Adv Tech/Compet Nat Security

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

In this course, we will examine the role of advanced technologies in national security. We will first look at the drivers of technology development in the US military beginning with the World Wars and then dive deep into capability areas that have been, and continue to be, investment areas across the national security ecosystem. Capability areas will include microelectronics, 5G, quantum science, hypersonics, biotechnology, space and others. We will discuss what these capabilities are and what may be the national security implications to policy, defense planning, force structure, and resource management. In the final section of this course, we will focus on how technologies fit within a strategic technology competition framework. Within this framework, we will look at the role of the private sector and universities in technology development and market dynamics. We conclude the course with an examination of how other countries such as China and Russia develop advanced technologies. We will consider how these actors impact policy and national security decisions in the near and long term.