Write a short term paper analyzing and comparing the geopolitical codes of the United States as presented in the National Security Strategy of 2015 and 2017.

Write a short term paper analyzing and comparing the geopolitical codes of the United States as presented in the National Security Strategy of 2015 and 2017.

Objectives
The purpose of this assignment is to assess student understanding of

Geopolitical codes and scales;
Textual analysis of geopolitical documents;
Contemporary US representations of allies and interests, threats and adversaries.
Guidance
Students should read the US National Security Strategy documents from 2015 (last Obama administration) and 2017 (first Trump administration) and evaluate the geopolitical codes they present. Drawing from your textbook, a geopolitical code conveys a state’s evaluation of its role in the world, including the geographic assumptions used to identify its interests, allies, adversaries, and threats.

In evaluating these documents, consider the explicit or implicit political geography they present about the following: What national interests does the NSS identify? What allies are identified? What adversaries, enemies, and threats are identified? What evidence does each NSS provide for how the current administration sees the world’s peoples in relation to itself, whether on political, racial/ethnic, or ideological terms? Comparing the two documents, what major codes do they have in common and what major codes make them distinct? What is the proportion of emphasis that each NSS gives to military security, economic interests, and social issues?

Evaluation
Most points will be weighted towards the depth of analytical rigor, i.e., using specific text as evidence for dispassionate analytical insights in identifying and comparing geopolitical codes. Points will also be assigned for basic writing skills, style, and mechanics (citations, page numbers, etc).