The point of the paper is to apply the approaches discussed in the course to some current international event. You need not pick a case in which the U.S. is a key actor. Begin by selecting some issue. Follow the news about it. Read the newspaper. Keep digital copies of useful material so that you will be able to go back and reread them. Remember, you'll be coming across new perspectives each week of the course, so taking notes on what you find in news sources may not provide you with adequate information to deal with a perspective we have not yet covered. Keeping full texts of what you find will allow you to reassess in the light of new material discussed in the intervening weeks. You might want to start by addressing the following questions: Do the analyses you have read typically focus on one level of analysis more than others? Do debates about the current event reflect alternative levels of analysis or alternative arguments within the same level of analysis? international relations come up with topic