ST Diplomacy in Practice

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

This course will use a practitioner's lens to explore how U.S. policymakers evaluate and devise diplomatic strategies about science and technology issues. This course will also examine the changing role of international institutions in science and technology diplomacy. Students will gain an understanding about how issues such as non-proliferation, energy security, pandemic response, and emerging technologies have come to play a larger role in U.S. diplomacy and crisis response. The course will also examine the U.S. national security decision-making process and the role of various U.S. government entities in developing and implementing diplomatic approaches to S&T issues. We will discuss the formal and informal processes that drive national security decision-making using real-world examples involving science and technology situations. We will explore crises involving science and technology issues and evaluate the U.S. response This course will be highly participatory. Students will be expected to absorb large amounts of information in order to draft concise policy recommendations and present them in class. The course will include interagency simulations in which students will role-play senior officials managing the response to a science & technology related national security challenge.