You will write a 3,000-word (maximum) policy brief addressing a concrete problem in global governance and offer a proposed remedy.
After identifying a specific global governance problem pertaining to one of these issue areas, you should make a policy recommendation and justify it. A policy brief may resemble an academic essay, but it has a more instrumental purpose – it is designed to convey useful, relevant and actionable information to help the decision-maker make an informed decision. In order to complete this assignment, you will need to do the same background research as for an essay, but you will present your arguments for and against a particular policy response in a more concise and applied manner. Always keep your policy-focused audience and the real-world context in mind.
Your brief should be (empirically-grounded) and you should present evidence to support your argument and analysis. You should demonstrate familiarity with key concept(s) and theoretical insights covered by the module and integrate some theoretica lanalytical-normative claims/insights from Global Governance scholarship into your policy brief. You may wish to keep in mind the questions:
1. Are we solving the right problem
2. Are we solving it in the right way
3. Are we working on a symptom or the underlying cause
4. Are we looking at the problem from enough different perspectives that we can
adequately address the preceding three questions
5. Are we thinking enough in terms of possibilities
While the format of the policy brief is up to you, as a general rule it should have at
least four main sections:
1) Introduction – outlines the main problem, documents its importance with either empirical or normative evidence, and previews the policy
response;
2) Explanation of policy response – presents the mechanics of your policy
proposal in detail, discusses policy alternatives, and explains its implementation;
3)Responses to counterarguments – anticipates political, economic, legal, ethical or logistical challenges to your proposal, and refutes them or acknowledges problems and details how they will be minimized; and
4) Conclusion – recaps your main points
and initiates a call to action. You should also ensure the brief is appropriately and consistently referenced using a well-recognized reference style