Example international relations dissertation topic 3:

A survey of the effects of sanctions upon the ordinary citizens of Iran.

The rial (Iran’s currency) has plummeted from 10,500 to the US Dollar last year to a present value in the region of 37,500. The sanctions imposed upon Iran by the EU in January have resulted in the Iranian government being unable to earn foreign currency and as a result the number of bankruptcies amongst Iranian firms is rising. As UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon has noted, ‘the sanctions have had significant effects on the general population, including an escalation in inflation, a rise in commodities and energy costs, an increase in the rate of unemployment and a shortage of necessary items, including medicine’ (de Pasquale, 2012). This dissertation not only questions whether it is morally appropriate to continue to enforce sanctions that harm ordinary people but also evaluates the effects that those sanctions are having on ordinary Iranians’ perceptions of both their own government and those inflicting the sanctions. Accordingly, therefore, with primary research for this study being carried out within Iran itself, this is a dissertation that benefits from a research approach that utilises both primary and secondary data.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• De Pasquale, R. (2012). ‘UN Chief says sanctions harm Iranians’, ABC News, October 6th 2012. Available at: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/chief-sanctions-harm-iranians-17409619#.UHiRwlEmyZQ .
• Peksen, D. (2011). ‘Economic sanctions and human security: The public health effect of economic sanctions’, Foreign Policy Analysis, Vol. 7, pp. 237-251.
• Takeyh, R. and Maloney, S. (2011). ‘The self-limiting success of Iran sanctions’, International Affairs, Vol. 87, pp. 1297-1312.