Digital Diplomacy, US-Iran Relations

What is digitalized diplomacy, and how has it shaped US policy in regards to Iran and US national security?

How has President Trump’s use of social media aggravated US-Iran tensions, especially after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani.

-The position I am taking is that the use of social media by state leaders (namely President Donald Trump) has removed foreign policy experts from the policy-making and negotiating process, while giving him more of a direct authority in the foreign relations theatre. The use of social media after the assassination of Qassem Soleimani by President Trump caused a wave of uncertainty and fear in the United States, and the responses by Iranian national officials did not deescalate the atmosphere of unpredictability or the belief that a full-scale war was on the horizon.

The following link provides an exceptional narration of the heated use of social media as a form of international communication.

https://qz.com/1780192/us-iran-crisis-plays-out-in-real-time-among-officials-on-twitter/

Guidelines for Research Paper

A major research paper, which is due on December 7, 2020 by 11:59pm (late papers will be downgraded by half a letter grade per day late), should be eight to ten (8-10) typewritten pages in length (double-spaced) and must be based, in part, on primary sources [defined here as documents, speeches, articles, analyses written by analysts or political figures from the region], not merely on secondary analyses.  The paper should deal with some aspect of Diplomatic Studies. For example, the student may decide to compare and evaluate the various theories of and approaches to the study of Diplomacy, or to use a research question to illustrate the theoretically-based arguments developed in the literature. Regardless of the topic selected, the student should deal with it analytically, not merely descriptively.  This means that the paper should address a specific question and develop and support an argument.  It should draw upon the relevant theoretical literature.

Papers must be submitted in standard research paper format–i.e. title page, notes either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the paper, and a bibliography.  Use the format given below for both notes and bibliography.  It is assumed that due attention will be given to such concerns as spelling, grammar, appropriate word selection and neatness!  Although primary consideration in evaluating the paper will be placed on content, logic of the argumentation, and evidence, stylistic concerns (i.e. spelling, grammar, syntax, etc.) will also be taken into account.

Most importantly, papers are not to be mere chronicles of historical developments.  Rather, they are to present and support an argument or explanation concerning the problem that has been selected as the focus of research.

Missing Components

Any of the components of the specific research paper requirements that are missing will result in the loss of points for each missing component. The components are: 1) Introduction, 2) Background, 3) Literature Review/Theoretical Framework, 4) Discussion/Findings, 5) Conclusions, (6) References.

Introduction

Identify the key problems and issues in the research paper. Formulate and include a thesis statement, summarizing the outcome of your analysis in 1–2 sentences. The introduction should describe the research problem, its significance, why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. A good introduction guides your reader through the evidence, which follows and informs him/her of the overriding purpose of your developed points. I strongly suggest that you have a single sentence that clearly articulates your thesis. It can be as direct as: “The argument of this paper is…” Once you have posed the underlying question and offered a thesis, the body of the paper should be used to defend the thesis.

Background

In this section, students should provide background information of their cases, relevant facts, and the most important issues related to their topic of analysis.

Literature Review/Theoretical Framework

The literature review is an essential part of a research paper, which provides background information and historical interpretation of the topic of analysis. Students should provide a critical analysis of literature and theories that will be surveyed in this course and develop their own argument. An explanation of a case is more convincing when the outcome could not have been predicted using the different theory explanation. Students are required to analyze their research questions through the lens of theory.

Discussion/Findings

Defending your argument means carefully choosing and analyzing specific evidence based on theories, not simply repeating unsupported generalizations with slightly different wordings again and again. For an argument to be convincing, it is necessary to evaluate all possible sides of an issue. You cannot ignore significant contradictory evidence or counterarguments and will need to address them specifically. The presentation of evidence should not merely be a mindless catalog of facts, but rather a selective and careful analysis of details relevant to your case. To decide what evidence to use, lay out the full array of potential evidence in advance of writing your paper. Then choose that which can be best developed and supported by theories of Diplomatic studies.

Conclusion

The conclusion should briefly re-state the main points of the paper and address any issues raised by the research. Summarize your conclusion in clear language.

Format of the Paper

The paper should stay within the page limits listed above [12-point type with standard margins]; it should be formatted in standard research paper form — i.e. including reference notes (either at the bottom of the page or at the end of the paper — not “scientific notation”) and a bibliography.  The format listed below should be used for both notes and bibliography.

Bibliography:

All entries should be listed in alphabetical order, last name first, using the following format:

1)  Periodical article:

Hough, Jerry F., “The End of Russia’s ‘Khomeini’ Period,” World Policy Journal, IV, no. 4 (1987), pp. 583-604. Some journals do not employ volume numbers, others do not employ consecutive pagination within an entire volume.  This format can be adjusted to the former by excluding the volume number and presents no problem for the latter situation.

2)  Article in an edited book:

Russell L. Hanson. “Democracy,” in Political Innovation and Conceptual Change, eds. Terence Ball, James Farr, Russell L. Hanson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989), pp. 68-86.

3)  Authored book:

Sanford, Levinson. Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.

4)  Edited book:

Mill, John S. On Liberty and Other Essays, edited by John Gray. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991.

5)  Newspaper article:

Amartya, Sen. “Democracy and Its Global Roots,” The New Republic, October 6, 2003, pp. 28-35.

6) Miscellaneous publication:

Some items do not fit easily into any of the categories listed above.  You should adapt the format to fit the item.  For example, pamphlets can usually be treated as books.

7) Translated material:

For translated materials, full publication information should be provided for both the original and the translation source:

Foucault, Michel. Madness and Civilization: A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason. Translated by Richard Howard, Vintage-Random House, 1988.

8) Internet material:

These materials should be treated as publications.  Full information concerning the source should be given., so that the reader will be in a position to find it.  In the case of “reprinted” materials, both the original and the internet source should be given:

Taylor, Rumsey. “Fitzcarraldo.” Slant, 13 Jun. 2003, www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/fitzcarraldo/. Accessed 29 Sep. 2009.

Since you cannot cite pages for internet sources, you should be especially careful to provide proper link information and dates when accessed.

9) Unpublished material:

Specific information should be provided about the source of unpublished material, such as interviews, letters, and other documents.  The name of the interviewee, the date and place of the interview should be provided.  Letters and other documents should be treated in similar fashion.  In all cases information concerning the current location of the material should be provided.

Other Observations Concerning Research Papers

1. Do not repeat entire sections from books or articles
2. Quotations are occasionally effective, but you should not need the quotations to do the work for you. Quote only selectively and quote only that which is particularly valuable as evidence. When using quotations, you must always indicate them by the use of quotation marks or, if the quotation is fairly long and needs “block quotation,” by a single- spaced indentation and a specific reference with page number.
3. Copying from the textbook or cutting and pasting sections from websites or other reference materials or presenting someone else’s ideas as your own is plagiarism and will not be tolerated and will result in zero (0) points for that assignment. Please review the FIU Plagiarism Prevention Guide. In addition, all work submitted must be original for this class. Re-using something that you originally wrote for a different purpose (e.g., a different class or assignment) without acknowledging the original is a form of plagiarism called self-plagiarism. Students cannot submit the same work or substantial portions of the same work in more than one course.