Any topic (writer’s choice)

respond to both of the following questions in short essays of approximately 500 words each. Your responses should draw on the relevant empirical and theoretical literature covered in the course material. (ATTACHED) your answers should rely primarily on the assigned materials.

1. Do any of the traditional paradigms of understanding International Relations (REALISM,
CONSTRUCTIVISM and LIBERAL INTERNATIONALISM) offer advantages to understanding state behavior in cyberspace?  Which, if any, offers the most powerful insights into international relations in cyberspace? Use evidence to support your claims. If you have not taken GOV 625, International Relations Theory, you may find it helpful to review these three brief primers on the major theoretical paradigms of international relations theory.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnKEFSVAiNQ&list=PL4B20DBA92321E2A6&index=3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tZbDMUaqwE8&list=PL4B20DBA92321E2A6&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYU9UfkV_XI&list=PL4B20DBA92321E2A6&index=1

2.Do the emerging tools of cyberspace (e.g. increasingly sophisticated capabilities to disrupt communication and infrastructure, infiltrate critical information systems, and monitor communications and activities from across the globe) strengthen or weaken states as actors in the international system? Do they level the playing field for smaller states and non-state actors to play a larger role in international politics or do they further strengthen the strongest players in the system?

SOURCEBOOK

Mary Manjikian.  Cyber Politics and Policies:  An Introduction.