This is a five part essay, with parts two, three, and four individually tied directly to theargument and discussion in part one. Part Five is a concluding paragraph. All of the material youneed is either attached directly to this assignment as a PDF or was assigned reading during thequarter. You may not use additional sources or include outside research.Read the prompt in its entirety with attention detail to make certain that you understand whatyou are being asked to do. If you need clarification, please ask. As with the midterm, your gradewill be based on how well and thoroughly you craft an argument in response to the questionsposed here. What you argue for is far less important than how you argue for it. I am looking forhow thoroughly you conceptualize and analyze an issue area and, then, argue aboutappropriate state action.Your essay should be no longer than seven pages, typed double-spaced in 12 point font andwith standard one-inch margins. Your name, PID, and TA name should be on the top left of pageone. No title page, please.

Overview of the Assignment:We began the quarter discussing the nature of states and governance, state sovereignty, andcitizenship. We looked at this both historically, as these evolved from ancient forms and norms,and emerged in modern form following World War II, the creation of the United Nations, and thecodification of the several agreements that establish the obligation to protect human rights. Atthe heart of our discussion has been a puzzle: even in very ‘free’ countries where there isresonance between the rights outlined in the UDHR and those of political citizenship, theexpectation of the protection of human rights likely challenges state sovereignty and statecapacity in some way. In doing all the things that it must do in its direction and oversight ofsociety, a state cannot do whatever it wants. By human rights standards, good governance putsprecedence on some policies over others. As has been said in lecture, whether to abide by humanrights norms or not is a policy choice.

Part One:In the first part of the course, we spent a great deal of time talking about state sovereignty,legitimate government as governance of a people, and the obligations that states have foreverything from winning wars to making certain that the institutions of society in all areas arepromoted, protected, and made available to all. To remind yourself of the way we talked aboutthese things:

1) Go back to your lecture notes from Weeks Three through Week Five.

2) Review your reading notes from the chapters assigned in the Donnelly and Whelan—especially chapters 2, 3, 4, 10 and 11.3) Review the argument that Miles Kahler makes about sovereignty in his piece onhumanitarian interventions.

4) Also, attached to this prompt are two pieces by Stephen Krasner about the evolution ofthinking about state sovereignty. The piece titled Think Again is the most recent and is a lessacademic version of the attached journal version, titled Abiding Sovereignty. This latterinfluenced class lectures on the evolution of states and the international system.

Construct an argument about the characteristics of legitimate governance. Think in terms of thefollowing:1) What is a state for and what should it do?2) What are the constraints under which it operates both domestically and internationally?3) What are the normative requirements of legitimacy both domestically andinternationally?4) How do we best measure good governance? In other words, what makes a government agood government and why?

Parts Two, Three and Four: A Free Press, Environmental Rights, LGBTQI RightsYou MUST address ALL three of these issue areas, each in a separate section of your essay.Each presents a different kind of policy challenge for even the best government. The rightsargued for and the opposition they face are both specific and multidimensional. The attachedarticles (and readings assigned in class) are designed to help you think through the inherentmultidimensionality of these rights areas. You may address the details of these articles in youranswer, but a good essay will use them mostly to widen the discussion. The articles areresources, not the point of your essay.

In each section, you must do at least the following:

1) To the fullest extent you are able, explain the specific rights argument. How does thefulfillment of the right and the denial of the right affect an individual human being? Inother words, what is at stake?2) What are the policy challenges faced by governments in addressing these rights claims?3) How should governments balance these claims against other obligations that it carries?4) Are there legitimate governance reasons for denying these rights in part or in theirentirety, and, if so, what are they?

Part Five: ConclusionYour concluding paragraph should return to the topic of legitimate governance—What makes itlegitimate? How does it weigh the rights of minorities over majorities? What is the role of opendebate and inclusive participation?