Alternative Analytic Techniques for International Affairs

3 units

This course instills analytic rigor and imagination into the consideration of our most pressing national security issues. Based on structured analytic techniques employed in the Intelligence Community, students in this course will hone critical thinking skills, consider overlooked ideas and develop unique perspectives. Students will be given the tools to recognize and overcome biases, mental shortcuts and unstated assumptions, and challenge conventional wisdom, through analysis of US foreign and counter-terrorism policy and current events in the Middle East, China and North Korea.