Sovereignty: Introduction
Learning Objectives
- Students will understand the concept of sovereignty and the difference between a nation and a country.
- Students will understand nationalism and its positives and negatives.
Materials
Homework
- Skim The European Union: the World’s Biggest Sovereignty Experiment (2,500 words/ 8 ½ pages)
- Complete Part 1 of guided reading handout.
Class One
- (15 Minutes) Review HW: Part 1 of guided reading handout.
- Watch What Is Sovereignty? (4:40) and answer Part 2 of the guided reading handout
- Write: Definition of sovereignty on the board
- (10 Minutes) Guided Practice: Is It Sovereign? Worksheet (attached below)
- Complete the worksheet in groups and review answers
- (20 minutes) Jigsaw: In groups, students will read How Self-Determination Shaped the Modern World to complete Guided Reading Handout Part 3. All groups will fill out the first five questions (general overview questions). Each group will then read and take notes on the guided reading handout to share with classmates:
- Group 1: Ambazonia, Crimea, Syrian Kurdistan
- Group 2: Xinjiang, Kashmir, Catalonia
- Group 3: Scotland, Iraqi Kurdistan, Papua, Palestine
Homework
- Complete part 4 of guided reading handout.
Class Two
- (15 Minutes) Review HW: Part 4 of guided reading handout.
- (25 Minutes) Class Debate: Is nationalism, on balance, a force for good in the world?
- Assign positions: Half the class takes the affirmative, the other half the negative. If you have a large class, consider creating four groups, and run two debates consecutively with the students not participating choosing a winner
- Prepare: Give students a few minutes to prepare, organizing their arguments and supporting examples
- Discuss: Have students give an opening statement, several points in favor of their side, a few rebuttals, and a closing statement
- (5 Minutes) Wrap Up/ Assign HW: Have students write a short essay making their own argument about nationalism. Optionally require them to do research on an example that has not already been covered in the reading or class debate.
Vocabulary
- agricultural subsidies
state funding, loans, tax breaks, or other forms of support given to agricultural businesses by their respective governments.
- alliance
an official partnership between two or more parties based on cooperation in pursuit of a common goal, generally involving security or defense.
- emissions
refers to the amount of greenhouse gases an entity, such as a country or company, produces.
- greenhouse gases
gases that absorb heat in the atmosphere and re-emit it back toward earth, causing a warming effect.
- gross domestic product
a measure of a country’s economic output determined by the value of goods and services it produces in a given year.
- International Monetary Fund
a multilateral financial institution established in 1944 that exists to foster stability and growth in the international monetary system.
- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
a military alliance among thirty-two countries on both sides of the Atlantic. Article 5 of the treaty that created NATO establishes its core principle of collective defense,” which commits member countries to defend each other if attacked.
- norm
commonly accepted standard of behavior. Because international law is not always binding, international relations is highly influenced by norms.
- pandemic
disease outbreak that has reached at least several countries, affecting a large group of people.
- referendum
a vote, typically organized by a government, in which participants approve or reject a certain policy proposal. This is a form of direct democracy, in which citizens themselves (as opposed to elected representatives) make a policy decision.
- refugee
defined by the UN Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, as someone who has fled conflict or persecution in their home country, has a reasonable fear that returning would be unsafe, and is protected by international law. In many countries, the term refugee also refers to someone who has sought and received asylum in a new country.
- sanction
a tool of statecraft, frequently involving economic measures such as asset freezes and trade restrictions, used to exact a certain behavior or outcome from another party.
- tariff
a tax on goods arriving from a foreign country, generally used as a tool of trade and foreign policy to penalize adversaries or favor allies or domestic producers.
- World Bank
a multilateral financial institution created in 1944 that funds long-term economic development of low- and middle-income countries through loans and grants for policy reforms and for projects in infrastructure, health, education, governance, and other areas.
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
an international institution created in 1995 that regulates trade between nations. A replacement for the 1947 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the WTO manages the rules of international trade and attempts to ensure fair and equitable treatment for its 164 members. It does this by conducting negotiations, lowering trade barriers, and settling disputes. As of 2018, the WTO had 164 members.