Cutting edge curriculum

Explores the rapidly changing and highly complex geopolitical, technological and strategic context within which modern conflict occurs. Introduces the profound social, political, economic and cultural implications of the changing nature of war and conflict. Provides an overview of the historical background alongside some of the classic philosophical and military-strategic conceptions of war. 

Reexamines several fundamental themes that run through the history of war and strategy, and discusses the increasing importance of nonmilitary 'soft power' in managing conflict situations. Also introduces the importance of regional knowledge in conflict as a critical operational competence.

Surveys the key issues and ideas associated with the future of warfare, including how the future of war has been visualized over time, new causes and changing domains of conflict, emerging technologies, competing US and adversary doctrines, lessons learned from recent conflicts and potential scenarios of future wars.

Critically assesses different definitions of war and armed conflict. Engages key theories used to understand conflict including realism, neorealism, liberalism and constructivism. Considers core issues in the field, linking empirical studies with explanations for what drives, sustains and resolves conflict. 

Reviews key elements of the law of war, also known as international humanitarian law (IHL) and the law of armed conflict (LOAC) and reviews the systems through which the law of war is enforced, considering basic theoretical and practical issues regarding compliance.

Builds a foundational understanding of the complex system of formal and informal actors and structural forces that shape U.S. security policy. Examines the role domestic politics plays in the production of policy decisions and analyzes the critical institutions, actors, and relationships.

Offers several approaches to understanding the global politics of security, examining the structure of international security institutions and actors including nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations' Security Council, peacekeeping missions, regional organizations, private military and intelligence contractors, and corporations.

Reviews key theories on the causes, justifications and structures of political conflict and the use of violence, including the problem of social order and collective action, and its link to the use of force.

Examines the implications of accelerating changes in military and security technologies, fueled by rapid developments in five core technology systems: nanotechnology, biotechnology, information and communications technology (ICT), robotics and applied cognitive science. Introduces the idea of ‘revolutions in military affairs,’ framing discussions about the strategic implications of new technologies from drones to cyber.

Provides a critical introduction to the field of post-conflict reconstruction and transitional justice, reviewing the tense and uncertain nature of post-conflict environments, and considering the difficulties of governance and reconstruction in the aftermath of conflict.

The rules-based international system built by the United States is now under threat in three regions – Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Each of these challenges has in common the need for a sophisticated mixture of deterrence and diplomacy. This course examines the dynamics that drive today’s power competitions and dissects cases of competition, conflict, and warfare in the current era. 

Governments, corporations, institutions, and people all use information to advance or hide their interests or actions. Major events often span borders and involve multiple organizations and communities. To assemble all the puzzle pieces into a coherent picture, investigators need to be skilled hunters of digital information. In this course, you will learn how to think like a digital detective through the systematic use of tools, tricks and methods for sleuthing out who, what, when, where, how and why in the post-truth world. 

The dense, cluttered, heavily populated, highly connected urban environment has become the default setting for much of conflict—whether understood as warfare, social conflict, crime, or economic and political unrest—in the 21st century. Through this course, students will develop an understanding of key ideas in urban security, as well as current debates around the future of conflict in cities. 

Frames the link between global stability, national security, and economics in the context of competition between the world’s predominant power and its rising one. Examines the ways this competition plays out through geoeconomics, weaponized interdependence, economic statecraft, and more. Also explores economic security risks in key sectors, including leading edge technology, food supply, rare earth elements, and energy. 

Since the end of the Cold War the US and the West have maintained an unequivocal dominance of the conventional military realm. Today, would-be adversaries have adapted the ways in which they seek strategic geopolitical objectives. This course provides a framework for understanding adaptation and innovation, illustrating them through case studies including China, Russia, Iran, and more.

Explores the impact of armed conflict on civilian populations and in turn how harm to civilians can impact security. Examines the interventions, policies, and practices designed to protect civilians and consider what the future holds for waging war in, around, and among non-combatants.

Provides an overview of biosecurity with a focus on its relationship to broad national and international security issues and to fundamental shifts in conceptualizing safety and resilience in a globally interconnected world. 

Examines the major theoretical and policy-oriented questions arising from the post-Cold War emergence of a global movement for criminal accountability in the wake of ethnic conflict, armed conflict, and mass atrocity.

Reviews the politics, history and culture of “Greater Eurasia," treating this region as an extended "encounter zone" between imperial powers and the western world. Armed conflict over borders and sovereignty has redrawn alliances, displaced populations and fueled corruption. This course examines the linkages, points of comparison, and attributes that drive diplomacy, trade and conflict within this critical area and beyond its borders.