Midterm Essay Exam Instructions  THIS IS FOR MIDTERM ESSAY 1- ONLY DO ESSAY 1 In

Midterm Essay Exam Instructions 
THIS IS FOR MIDTERM ESSAY 1- ONLY DO ESSAY 1
Instructions: You may have noticed that there are two Midterm sections–Midterm 1 and Midterm 2. The first essay is to be submitted as Midterm Essay 1, and the second is submitted as Midterm Essay 2. Simcheck will be used to guarantee that you are the author of each essay.  All scores over over 60% will recieve, automatically, zero points.  Always write your own essay using your own syntax and without using outside sources. No late papers are accepted. No extensions are allowed for the midterm.
For the essays: Answer all parts of each Essay question(s).  It should be a Word doc or .docx.  All other types–Zip files, pdf, Google docs, and Google pages–are NOT accepted.  All assignments must be typed, double-spaced, using either Courier, Times New Roman or similar type. Font size must be between 11 and 14. Anything other will NOT be accepted.  Instructor is not responsible for any electronic malfunctions.
Each essay is worth 50 points–so put in your best energy into this exam. Only use the course materials (textbooks, lectures, etc.).  Do NOT use outside sources. Each essay should be at least 4-5 pages in length. 
1. This essay is to be submitted as Midterm Essay #1.
– Define and explain the concept of federalism. Include in your discussion the different types of federalism, with examples. Discuss the constitutional logic of federalism.  Identify the powers and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments. What are the advantages and the disadvantages of federalism? Identify and explain those advantages and disadvantages. 
Sources: (can only use these 3 sources)
– This is the link to one of the textbooks:
– https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/AmericanGovernment3e-WEB.pdf?_gl=1*x5v7im*_ga*NTgyODg2NjQ1LjE3MDkzMzc3MzU.*_ga_T746F8B0QC*MTcxMDgyMDY1Mi40LjAuMTcxMDgyMDY1OS41My4wLjA.
– Chapter 3 talks about Federalism
– Here is a link to the second textbook:
– https://madoc4.homestead.com/california_government_and_poli.pdf
– If you use the search function, you can search the term “federalism”. This word only appears 6 times in the entire textbook, all in chapter 1. It also has a glossary that defines federalism.
– I have attached a transcript of the Federalism lecture, it comes from a 9 minute lecture video so the transcript is not that long
Make sure to Cite the sources in MLA format

Midterm Essay Exam Instructions  THIS IS FOR MIDTERM ESSAY 2- ONLY DO ESSAY 2 I

Midterm Essay Exam Instructions 
THIS IS FOR MIDTERM ESSAY 2- ONLY DO ESSAY 2
Instructions: You may have noticed that there are two Midterm sections–Midterm 1 and Midterm 2. The first essay is to be submitted as Midterm Essay 1, and the second is submitted as Midterm Essay 2. Simcheck will be used to guarantee that you are the author of each essay.  All scores over over 60% will recieve, automatically, zero points.  Always write your own essay using your own syntax and without using outside sources. No late papers are accepted. No extensions are allowed for the midterm.
For the essays: Answer all parts of each Essay question(s).  It should be a Word doc or .docx.  All other types–Zip files, pdf, Google docs, and Google pages–are NOT accepted.  All assignments must be typed, double-spaced, using either Courier, Times New Roman or similar type. Font size must be between 11 and 14. Anything other will NOT be accepted.  Instructor is not responsible for any electronic malfunctions.
Each essay is worth 50 points–so put in your best energy into this exam. Only use the course materials (textbooks, lectures, etc.).  Do NOT use outside sources. Each essay should be at least 4-5 pages in length. 
This essay is to be submitted as Midterm Essay #2.
– Discuss the role of the Electoral College in our democratic system.  Why do we have to use the Electoral College (think Constitution!!) How has it changed from the original language in the US Constitution?  Discuss thoroughly how the Electoral College functions today.  Include in your essay the following: how are Electors chosen? How many are chosen (both at the national and state level)? Where and when do they cast their votes? How many Electoral votes are needed to obtain the presidency? What happens if no one candidate gets the necessary number of votes to win the presidency (what’s the back-up plan?)??  In your opinion, should the US keep the Electoral College? Why or why not?
Sources: (can only use these 3 sources)
– This is the link to one of the textbooks:
– https://assets.openstax.org/oscms-prodcms/media/documents/AmericanGovernment3e-WEB.pdf?_gl=1*x5v7im*_ga*NTgyODg2NjQ1LjE3MDkzMzc3MzU.*_ga_T746F8B0QC*MTcxMDgyMDY1Mi40LjAuMTcxMDgyMDY1OS41My4wLjA.
– Starting at page 20, it talks about the electoral college
– Here is a link to the second textbook:
– https://madoc4.homestead.com/california_government_and_poli.pdf
– If you use the search function, you can search the term “electoral”. It also has a glossary that defines “electoral votes”.
– I have attached a slideshow of the Electoral College lecture
Make sure to Cite the sources in MLA format

