Policy Lab: Peacebuilding, Conflict Stabilization and Counterterrorism in Fragile States

(1 Credit Hour) · Undergraduate

This course will examine the compounding challenges and injustices affecting the most fragile countries in the world, including extreme poverty, forced migration, climate change, violent conflict, economic collapse, and corruption. Students will analyze diplomatic, development and national security policies of the United States to respond. One specific policy students will study is the Global Fragility Act of 2019 now being implemented by the Department of State and other federal agencies. In addition, the curriculum will incorporate the foreign policy priorities of the newly formed 117th Congress and the White House, as either the 2nd term of President Trump or the new Biden Administration roll out its goals for the next four years. Students will navigate the legal, political and media contexts in which policies to address global fragility are shaped; analyze the policymaking process within the U.S.; and employ strategies for communicating about policy. Understanding the role of evidence-based research to influence interagency policy will be a primary focus. In this regard, students will sharpen their ability to analyze primary source policy documents and formulate key questions at the center of global policy development. They will grapple with existing and proposed laws, evaluate current policy debates, and produce policy materials. This course is not a lecture class. It will be interactive, include instruction based on current and historical policy initiatives, and welcome guest speakers who are current or former practitioners in US government agencies, international humanitarian organizations, multilateral organizations, or policy think tanks.