- INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AND SECURITY (IAS)
Capabilities and Limitations of Military Power in Dealing with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)
The seminar provides a context for rethinking the application of military power in dealing with ISIS, and challenges students to apply policy analysis and development tools in order to offer creative strategic solutions to this evolving violent threat. Emphasis will be put on critical reading, analytic thinking, seminar discussion, and policy writing.
From the assessment of the current security challenges, students will be able to define problems systematically, draw conclusions and propose their recommendations by inspecting the following set of questions: Is it possible to defeat ISIS solely through the application of military power? If not, which non-military instruments of national power should be considered to address this problem and how would they be best applied? Students will leave the seminar with a short policy presentation.
Religion, Culture, and International Conflict after 9/11
The seminar takes a close look at a Conversation with Samuel P. Huntington on Religion, Culture and International Relations after 9/11. Students will study and evaluate the existing theoretical explanations in order to account in what way, if any, have religion and culture shaped international conflict after September 11? In what ways, if any, does the structure of global power define the lines of conflict after 9/11? Does 9/11 and its aftermath provide evidence for Samuel Huntington’s claim that “Islam” and “the West” are incompatible and bound to come into conflict? Is Islam particularly resistant to secularization? Students will leave the seminar with a provocative and rigorous overview of an evolving and fascinating field of inquiry.
Terrorist Decision-Making
Seminar explores the underlying logic of terrorist decision-making. Emphasis will be put on three sets of theories students will study and evaluate: strategic theories, in which the decision to employ terrorism is an instrument of rational choice; organizational theories, in which the sources of violence are found in the internal dynamics of the terrorist group and psychological theories in which the decision to employ terrorism is explained within the individual psychological framework. Students will study and explore select literature on terrorist decision-making and will answer the following questions: What are the strategic considerations terrorist groups employ? What does inform their strategic choices? How different types of constraints influence those choices? Students will familiarize with the logic of terrorist organization decision-making and identify what are the limitations, if any, of employing terror as a weapon of choice?
WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden: Global Media and National Security
In what way, if any, have technology and news media transformed the geopolitical structure of the world we live in? The seminar explores the existing tension between technological empowerment of public opinion and national security with WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden as the most prominent examples. How should we read the recent events and how do we reconcile issues of freedom of speech with national security? Students will critically explore this complex question in the context of WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden. Seminar will ask students to consider and examine different points of view and offer their input in this provocative global debate by trying to advocate for the right balance.
Why Sudden Attacks Succeed Despite Intelligence Warnings?
Are surprise attacks inevitable? Why do they succeed despite the existing intelligence warnings? Historical cases show that warning is the secondary element to the problem of surprise and although is not crucial for a successful response, it is a necessary one. The seminar explores communication delays, deception, false alarms, and doctrinal innovations. Students will be asked to explore and compare cases of intelligence failure and success and answer the following set of questions: Why surprise attack seldom fails? What accounts for the mechanism between intelligence, warring and response? What are the limitations of the successful prediction of the attack? Students will leave the seminar with a solid understanding of the nature of surprise attacks in intelligence failure.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has made NATO’s summit in Wales the most important since the end of the cold war. The crisis in Ukraine poses a real test to the relevance and effectiveness of NATO alliance. The seminar will acquaint students with a current political structure of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and ask them to examine the following set of questions: How NATO should respond to current threats? Should the United States and NATO establish permanent bases in Eastern Europe despite its 1997 agreement with Russia to refrain from doing so? Can NATO adapt to the changing geopolitical and military landscape they envision in the future? What are NATO’s capabilities to respond effectively to emerging threats in an unpredictable and potentially volatile security environment?
The War of Ideas: Can Jihadists ideas be killed?
Can ideas die? How has the killing or capture of jihadist thinkers by affected the uptake and influence of their ideas? Can counterterrorists expect to “kill” these ideas and ideologies by targeting their authors? Or does this targeting breathe new life into these ideas and make them more influential than before? Some commentators proclaim that the killings of Bin Laden and other jihadist thinkers over the past decade have been a serious blow for Al-Qaeda, while others warn that such targeting strengthens the appeal of radical jihadist ideology by elevating its most vociferous proponents to the status of martyrs.