Please remember on a discussion board your intitial post is due on Thursday 11:5

Please remember on a discussion board your intitial post is due on Thursday 11:59pm and your peer comments are due on Sunday 11:59pm
For this discussion board assignment, you will need to have watched the web links on campaign ads and candidate television appearances. There are two sets of questions. You are to answer both questions in your initial discussion board thread. Make sure you thoroughly address all prompts below in order to receive full credit. Reflect on the clips of famous campaign ads. Which ad is most effective and why? Do any ads cross the line? Can negative ads hurt a candidate they are supposed to help?
How effective are late night T.V. appearances by candidates? What do they really tell us about the candidates? How important is it for voters to like the candidate? Does it get issues out to people who may not read political news or watch debates?
Your response to the above prompts will be your initial discussion board thread. Once you have completed your initial thread you are to comment on a peer’s discussion post. Do you agree with their assessment of the campaign ads and television appearances? Do you see areas of similarity between your response and theirs? Remember to include specific references to their response and use complete sentences.
CAMPAIGN ADD LINK:

TV CANDIDATE APPEARENCES LINK:

What the topic is about: In the context of the Qatar blockade, the concept of “C

What the topic is about: In the context of the Qatar blockade, the concept of “Communities of Feeling” elucidates how shared emotions, initially fueled by anxiety, were harnessed to bolster patriotism and loyalty to the leadership. Examining the “Directionality of Emotions,” it becomes apparent how these emotions were strategically mobilized to strengthen national unity and support for the government amidst the crisis, while also considering the potential demobilizing effects of fear and uncertainty. Furthermore, the notion of “Moral Shocks” highlights how the sudden imposition of the blockade disrupted existing moral frameworks, prompting emotional responses that reshaped political attitudes and allegiance within Qatari society.
The proposal should include clearly marked sections:
-Statement of topic
-Thesis paragraph
-Literature Review
On the difference between a lit review and an annotated bibliography–a lit review is a narrative that interprets, combines, and relates a set of texts together, putting them in conversation with one another to characterize the literature on a particular topic and to set up your own contribution to it, while an annotated bibliography is simply a set of discrete summaries. A lit review should be written in essay form, and should not treat each text separately, but rather identify commonalities and differences in concepts, theory, methodology, etc.
-Case Background
The proposal should be 4-6 pages (not including title page or bibliography, 12-point font and one-inch margins, with page numbers) and may be on any topic that relates to the themes of the course. Papers must substantively engage at least 4 sources from the syllabus, though you are encouraged to use supplemental literature.
Use all 4 readings attached with additional sources (Chapter 4 of the Hutchinson reading in relevant to this research topic)

