For this paper, explain why the United States has more homicides than other industrialized democracies. You want to make a concise yet comprehensive argument: what factors matter—and which do not matter—in explaining America’s relatively high murder rate? 

To answer this question, you must reference (a) the course textbook; and (b) at least three additional peer-review articles or books—a total of four references (minimum). This means that you will have to do research to find relevant articles or books on the topic.

Remember that the paper should offer a comparative analysis. This means that if you argue, for example, that inequality and access to guns are the main factors distinguishing the US from other developed democracies with respect to homicide, you need to provide data on trends in inequality and gun ownership/use for the US in addition to at least 2-3 other societies. Avoid providing information on a particular phenomenon in the US if you don’t also provide information on the same phenomenon as it occurs in the other societies you analyze. Remember also that the paper is focused on “industrialized democracies.” So, you wouldn’t include countries like Somalia or Afghanistan, or even China (which is not a democracy). Instead, you could compare the US to most European societies, Canada, Australia, Japan, or a few others that fit the criteria.

Make sure you incorporate discussion of some key theories discussed in the text (chapters 1-2) and in class with regard to the issue of homicide in America and globally.

Format:

The paper should be a minimum of 4-5 pages (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins). This does not include the title page and reference page. In the title page, indicate your year, major, and student number. The paper must be typed and submitted as a Word document. Plagiarism report. 

APA format