Overview of Course

Students will be immersed in the foundational literature in the security studies discipline, including Carl von Clausewitz, Sun Tzu, and Thucydides. Students will examine key international security dilemmas throughout the post-World War II environment, particularly focusing on those relevant to the ports of call. Students will learn about the global security landscape, major security-related trends since World War II, and explore different paradigms for understanding the future security environment. In exploring trends in international security, students will learn a variety of tools to help them assess the future security environment and explore the spectrum of conflict in a rigorous manner. The class will employ a wide range of tools for analyzing global security challenges, including simulations and red-teaming. Using these tools, and building on literature about decision-making, students will draft defense strategies from different national perspectives. They will be able to identify trends in international security and different apertures through which to examine the potential trajectories of these trends. This appreciation for historic, contemporary, and future security dilemmas will help students understand and effectively shape the international security landscape.