US National Security Policy

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor, Undergraduate

Every administration comes to power believing that it controls the destiny of US national security policy. It anticipates it will redefine America's national interests, lay out a multi-year strategy for protecting those interests, and pursue its domestic and international agenda. That illusion usually lasts a month or two. Then reality hits. This course examines that reality. This course does not catalog the potential threats to America or examine US allies and interests in different regions. Threats, allies, and interests are ever-changing. Instead, the course examines the policy strategies, structures and tools that frame the US response, regardless of the threat, allies, or interests involved. The objective of the course is to equip students with the intellectual foundation and technical competence required to analyze contemporary US national security issues and solutions. The course emphasizes defense and other coercive means of foreign policy and examines the role of force as an instrument of statecraft. This course is designed for students who may work in the US national security establishment.