National Security

This course is situated at the intersection of American politics and international relations, and examines national security policy making and implementation, and the political-domestic and global-interactions that determine grand strategy and security politics in an advanced democracy. Learn about the constitutional authority of the U.S. congress, presidency, and executive agencies (such as the U.S. Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, and Central Intelligence Agency) and how they defend national interests.

This course focuses on complex factors involved with protecting national interests and security. Learn about the economic, geo-political, sociological, and regional cultural factors that drive nations and non-state actors to seek local and international partnerships and/or initiate and engage in conflict. In addition, you study the role of the military in non-combat humanitarian aid, disaster relief, and evacuation operations as you become familiar with the Diplomatic, Information, Military, and Economic (DIME) framework of national power.

Discover your own ethical type as you learn about issues of moral judgment in public service. Take a closer look at case studies of wrongful obedience, loyal dissent, and whistleblowing; accountability and mitigation; human and ecological interventions in foreign and international affairs; and the benefits of diversity and inclusion in government agencies and nonprofit organizations and businesses with a global reach.

Analyze key actors and trends in international relations during and after the end of the Cold War. Learn how cooperation changed to rivalry by studying the Balkans Wars; Islamic fundamentalism and the War on Terror; competition between Russia, China, and the United States; national response to terrorist threats and global health and climate dilemmas; and the role of the United States in world politics and the global economy. Students choose this course or Order and Disorder in the Middle East and North Africa. Pending approval, another international relations course might satisfy this requirement.

This course explores the evolution of national security as a concept, a legal framework, and a redirection of national policies and priorities. The political, economic, and practical issues of implementation are examined. The course provides an overview of the history of the terrorist threat, United States responses, and an introduction to fundamental policy legislation and documents, such as national security strategies, homeland security decision directives, the National Response Plan, and National Incident Management System. The Department of Homeland Security model of planning, protecting, responding, and recovering from a natural disaster and terrorist attacks is also described.