reader what you found out while doing your research and how you were able to find out such information.

List of Latin Political and Legal Maxims

For 1CA3 and 1HST2:

These principles were uttered in the middle ages, some dating back to the early middle ages.  Some were originally spoken by senators and emperors of Rome as guiding doctrines of politics and law.

Your task is to 1) memorize these maxims and 2) be ready to recite them in order in front of the class, and 3) prepare to be asked questions in applying the principles to real life scenarios.

Latin maxim recitations will start on August 11, 2014 (Monday)

 (Hans Schmidt, 1912)

1. Vox populi est vox dei. - The voice of the people is the voice of God.
2. Salus populi, suprema lex. - The welfare of the people is the supreme law.
3. Dura lex, sed lex. - The law may be harsh but it is the law.
4. Fiat justitia ruat caelum - Let justice be done even if the heavens fall.
5. Qui custodiet ipsos custodes? - Who guards the guardians?
6. Delegata potestas non delegari potest. - Delegated powers can no longer be delegated.
7. Ignorantia legis, non excusat neminem. - Ignorance of the law does not excuse anyone.
8. Ei incumbit probatio qui dicit non qui negat. - It is the duty of he who accuses to prove, not the one who denies.
9. Cuius est solum ejus usque ad caelum et ad infernos. - Whoever owns the soil holds title all the way up to the heavens, and down beneath the earth.
10. Par in parem, non habet imperium. - A state cannot claim jurisdiction over another.
11. Actus non facit, reum nisi mens sit rea. - The act is not guilty unless the mind is also guilty.
12. Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laedas. - Use your own as to avoid injury to another's property.
13. Ubi dubium, ibi libertas - If there is doubt, there is freedom.
14. Nemo debet bis vexari pro una et eadam causa. - No one is to be twice harassed for one and the same cause.

Photo Credits:

Hans Schmidt.  "Cicero's Speech Attacking Catilina." 1912  http://www.askart.com/askart/s/hans_w_schmidt/hans_w_schmidt.aspx.  and http://www.mutualart.com/Artwork/Ciceros-Speech-Attacking-Catilina-in-the/DAFE716CA0BDF808.  Last accessed 2013.

Political Science and other Disciplines

History

If you will observe narratives of historical events, most of them focus either on culture, economics or politics.  A higher percent actually involves politics and government.  In Philippine history, one can trace the developments of government from before the arrival of the Spaniards, until the government of the present day.  Even world history is full of narratives of political events, not just within the borders of other states but also in the politics between states which is called International Politics.

Economics

The interface between Political Science and Economics manifest as Macroeconomics, Political Economy and International Political Economy.  An aspect of macroeconomics deals with how national economy is managed by the government.  Political Economy is decision making on the governmental level with regards to political resources (not just the four economic resources).  These include military, technological advancement, even the resource of opportunity.  Political Economy contributes to the field of political science known as Rational Choice Theory and Game Theory.

Geography

Political Geography and Geopolitics are two different interface of Political Science and Geography.  The former studies how to manage the state based on allocation or delineation of political space.  One example is the location of very old churches and local town/provincial halls in the Philippine.  Historically, such architecture is evidence of the union of church and state during the Spanish Period.  Another example is the reason why the Philippines has a unitary state instead of a federal one.  The unitary system creates reliance upon the central government, thus maintaining the scattered islands linked in union.

Geopolitics considers political relationships (particularly between states) based on the natural contours of the earth.  One example is the current issue of Scarborough Shoal.  Another is the importance of maritime channels between the Indian Ocean and the Pacific.  Blocking such channels blocks maritime commerce (a path upon which petroleum delivery to industrialized Asian states are reliant).

Sociology and Anthropology

These two disciplines are important to Political Science since both gives insight to the nature of people.  Social power which is studied in political science has sociological foundations.  Social power manifests when there are two or more people exerting their wills.  Power allows one to pursue his/her own will even with the opposition of another.  Power is making another change his/her own will.  Anthropology provides explanations on human political behavior based on what influences man and society.  These studies eventually lead to political science areas known as political culture. 

Psychology

Knowing why a person does what he or she does is necessary in political science.  Thus is the study of Political Psychology, it can provide answers to questions such as “Why do people vote?” or even “What would make people rally against terroristic acts?”

Philosophy

This discipline contributes both to Political Theory and Political  Philosophy.  Political Philosophy is normative (posits ideals which society, in terms of politics, ought to be).  Political Theory is more empirical.  It deals with political hypotheses which can be tested empirically (experientially or based on practical applications).

Statistics and Logic

Statistics is a branch of mathematics while logic is a branch of Philosophy.  Logic deals with correct reasoning.  It is the right way to arrive at an acceptable conclusion given proper evidence or premises.  Statistics measures probabilities.  It provides formulas and equations on how separate events can be related.  Together with political science, these two contribute to the study of Political Behavior.

Jurisprudence

Etymologically, “Wisdom of the Law,” or wisdom behind the law.  Jurisprudence studies the principles behind the workings of laws and government policies.  One principle is that the “Law will not command the impossible.”  Another is, “The law is harsh, but it is the law.”    

Additional Reference:

Black’s Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009), available at Westlaw BLACKS.

Danziger, J. N. (2011). (Chapters on Political Institutions Structures, Institutional Arrangements, and Political Behavior, and Political Economy). In J. N. Danziger, Understanding the Political World (11th ed., pp. 28-54, 141-164, 169-202, 203-229). New York: Pearson.

Roskin, M. G., Cord, R. L., Medeiros, J. A., & Walters, J. (2010). (Chapter 7: Political Culture). In M. G. Roskin, R. L. Cord, J. A. Medeiros, & J. Walters, Political Science: An Introduction (pp. 118-214). Boston: Pearson.