Country+Research

=__Country Research__=

Handout:

Country Assignments
 * 1) Country Briefing (intro)
 * 2) Views on United Nations Security Council & Membership reform (done in class)
 * 3) Views on Israeli-Palestinian conflict issues
 * 4) Social Media in your country (post to Moodle) - Handout: [[file:IranSocialMediaArticles.doc]] Issue Analysis template: [[file:IssueAnalysisTemplate.doc]]


 * **// UN Security Council Permanent Members: //** ||  **// UN Security Council Rotating Members 2012: //**  ||  **// Other Countries: //**  ||
 * # ** United States **** - ** Collin
 * 1) ** China ** - Sam
 * 2) ** Russia ** – Zach Z.
 * 3) ** United Kingdom **** - ** Carly
 * 4) ** France ** - Audrey || # ** Azerbaijan ** - Lucas
 * 5) ** Guatemala ** -Quinn
 * 6) ** Colombia ** - Paul
 * 7) ** Togo ** - Caroline
 * 8) ** Germany ** - Teal
 * 9) ** India ** - Bonnie
 * 10) ** Morocco ** - David
 * 11) ** Pakistan ** - Mike
 * 12) ** Portugal ** - Polina
 * 13) ** South Africa ** - Madeline || # ** Israel ** - Conor
 * 14) ** Palestinian Authority ** - Tyler
 * 15) ** Iraq ** - Brandyn
 * 16) ** Afghanistan ** - Jacob
 * 17) ** Brazil ** - Casey
 * 18) ** Syria ** - Ron
 * 19) ** Egypt ** - Julia
 * 20) ** Iran ** - Andrew
 * 21) ** Mexico ** - Guillem
 * 22) ** Italy ** - Caitlin
 * 23) **Turkey** - ||

** SOURCES **
There are so many sources of information about our global community on the Internet, and we need to be careful consumers of that information. For example, while **Wikipedia** is a valuable source for basic starting information, it should not be used as an expert resource. You can find some links to outside resources at the bottom of each Wikipedia article, and they are often linked within the article. Only use Wikipedia as a STARTING point. Sometimes doing a **Google** search can be helpful, but keep in mind that a search on Google should be precise enough to narrow the thousands of search results that might come up. Also, keep in mind that the top few websites that appear on the results page are not always ranked on their accuracy or usefulness. Sometimes they only appear as a “top” result because of paid advertising space or the amount of times it has been linked to on other pages. Again, this could mean the original site has quality information, but it could also include websites like Yahoo! Answers or Wikipedia more frequently than other, more reputable sources of information.
 * A brief note about Internet searches… **


 * Try these websites to start off: **

CIA World Fact Book – @https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/ - Find basic information about all countries.

World Bank – @http://www.worldbank.org/ - Click on the “Countries” gray tab, then you can choose your country and see some basic info as well as in-depth information about development issues.

United Nations – @http://www.un.org/en/members/ - Many UN members have pages with information about their country and actions in the United Nations.

Gapminder - @http://www.gapminder.org/ - Click on “Gapminder World,” choose your country on the right, then choose indicators on X and Y axis.

The New York Times (Global Edition) – @http://global.nytimes.com/ - Click on “Times Topics” at the top of the page, then do an alphabetical search for your country. //Hint//: Use the CTRL key and F to do a quick “Find” for your country on that page.

The Economist – @http://www.economist.com/ - Search for your country or browse the “World Politics” Section for your region

The Week - @http://theweek.com/ - This news magazine specializes in summarizing current issues using lots of different opinions of journalists, reporters, editors, politicians, etc. Type your country name into the “Search” field and keep an eye on the dates of the issues you find.

Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Assignment:
HANDOUT:

HOW TO WRITE A UN RESOLUTION:

What is your country's stance on this conflict? What is their relationship with Israel? With Palestine?

__SUGGESTIONS:__


 * 1) Google search: "YOUR COUNTRY and Palestine relations" or "YOUR COUNTRY and Israel relations." Switch out "relations" with "diplomacy" or "negotiations" to tweak your search a little bit.
 * 2) You can START at Wikipedia. Get an understanding of your country's relationship with Israel and Palestine from the Wikipedia article, but USE THE SOURCES AT THE BOTTOM to really prove where you are finding this information. If it says "citation needed", you want to //stay away// or try to look up that info on your own.

__PALESTINE:__


 * [] OR [] - both have great tables where you can find links to other articles explaining a country's relationship with Palestine
 * [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_Palestine#International_recognition_and_foreign_relations] - Good overview of statehood issues

__ISRAEL:__


 * [|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel#Foreign_relations] - Good overview of Israel's foreign relations
 * [] - Giant list of countries, most include links to other articles or outside resources