IR524-Semester Research Paper Topics and Instructions
The Research Paper is about 8-12 pages of analytical essay (double-spaced, 12-point, 1 inch margin all around-2.5 cm-) addressing a topic that is central to one of the themes in our IR524 class. The due date for the submission of the paper is Thursday, May 8.
The Research Paper should have a title , a short introduction that briefly explains your topic and thesis, a body with substantial amount of evidence, analysis, discussion/arguments and examples, and a conclusion that revisits your thesis. Your essay should also have a bibliography at the end. Your bibliography must include at least 5 non-Internet sources. You don’t have to provide separate cover sheets or bibliography sheets for the paper. You can simply write your name on the left hand corner and write the bibliography at the end of the paper. No dossiers or plastic covers are necessary to submit the paper. A simple staple will be enough.
All parts of your essay need to be typed, double-spaced with standard margins (1 inch all around-2.5 cm-) and a standard, 12 point font, stapled in the left hand corner. The paper should be a finished product, properly proofread. You are personally responsible for printing your paper and submitting it personally to your instructor on the due date for submitting it. Submissions of papers over the email will not be accepted.
Websites, blog entries, and articles taken from sources like Wikipedia do not count as sources, unless they are primary sources such as articles, speeches, sources for statistics, etc. If you are using the internet for primary sources in your paper, you must include the http link and you must identify the website so I can also verify.
You can use any citation and bibliography style as long as you are consistent throughout the whole paper. Please do not switch between different citation styles.
It is very important that your research paper have a clear thesis statement. The topics that I have provided are broad topics. You first have to narrow down the topic that you have chosen and then produce a thesis statement. For example, let’s say you picked topic number 9 for writing your paper
(let’s say you want to write a paper on the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood). A proper approach here would be first to decide on what aspects/characteristics of the Muslim Brotherhood you will be focusing on. Here, you should remember the fact that our class is about Islam and politics. Thus, you must pick an aspect of the Muslim Brotherhood that corresponds to one of our themes in our class.
Then, you have to produce a thesis statement. For instance, you can narrow down your topic by producing a thesis statement like this: “After the Arab Spring, can the Muslim Brotherhood become a driving force for more democracy in Egypt?” The thesis states the argument you are going to make in the paper and serves as the guiding principle of the entire project. The thesis is first briefly stated in the introduction, and the body of the paper is written to support your thesis. Papers that lack a coherent and strong thesis result in a weak and incoherent essay.
The very best papers are those that analyze a topic. That means that the author makes an argument that is supported using evidence derived from objective sources that is clearly explained using objective, professional and apolitical language. The research paper is not an opinion paper (opinion papers explain the author’s point of view without using objective analysis) nor is it a mere description of a person, country, political movement or event . Think of yourself as an objective Political Scientist who is curious about a phenomenon, conducts research to find out why it occurred or how it works, briefly states the findings in the thesis and then goes into supporting detail in the paper.

Remember, your semester paper is subject to Zirve University’s Code of Student Conduct. This means that plagiarism – defined as the intentional or unintentional attempt to pass off another’s work as your own – is prohibited and will be penalized.
Possible topics for the Research Paper
The following are topics and topic questions that students may use, or modify, for their research papers.
These are only suggestions. Students can also design their own research paper topics, but must discuss it with me first to make sure it is an acceptable topic.
1.
Are Islam and Democracy compatible? Is Shari’a (Islamic Law) or Islamic governance compatible with liberal, democratic governance? Is a democratic Islamic state possible?
2.
Analyze the reasons for the deficit of democracy in the Middle East. Discuss whether the Arab
Spring can produce viable democratic regimes in the region.
3.
Based on the Turkish, Iranian, and Egyptian experiences, was "secularism from above" a successful strategy to achieve modernization and political development? Also discuss how secularism from above contributed to the emergence of Islamic (or Islamist) political activism in one of the countries above.
4.
How did the Arab Spring start? Discuss domestic and international factors that gave way to the
Arab Spring. Can the Arab Spring provide democratization for __________ (a Muslim country of your choice)?
5.
Did the military in Israel, Turkey or Iran prevent development of a more democratic system?
Discuss this question in regards to how militaries of these countries relate to democratization and emergence of Islamic political movements.
6.
Would the application of Islamic principles of economics help or hurt the economic development of Muslim societies in the Third World?
7.
What are the effects of US foreign policy on political development or political stability in __________
(a Muslim country of your choice)?
8.
What is the intermediate or long-term prospect for political stability or political change in Islamic governments like Saudi Arabia or Iran? Is change on the horizon? What direction will change take in one or the other country?
9.
What is the status of the Islamist movement of __________ (pick a country)?
10.
What is Al-Qaeda? How and why did it emerge? What are the factors that attract people to the organization? Try to analyze these questions by trying to draw a profile of Al-Qaeda supporters.
11.
What do Islamic governments, or Islamist movements, mean for the status of women? Is a “Feminist
Islamism” possible?
12.
What effect might Political Islam have on the political development of Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan, etc.? Is Political Islam on the rise and if so is it a force of stability or instability?