answer the questions from the reading here is The reading : Authoritarian Regim

answer the questions from the reading here is The reading :
Authoritarian Regimes •Types of Authoritarian Regimes & The Logic of Authoritarianism
o Milan W. Svolik, The Politics of Authoritarian Rule (New York: Cambridge University Press,
2012), Chapters 1 and 2, pgs. 1-45.
o Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way, “Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of
Competitive Authoritarianism,” Journal of Democracy. 2002, Vol. 13, No. 2, pgs. 51-65.
o Barbara Geddes, Erica Frantz, & Joseph G. Wright, “Military Rule,” Annual Review of
Political Science. 2014, Vol. 17, pgs. 147-62.
• Studying Authoritarian Regimes
o Yuhua Wang, “Institutions and Bribery in an Authoritarian State,” Studies in Comparative
International Development. 2014, Vol. 49, No. 2, pgs. 217-241.
o Sebastian Hellmeier and Nils B. Weidmann, “Pulling the Strings? The Strategic Use of Pro-
Government Mobilization in Authoritarian Regimes,” Comparative Political Studies. 2020,
Vol. 53, No. 1, pgs. 71-108.
and here is the questions that you should answer 1. What is an authoritarian regime? What are the different types of authoritarian regimes we have read this week?
2. Is an authoritarian regime different from a competitive authoritarian regime? If yes, how does it differ?
3. What are the two entrenched problems of authoritarian rule regarding the regime stability discussed by Svolik (2012) in his book?
4. How do the inherent dilemmas make a regime crisis in a competitive authoritarian rule?
5. How will you define military rule as one of the forms of authoritarian governance? Do military dictatorships act differently than civilian-led dictatorships?
6. Do the military strongmen behave differently than the military regimes to tackle the crisis in governing the states?
7. Please explain which institutional factors we have read in Wang’s (2013) article influence bribery between firms and public officials in an authoritarian state? Can we generalize the findings of Wang’s (2013) study to other parts of the world?
8. How do the pro-government rallies in authoritarian rule maintain the regime stability? What are the costs and risks of pro-government mobilization faced by the authoritarian rulers?

Paper Guidelines per the professor: This assignment is designed for you to get a

Paper Guidelines per the professor:
This assignment is designed for you to get an in depth look at the policy analysis process. You are expected to produce a well-written, concise paper on the subject.The paper should be 8-10 pages in length double spaced with proper citations.Your paper should address the following areas:
1. Introduce your topic. This includes identifying the problem and defining any key terms.
2. Establish the criteria with which you will evaluate the existing policy and policy alternatives. For example, cost, legality, efficiency and political acceptability represent possible evaluative criteria.
3. Summarize the existing literature that addresses your policy issue, including online and print publications.
4. Analyze the existing policy according to the evaluative criteria you have established. This analysis should also include the effects the policy has on different groups and any conflicts it creates among important values.
5. Identify alternatives to your policy and evaluate each one individually, according to your established criteria. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Keep in mind that you can combine alternative options into new ideas.
6. Conclude by recommending any changes in or alternatives to the existing policy, and briefly reiterate your rationale. Outline a plan for adopting an alternative, if applicable, and discuss the possible consequences of adopting your recommended changes.The paper should have at least ten sources. At least eight of these must be from scholarly journals. The others can come from “other sources.” Scholarly journals do not include magazines such as Newsweek or Time. Please do not use Wikipedia for any of your sources.

After watching Professor Joh Mersheimer’s lecture -answer the following question

After watching Professor Joh Mersheimer’s lecture -answer the following questions . Link to video
1. What does Mersheimer mean when he talks about a “bounded order”?
2. What is the Liberal International Order?
3. Why did it fail according to Mersheimer?

