European union (list of topics in the order description)

You will write a 2500-word research paper (approximately 8-10 double-spaced pages) on a Western European politics issue from the choices

below:
1. Select one European country that is not a member of the EU and evaluate its prospects for, and benefits/downsides of EU accession.
2. Evaluate the effectiveness of the EU in one policy area (agriculture, defense, foreign policy, environment, etc.).
3. Should the EU serve as a model for regional integrations around the world?
4. How effective are Western European executives (in general or in a particular case)?
5. How representative are Western European parliaments?
6. Benefits/downsides of parliamentary systems as opposed to presidential systems.
7. Benefits/downsides of semi-presidential systems as opposed to parliamentary systems.
8. Benefits/downsides of the welfare state in Western Europe.
9. Is social-democracy a model for the rest of the world?
10. Immigration policies in Western Europe (please keep in mind that this topic should not focus on the current refugee crisis that we will

be covering in the European Council meetings).
11. Global economic crisis and the Eurozone.
12. Benefits/downsides of proportional representations electoral systems. 13. European Union and transnational crime.

No matter which topic you choose, make sure your paper has a clear thesis – your paper must have an argument! The paper should focus on

analyzing and critically evaluating the issue in question, not on summarizing historical trends. Keep in mind that this is a research

paper. While your opinion is important, you must conduct thorough research in order to find relevant facts to back up your claims.
The paper should be well structured, with an introduction and a clear thesis statement, development of your argument, and a conclusion. It

must be carefully written, free of spelling and grammatical errors, consist of properly developed paragraphs and proper citation of

sources. The paper will be graded based on the following: thesis statement, content, organization, style, sources, and grammar.

You must use a minimum of 8 scholarly sources (peer-reviewed academic journals and books), not including the textbook used in class. In

addition to the 8 scholarly sources, you may use newspapers, magazines, interviews, TV or radio broadcasts, government web pages, and

similar. You may not use Wikipedia, blogs, or commercial non-news web sites.