Anarchy on the Easter Islands: Caused or Constituted? (Essay Sample)

Easter Island in context: From paradise to calamity [Video file]. (2002).Retrieved from https://secure.films.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=30091&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
This video investigates the decline and fall of civilization on the Easter Islands. The video will provide all of the background material for the Assignment, “Anarchy on the Easter Islands: Caused or Constituted?” Closed captions are available by clicking the CC button in the video window.
https://fod.infobase.com/OnDemandEmbed.aspx?Token=30091&aid=18596&Plt=FOD&loid=0&w=640&h=480&ref=
Shira, A. (2016, March 3). What Really Happened On Easter Island? [Video recording]. DNews. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEp8qesTVg0 
The Week Four Assignment: 
1. Must be at least 600 words (not including title and reference pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the APA Essay Checklist for Students.
3. Must use at least three appropriate sources.
a. These should include the assigned video, the course text, and any of the required or recommended resources for this week.
4. Must document all sources in APA style as outlined in the In-Text Citation Guide.
5. Must include an introductory paragraph with a succinct thesis statement.
6. Must include a conclusion that summarizes the main points and restates the thesis.
Draft Outline: 
1. Introduction of thesis and main points.
2. Main point 1: Explanation of the anarchy that developed on the Easter Islands using a rationalist argument.
3. Main point 2: Explanation of the anarchy that developed on the Easter Islands using a constructivist argument
4. Main point 3: Assessment of which argument provides the most logical explanation for the anarchical events on the Easter Islands.
5. Conclusion: Review of thesis and main points 
Anarchy on the Easter Islands: Caused or Constituted?
Purpose: The primary goal of this Assignment is to explore another very important concept in international relations discussed during this course: the logic of international interactions. Two logic-based arguments commonly used in social science research are rationalist (logic of consequence) and constructivist (logic of appropriateness). In particular, you will investigate the progression towards anarchy on the Easter Islands and determine if the anarchy was caused or constituted.
Reflect: When Dutch sailors landed on Easter Island, they found a warlike people recovering from anarchy and cannibalism. What had gone wrong with a civilization that had lived in peace for nearly a thousand years? Claudio Cristino, the island’s resident archaeologist; William Liller, of the Easter Island Foundation; Patricia Vargas Casanova, of the Easter Island Studies Institute at the University of Chile; and others offer their views on moai, rongorongo tablets, the Birdman Cult, and the devastating effects of overpopulation, to provide a captivating glimpse of a complex culture driven to the brink of extinction. An unresolved question concerning the anarchy on the Easter Islands involves the logical arguments explaining why and how it occurred or was the anarchy caused or constituted. Rationalists would argue that the anarchy resulted from a change in capabilities or material resources, while constructivists would argue that the anarchy was a result of changed ideas, values, or norms. Both schools of thoughts are able to explain the changes on the islands but one of them may make a stronger case in explaining anarchy.
In Chapter 8, we learned that for the realist perspective, the source of globalization lies in hegemony, which provides the stability necessary for global markets – a role now filled by the United States. For the liberal perspective, technological developments and open markets themselves have driven the phenomenon of globalization; the information revolution liberalized trade relations, and new institutional structures have worked together to bind the world in complex interdependence. The identity perspective, finally, emphasizes the impact of ideas such as liberalism and nationalism, as well as the battle of economic ideas that raged in the latter half of the twenty-first century (Nau, 2015) 
Chapter 9 introduces an identity perspective on development, by asking who or what it is that develops when we talk about international development. The chapter then reviews the major development histories of four global regions in some detail, and discusses the sorts of economic policies that characterized each region at different points in time. A key analytical focus of the chapter is understanding why development patterns have been so different across different regions. (Nau, 2015) 
Finally, Chapter 10 discusses issues of inequality, imperialism, and injustice from a critical theory perspective. The chapter reviews the main difference between the mainstream (realist, liberal, and identity) and critical theory perspectives, according to critical theorists. In terms of development, critical theory perspectives argue that mainstream perspectives wrongly identify causal factors for success instead of looking at the totality of social, political, and economic forces. Specifically, mainstream perspectives understand development as following an exclusively Western model, while failing to account for the fact that colonialism, imperialism, and exploitation were the reasons the Western model succeeded. Today, the interests of advanced countries and MNCs perpetuate the differences in development across countries. The chapter introduces the idea that at least some of the reasons for comparative advantage, which are emphasized as creating wealth in the liberal perspective, actually have their origins in the history of exploitation by European states and their successors. World Systems theory is introduced in the chapter. The chapter also gives consideration to the ways that marginalized social groups, including women and migrants, can are often exploited in economic relationships, further impairing equitable, broad based development. (Nau, 2015)