Dissertation

[Mr.Sparkle]

Hello. I am studying International Relations at undergraduate degree level and have recently become interested in the subject of small wars and counter-insurgency and wish to write my dissertation on the subject.

Does anybody have suggestions on what particular aspects or questions might form a good dissertation, and hopefully be interesting to study?

Cheers folks,
Mr.Sparkle

[marct]

Hello. I am studying International Relations at undergraduate degree level and have recently become interested in the subject of small wars and counter-insurgency and wish to write my dissertation on the subject.

Does anybody have suggestions on what particular aspects or questions might form a good dissertation, and hopefully be interesting to study?

Well, without knowing more about your situation, that's really an impossible question to answer . Why don't you introduce yourself in this thread and, maybe, post some more details on your program here?

Marc

[Ken White]

I'm sure folks here will be willing and able to help but most like to have some idea to whom they are providing what.

Why not go to this LINK, scroll through some of the earlier Posts there to get an idea of things others have said as an introduction and give us some background on who you are and at what level your interests lie and your experience resides.

[Mr.Sparkle]

It would be my pleasure, but I don't have a great deal of experience. I'm English, in my second year of a degree in International Relations. My degree includes a security studies component. Quite recently I've become interested in the counter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has been increased by a desire to serve in the armed forces when I graduate.

The details of my programme are here (I think this is pretty much in the security studies/US foreign policy modules)

I've been asked to formulate a draft dissertation title, but I'm a little stuck (having never written one before!). What I'm hoping for is really some ideas on where interesting questions might lie. This forum looks like the ideal place to ask.

[marct]

Hi Mr. Sparkle,

It would be my pleasure, but I don't have a great deal of experience. I'm English, in my second year of a degree in International Relations. My degree includes a security studies component. Quite recently I've become interested in the counter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has been increased by a desire to serve in the armed forces when I graduate.

The details of my programme are here (I think this is pretty much in the security studies/US foreign policy modules)

Looks like the POLS 218 International Security and POLS 329 to me (with a slightly different geographic focus).

I've been asked to formulate a draft dissertation title, but I'm a little stuck (having never written one before!). What I'm hoping for is really some ideas on where interesting questions might lie. This forum looks like the ideal place to ask.

Drafting a title usually isn't too hard - buy your mates a round at the local and do some brainstorming; you can always change the title later on. Picking a focus - the question - is harder, and often as much a question of departmental / university politics as personal interest. What interests you? When you are reading about Afghanistan and Iraq, what makes you go "WTF "? That's probably a good place to start.

Marc

[SethB]

Mr. Sparkle,

I'm a Senior in Political Science who first started coming here because it is such a great resource.

My advice would be to look deeply at the reference section. A lot of the context that you need to understand the posts comes from the readings in the reference section. You'll see references to complex ideas in the Council; most of these can be accessed to some degree through the readings that are linked. If not, you can get an idea of what books you need to read.

As far as what you write on, that is up to you, as it should be, since you are going to live and breath it for a time. I know when I decided to write two term papers about security contractors in one term I became a boring, if predictable, conversationalist.

Seth

[marct]

Hi Seth,

As far as what you write on, that is up to you, as it should be, since you are going to live and breath it for a time. I know when I decided to write two term papers about security contractors in one term I became a boring, if predictable, conversationalist.

LOLOL - Truer words were never spoken ! I remember my PhD advisor telling me that I would be ready to (finally) write my dissertation when I hated the subject - he was right, and I ended up writing it in about 3 months.

Marc

[Wildcat]

It would be my pleasure, but I don't have a great deal of experience. I'm English, in my second year of a degree in International Relations. My degree includes a security studies component. Quite recently I've become interested in the counter-insurgency in Iraq and Afghanistan, which has been increased by a desire to serve in the armed forces when I graduate.

I've been asked to formulate a draft dissertation title, but I'm a little stuck (having never written one before!). What I'm hoping for is really some ideas on where interesting questions might lie. This forum looks like the ideal place to ask.

Your situation sounds a lot like mine 18 months ago. I mean, the similarities are striking, from an interest in contemporary COIN to a desire to pursue a military career. (I also studied in England. In fact, if you look at my profile picture, it's a picture of me backpacking in the Lake District near Lake Windermere.)

My final paper for my insurgency & counterinsurgency seminar was an analysis of coalition counterinsurgency strategies in Iraq and theories on Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW) with specific case studies on Tal Afar and Fallujah, two cities where U.S. forces took drastically different approaches to fighting insurgents. I also briefly examined the organizational culture of the U.S. military following the Vietnam War and leading up to the publication of FM 3-24 "Counterinsurgency." I traveled to Colombia after writing the paper to do further research on COIN, and the things I learned there I also found to be applicable to my research on Iraq. At that point, though, I had already moved on to the next semester and was responsible for writing my next paper, which was a study on the role that security plays in Iraq's democratic transition and domestic reconciliation. I still have many many many sources from both papers, and I'd be more than happy to send you my bibliographies and a list of other sources that you may find useful.

Finding a title is the easy part. My COIN paper was titled "Outside the Wire," and I can't remember the subtitle. "Outside the Wire," besides being kind of artsy and creative, was relevant because it's a part of military vernacular in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I also used it as as a cool metaphor in my conclusion. My transitional democracy paper had a more straightforward title: "Security and Reconciliation," and again I can't remember the bloody subtitle.

You've come to the right place for help, my friend.

P.S. Is your handle ("Mr. Sparkle") in reference to a certain episode of "The Simpsons?"

[Mr.Sparkle]

Thank you for the advice gentlemen!

Wildcat, that would be very much appreciated mate.

(P.S. Yes it is - lol)