Influencing Policy: The Art of Political Commentary
In this course, students will study how to write an analytical and informed political commentary ( OpEd) on the pressing issues of International Affairs and Security. Prior to the seminar, students will be asked to choose an event, country or a region of the political relevance and submit commentary of 800 to 1000 words. Concise writing and an ability to clearly present and communicate ideas is the paramount for any student interested in global affairs irrespective of the career path they choose: from international organizations to governments to working for NSA.
- POLITICS, LAW AND ECONOMICS (PLE)
Is there an American nationalism?
What does American national identity mean and how has it changed over time? Is there such a thing as American nationalism? The purpose of this seminar is to provide students with an understanding of current explanations of nationalism and identity-formation, and the background knowledge and tools with which to evaluate them. Students enrolling in this seminar will be able to compare and differentiate between types of nationalism and determine the features of American national identity. Students will be asked to examine and discuss the following questions and concepts: In what way, if any, is nationalism in America understood and defined? Why is it different from the European forms of nationalism? Where does American nationalism derive its meaning? Is nationalism in America a private enterprise?
America’s military and economic strength and global political influence can no doubt generate strong national pride. However, what, if anything, makes American nationalism truly distinctive? Who Are We and what are the core values of the American national identity?
Reporting on War: The Power of Media to Shape and Influence Public Understanding of Violent Conflict
The seminar examines the impact of media in the construction of public understanding of violent conflict and its effect on the foreign policy process. Students enrolling in this seminar will develop critical thinking skills in relation to international news and in depth understanding of how media shapes responses to global events. We will begin with a typology of policy-media effects and will move on to examine the impact of media coverage on public understanding of violent conflict by answering the following set of questions: In what way, if any, do global media outlets shape public debate in terms of setting agendas and focusing public interest on particular subjects? What do we mean by the “CNN effect”? Do global media outlets have an ability to affect the conduct of U.S. diplomacy and foreign policy? Are there any examples in which media coverage can limit understanding of violent conflict and the way the countries are perceived when it comes to their political, legal and economic polices?
The Rise of Religion in Global Politics
The seminar offers an in depth survey and examination of the nexus between religion and global politics. Students enrolling in this seminar will be able to explain the theory of secularization, and cite evidence and present the facts associated with the rise of religion in global politics. We will start with an assessment of the secularization theory and an overview of its main proponents from the Western intellectual school of thought. What does it mean to be secular? How should we define this ever-fleeting term: ideologically, prescriptively or descriptively? What does secularism imply: neutrality or hostility to religion? Students will analyze and discuss the relationship between religion and global politics by looking at the following set of questions: In what way if any, does religion influence politics, law and economics within the national, international, and global contexts? Students will leave the seminar with a provocative and rigorous overview of an evolving and fascinating field of inquiry.
The Responsibility to Protect: Moral dilemmas between illegal and legitimate actions in political decision-making
The course explores the foundations, origins and contemporary challenges related to the “Responsibility to Protect” R2P doctrine and challenges students to analyze and respond to moral dilemmas between illegal and legitimate actions in political decision-making. The “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P), is examined in reference to its adoption by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, and with respect to the way in which it has been put into effect in the context of NATO’s bombing campaign in Kosovo in 1999. Students will be asked to critically evaluate and analyze cases where R2P was applied and cases where it was not applied in order to identify the underlying ethical and legal issues embedded in political decision making. What should states do when there is a conflict between the provisions of international law and what morality dictates? Does the “just cause” necessarily imply the morality of states or are they pursuing self-interest that might happen to benefit others in particular cases?
The Idea of Europe and Challenges to EU Governance
The seminar explores the nexus between the European identity and the challenges to EU Governance within the current global context. What are the key ideas in the developing movement of a European self-understanding and identity? What Europe is: an instrument of political organization or a community of value and interest? Is Europe a network rather than a state? The seminar will introduce students to basic concepts of the European identity formation and will give them analytical tools useful for the exploration of current challenges the EU is facing, in particular in the domain of economic governance, the EU’s security and defense policies as well as Justice and Home Affairs. Students will leave the seminar with an understanding of the key concepts and controversies surrounding European governance. The seminar will give them essential background for deeper understanding of contemporary European affairs.
