National Security Decision Making

IGA 280 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course examines the process and substance of U.S. national security decision-making in the contemporary era.  Students will analyze the inner workings of the National Security Council and interagency process, exploring how departments and agencies compete and collaborate to shape policy. Through case studies in crisis response, strategic planning, relationship management with allies and competitors, and the nexus of domestic/economic statecraft and national security, the course illuminates the who and how of decision making in US national security.

Students will learn how the system works (or doesn’t work), and the key assumptions, perspectives, debates, and options that shape decision-making in the national security space. They will see how imperfect people with imperfect information reach imperfect results.

This course will be practice-oriented and draw heavily from real examples across multiple administrations.  Students will participate in exercises that place them in the seat of key participants in the decision-making process.  There will be a midterm writing assignment and a final exam.