WEEK3 - INTL 6000 - CLASSMATE PAPER CRITIC PAPER - Assignment Example

Week3 - Intl 6000 - mate Paper Critic Paper The paper begins by taking a broad view of the Syrian conflict in light of the so called Arab Spring, which saw the ouster of the Tunisian and Egyptian regimes and crossed over into the Middle East. I comprehend the question posed, at the end of the first paragraph, to be a good lead off into the literature review, especially since the United States has had a heavy hand in supporting revolutionaries in both countries. Talking about the change in US foreign policy and its effect, on how the country has taken up the Syrian conflict also leads off the literature review well.

However, it would have been better also leading off with the aid given to the Free Syrian Army, which has fuelled the conflict even more and made peace even more difficult to attain (Daily Mail.com 1). The literature review also discusses the issue that the different author’s have formulated and briefly, talks about the author’s research orientation. However, it would have been better if the writer had commented on whether the author’s problem statement was clearly defined and whether the author had clearly established the relevance of the study to the issue within his literature review.

However, the writer does indicate the specific problem and thesis that the author seeks to discuss in their research articles. For example, while discussing the article Intervention and Democracy by Bruno & George, the writer indicates that the authors are discussing the types of interventions that the United States should pursue in the conflict as a third party to achieve democracy in the region. The fact that the results are not new or surprising should have led the writer to comment on ways that the authors would have approached their problem or thesis differently.

For example, it would have been better if the writer had used the US’s threat of “consequences” if the Syrian government did not respect the wills of its people and used chemical weapons (Williams 1). The transition between different authors and articles covered in the literature review is well done. However, while the writer does cover some of the research designs and methodologies used in some studies, it is not done for most of the studies. The writer could also have indicated if the material had been written to appeal to the reader’s emotions, rhetorical, or one sided.

For instance, it is clear that Gordon Hahn’s article Russia in 2012: from Thaw and Reset to Freeze is biased against the role of Russia in the conflict. The role played by President Putin, which is different from that played by Dmitry Medvedev, is actually more democratic than that taken by the Arab League, in conjunction, with the West (Moran 1). This is because they have settled on dealing with a democratically elected government, rather than rebels and revolutionaries. However, overall, the paper does follow a logical path in linking the conflict in Syria to other players like Russia, Hezbollah, Iran, and the United States.

While the link with Hezbollah, which has come up in the last month, is not covered in most of the articles used in this literature review, the fact that they are incorporated shows that the writer used recent and up to date articles for this paper. Overall, the literature review is written professionally and seeks to expound on the thesis statement.Works CitedDaily Mail.com. U.S. gives Syrian rebels caught in bloody civil war against President Assad missile training in secret camps. 22 June 2013 . Web. 23 June 2013 www.dailymail.co.

uk/news/article-2346511/U-S-gives-Syrian-rebels-caught-bloody-civil-war-President-Assad-missile-training-secret-camps.html>.Moran, Rick. Syrian civil war no longer about who runs Syria. 21 June 2013. Web. 23 June 2013 www.americanthinker.com/blog/2013/06/syrian_civil_war_no_longer_about_who_runs_syria.html>.Williams, Dan. Assad may prevail in Syrias civil war-Israeli minister. 10 June 2013. Web. 23 June 2013 .