Example international relations dissertation topic 9:

An unknown and unpredictable entity: The problem of North Korea within an international relations context.

As a secretive, largely closed, militaristic communist state which has recently undergone a change in leadership, it can be readily advanced that North Korea possesses a variety of problems for both students and practitioners of International Relations. Indeed, reports of imminent war between North and South Korea, as well as concerns that North Korea has not only the capability to make nuclear weapons but also the ability to launch them to a distance that includes American territory, suggests that there may be little to distinguish between fact, rhetoric and scaremongering. This dissertation uses qualitative and quantitative research techniques through the conducting of primary interviews with residents, dissidents and embassy staff, to attempt to shed light on the reality of the situation in North Korea and, through so doing, to allay Western fears as to the ‘danger’ that North Korea represents.

Suggested initial topic reading:

• Cohen, J.M. (2012). ‘Confronting the real missile threat: Iran or North Korea’, Research Paper, Army War College. Carlisle Barracks, PA: US Army.
• Sattler, M. (2010). Can the United States cap North Korea’s nuclear weapon by using the policy of benign-neglect? Master’s thesis, Georgetown University.
• Snyder, S. (2009). ‘North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests and six-party talks: Where do we go from here?’, Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade. Washington, DC: The Asia Foundation.