6 Pages double spaced 14 Font [You do not need a title/cover page] I will provid

6 Pages double spaced 14 Font [You do not need a title/cover page] I will provide details on how to
reference the book review in Class 6, Book Review Session.
This assignment is a book review. It is an assignment that asks you to critically analyze Mark Andrejevic
& Neil Selwyn’s Facial Recognition and tells the reader what the point it is trying to make; and, how
convincingly it makes this point. Writing a critique achieves three purposes. First, it provides you with
an understanding of the information contained in a book; and a familiarity with other information written
on the same topic. Second, it provides an opportunity to apply and develop your critical thinking skills as
you attempt to evaluate critically a political scientist’s (or other thinker’s) work. Third, it helps you to
improve your own writing skills as you attempt to describe the book’s strengths and weaknesses within a
specific page length so that your reader can clearly understand them.
This book review assignment has four areas: Thesis Statement; Methods; Evidence; and,
Recommendations. Before you start your critical review, you should provide the reader with a short
summary of what the book is about. This should be no longer than ½ page. Consider this as your
introduction to the review. Next, you should turn your attention to the four requirements of the critical
review. The following are guides to help you write your paper.
Thesis Statement: Your first task is to find and clearly state the thesis in the book. The thesis is the main
point the book is trying to make. Quote Andrejevic & Selwyn’s Thesis Statement in the body of your
review and tell me which page or pages you believe it is found on. Many authors, however, do not present
their thesis clearly. Do you have to hunt for the thesis of the book? If you believe you found it, quote it
in our review; and, tell me which page(s) you believe you found it on. Comment about the clarity of
the author’s thesis presentation. If you do not believe they had a thesis statement than indicate this in
your answer to this section of the book review.
Methods: What methods did the authors use to investigate her topic? In other words, how did the authors
go about supporting their thesis? In your critique, carefully answer the following two questions. First,
were appropriate methods used? In other words, did the authors approach to supporting the thesis make
sense? Second, did the authors employ the selected methods correctly? Did you discover any errors in
the way the authors conducted their research?
Evidence for thesis support: In your critique, answer the following questions: What evidence did the
authors present in support of their thesis? What are the strengths of the evidence presented by the authors?
What are the weaknesses of the evidence presented? On balance, how well did the authors support their
thesis?
Recommendation: In this section, summarize your evaluation of the book. Tell the readers several things.
Who would benefit from reading it? What will the benefit be? Be specific. Don’t for example say
something generic like “everybody should read this book” or “students taking political science courses
should read it”. How important and extensive is that benefit? Finally, clearly state your evaluation of the
book – whether you liked or disliked it and why?
Think of your paper as a construction requiring planning (an outline) and careful thinking of concepts,
issues, problems etc. It is helpful to state the objectives and the plan for the paper in the opening paragraph
(introduction). The introduction should conclude with a concise, coherent summary of the argument to
be developed. Despite having major components in the paper, you do not need subheadings as they tend
simply to be space filler and I will call you out on it and deduct marks. Instead, you should use
paragraphs as building blocks. To effectively use the book in your paper, try to identify the main
argument(s) of the author and select examples carefully to bolster your argument. Do not use too many
long, direct quotations. You can summarize the argument(s) in your own words, but make sure to cite the
source of the information as an indirect quote.
Your paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:
• A clear, coherent, and systematic presentation.
• Correct spelling and a competent writing style which allows you to express your views and ideas
clearly.
• Proper citation [refer to the documentation posted to D2L on how to reference this assignment.]
• Adequately and fully addressing all aspects of the assignment
• Any review, which is simply a chapter-by-chapter summary, will automatically receive at
best a grade of 50%; and the grade may be lowered based upon the other grading criteria.
• Do not use any other sources other than the book under review. If outside sources are used, I will deduct a substantial grade.

Paper Guidelines per the professor: This assignment is designed for you to get a

Paper Guidelines per the professor:
This assignment is designed for you to get an in depth look at the policy analysis process. You are expected to produce a well-written, concise paper on the subject.The paper should be 8-10 pages in length double spaced with proper citations.Your paper should address the following areas:
1. Introduce your topic. This includes identifying the problem and defining any key terms.
2. Establish the criteria with which you will evaluate the existing policy and policy alternatives. For example, cost, legality, efficiency and political acceptability represent possible evaluative criteria.
3. Summarize the existing literature that addresses your policy issue, including online and print publications.
4. Analyze the existing policy according to the evaluative criteria you have established. This analysis should also include the effects the policy has on different groups and any conflicts it creates among important values.
5. Identify alternatives to your policy and evaluate each one individually, according to your established criteria. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each option. Keep in mind that you can combine alternative options into new ideas.
6. Conclude by recommending any changes in or alternatives to the existing policy, and briefly reiterate your rationale. Outline a plan for adopting an alternative, if applicable, and discuss the possible consequences of adopting your recommended changes.The paper should have at least ten sources. At least eight of these must be from scholarly journals. The others can come from “other sources.” Scholarly journals do not include magazines such as Newsweek or Time. Please do not use Wikipedia for any of your sources.