Foundations of Strategic Studies

4 credits

This course surveys the major contours of intellectual debates and conceptual frameworks that structure the field of international security studies. It introduces students to important strategic thinkers in order to analyze issues in the use of force. Topics include the development of strategic thought, theories on the course of war, the organizational and political nature of militaries, assessment of military effectiveness, and the peculiar problems of nuclear and unconventional warfare. Renumbered from IRGN 442. Students may not receive credit for GPPS 442 and IRGN 442.