[SOLVED] Relationship Between Oil Wealth and Democracy

Term Paper Overview Relationship Between Oil Wealth and Democracy
Students will select a topic, approved by the instructor, to complete their paper on.  Students will submit their topic as part of the Paper Proposal in Week 2.  Topic suggestions are provided below.
Final Papers are worth 35% of your grade and are due on Sunday of Week 7.

Term Paper Specifications
Completed papers should contain the following:
Papers MUST be approximately 15 pages in length.
Contain multiple sources — at least 8 different sources (at least 3 sources must be sources we DID NOT use in class).
The paper can be done in multiple styles (more details below); however, citations must follow APA, MLA or Chicago Manual style.
You will be graded on your ability to synthesize information from various SCHOLARLY sources into an analytically and theoretically sound argument.
You will also be graded on your ability to develop and support your thesis, as well as your ability to describe and refute arguments by scholars who propose the antithesis of your argument.

Potential Term Paper Topics
Potential topics include but are not limited to:
⇒Select two countries that have been involved in the Arab Spring. Compare their prospects for democratic transition. What obstacles does each nation face? Do you believe either will develop a democratic system of government?  What role might Islam play in each country’s transition toward democracy?
⇒Discuss the relationship between oil wealth and democracy in the region. Is the evidence to support the resource curse convincing? Why have rentier states been more resistant to uprisings since 2011?  Does oil wealth make new democracies more or less vulnerable to collapse?
⇒Any aspect of the Arab-Israeli or Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
⇒How has the Sunni-Shia conflict affected regional politics?
⇒Discuss the role of women in the Arab Spring. How have women been involved in these movements? How does this involvement compare with other historical instances of women being involved in regional uprisings (i.e. the Arab Nationalist movement of the 1950s and 1960s)?  Will women be able to play a more substantial role in public sphere politics post-Arab Spring? What are the most significant political challenges women will face moving forward?

Completed papers should contain the following:
Papers MUST be approximately 15 pages in length.
Contain multiple sources — at least 8 different sources (at least 3 sources must be sources we DID NOT use in class).
The paper can be done in multiple styles (more details below); however, citations must follow APA, MLA or Chicago Manual style.
You will be graded on your ability to synthesize information from various SCHOLARLY sources into an analytically and theoretically sound argument.
You will also be graded on your ability to develop and support your thesis, as well as your ability to describe and refute arguments by scholars who propose the antithesis of your argument.