The Return of Great Powers: Navigating a New and Uncertain World Order

Undergraduate

This course is a study of a new, unstable world order, with the great power US and its allies in Europe and Asia competing with great power adversaries China and Russia, and their allies Iran and North Korea. This new order coincides with a decline in US influence, with its position as sole superpower now past, and under a US president who is redefining his nation’s security and trade relationships with allies and adversaries. This course escapes the ivory tower for the many fronts of this emerging conflict – from the wars in Ukraine and Iran to the growing threat to Taiwan to new “great games” among the powers in the Arctic and the Global South. It also explores the many new technological fronts in cyberspace, outer space, and the rapidly expanding fields of drone warfare and AI - many of which didn’t exist in the last Cold War. We approach this course as witnesses to history unfolding before our eyes, and as aspiring policymakers, discussing ways to reduce the risk this new Cold War turns hot. For the US and its allies, this is a 1939 moment, as this century’s despots attempt to remake the world by force of arms. For all nations, it is a test of their ability to defend strategic interests while avoiding a devastating great power war. SO M 9:25am-11:20am