Explain the relationship between war and political survival in democracies and autocracies.

Term Paper
PSCI 210 – International Relations
Fall 2020

Due date: November 24, 2020

Length: 1000 words (not including your references)
Citing: You must cite a source for every major fact or statement in this term paper. You should have minimum of 3 sources. You can use MLA or APA style.
Organization: Include all section headings
Outline of the paper:
Section 1. Introduction
State your topic and explain your motivation (why you picked this topic). Also explain why this topic is important and what implications it has in the real world. 1 paragraph. (15 points)

Section 2. Your Argument using The Selectorate Theory
You will use the selectorate theory to answer the research question. Make sure to make references to the slides or the textbook. 2 paragraphs (35 points)

Section 3. Empirical cases – Now choose two case studies from the real world. You will need to support the arguments you make in Section 2 with these case studies. You can use academic or popular sources. Choose a case that we did not discuss in class. Make sure to cite! 2-3 paragraphs (35 points).
Section 4. Conclusions – On the basis of your research, what have you discovered regarding your topic and the thesis statement you introduced in the beginning. Provide a summary of your findings. How does your empirical case demonstrate and improve your arguments? 1 paragraph. (15 points)
Section 5. References/Works Cited – This section begins on a new page and contains all your references: journal articles, books, Internet resources, interviews, videos, films, and so forth. The reader should be able to locate all quotations and other references, right down to the correct page. (0 points given for this section but if you do not provide references or do appropriate citing in the rest of the paper, it will count as plagiarism!).
Choose one topic from below.

Topic 1
Democracies are less likely to go to war with other countries and also experience less domestic violence/war, compared to autocracies. According to the Selectorate Theory, this is all related to the political survival of the leader. Explain the relationship between war and political survival in democracies and autocracies. Then find two case studies (1 democracy and 1 autocracy) to demonstrate and support your argument.

Topic 2
Democracies offer more prosperity to their citizens compared to autocracies. Again, this is all related to the political survival of the leader. Explain the relationship between prosperity and political survival in democracies and autocracies. Then find two case studies (1 democracy and 1 autocracy) to demonstrate and support your argument.