Title for Policy Memo question: What policy would you recommend in response to the North Korean nuclear program? Please make a recommendation for the United States government.
What is a policy memo?
A policy memo is a clear, concise and structured paper providing analysis and recommendations on a particular problem to a specific recipient (a decision-maker). Policy memos are meant to inform decision‐makers in order to assist them in taking a stance or making a choice on a specific question.
Policy memos should provide: (a) a very short summary clarifying the main issue tackled in the memo and its main recommendation; (b) background information on the issue; (c) an assessment of the policy options available; (d) conclusion presenting the main recommendation and how to implement it. Students should make a clear argument in favour of one of the options reviewed, and support this choice with facts, reasoning, and the refutation of other options.
Similarities and differences with an academic essay
As with an academic essay, it is a structured, evidence‐based analysis resting on a review of the main facts and on recent studies on the subject and defending a clear argument. Contrary to an academic essay, a policy memo requires reviewing actionable policy options and providing a concrete policy recommendation to a specific audience. Although it can draw on relevant IR works, it does not explicitly require you to engage with IR theories.
Structure and Indicative Length of Each Section
When drafting your policy memo, please follow the structure below:
Executive Summary (5% of your policy memo): this section should include the bottom line up-front (BLUF): state both the problem and the recommendation of the memo.
Background Information Section (35%): this section should provide concise and targeted factual, historical, technical information that is relevant to the problem at stake, the analysis of the policy options and the recommendation. This section should help introduce the subject, define the main problem for the selected recipient, and make clear the interests that are at stake. Information should be pared down to an essential core specifically relevant to the problem at stake and choice to be made. It should consist of detailed facts and meaningful data.
Policy Options (40%): this section should present and analyse all available policy options to choose from (including the recommended option). It should assess the pros and cons of each option, showing how your choice of policy option provides a better alternative. Students should start by spelling out the assumptions and criteria guiding their assessment (e.g. assessing the impact, feasibility and costs at the political, security, economic, social level; the impact on different stakeholders, etc.). A good policy option section provides a clear, detailed, and sophisticated analysis of each option and pre-empts possible questions.
Recommendation (20%): this section should reinstate the main recommendation and further elaborate on its advantages and how it helps the recipient tackle the problem at stake. A good recommendation section anticipates questions and considers the likely unintended consequences of proposed policy. This section should also identify concrete steps on how to pursue this policy.
Writing Style
Policy memos are written for intelligent non‐specialists. The reader needs to be able to reach a conclusion after a single reading. In that sense, policy memos should be very carefully drafted. They need to be clear, focused, succinct, well organized and easy to read. Present ideas systematically and in a logical order. Use active verbs and avoid unnecessary jargon, generalizations or logical fallacies. In general, one point should be made per sentence, and one argument should be developed per paragraph. Bullet points are allowed in policy memos but should be used with moderation.Sources: Please use these, plus other appropriate sources.
Joint Military Exercises and Crisis Dynamics on the Korean Peninsula in Journal of Conflict Resolution
- Article by Jordan Bernhardt; Lauren Sukin
Revisiting Osirak: Preventive Attacks and Nuclear Proliferation Risks in International Security
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Do Arms Control Treaties Work? Assessing the Effectiveness of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treatyin International Studies Quarterly
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The Secret Success of Nonproliferation Sanctions in International Organization
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Collusion and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime in The Journal of Politics
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Justice and Fairness in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime in Ethics & International Affairs
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Inside multilateralism: The six‐party talks in The Washington Quarterly
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Attacking the Atom: Does Bombing Nuclear Facilities Affect Proliferation? in Journal of Strategic Studies
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