|
MSFS-627 Foundations of International Security
Spring only
This course will introduce fundamental concepts, theories, and practices of international security to graduate level students with no prior security studies background.
International security encompasses every aspect of politics and governance—alliances, political economy, diplomacy, international organizations, domestic politics, budgetary politics, political thought, etc.—as well as host of others disciplines, to include (but certainly not limited to) history, geography, psychology, economics, physics, philosophy, biology, engineering, and anthropology. But while understanding international security requires a foundation in and an appreciation of all these disciplines, the study of war stands apart as a distinct and unique challenge for the student, the scholar, and the practitioner.
The prevention, conduct, and resolution of war are the essential, unmistakable first challenges of every state. Meeting that challenge may involve mobilization and belligerence, surrender and submission, or alliance and interdependence. The choices nation make may result in national survival, hegemony, or extinction. Analogies and parallels made from age to age, but there are unique dimensions of each war dependent on the context of time and place that make it extremely risky to rely on one fixed and unchanging set of rules and procedures.
Despite the absence of a magic template, there are procedures for identifying, analyzing, balancing, and applying all the elements of a state’s strengths and weakness. The data will change, the priority of outcomes will shift, and circumstances will vary. What will remain constant is the need for a comprehensive national strategy that reflects dangers as well as opportunities. Therefore, the study of strategy and war will serve as the foundation for this semester’s intellectual journey as we wrestle with the subject of international security.
Credits: 3
Prerequisites: None
|
 |
More information
Look for this course in the schedule of classes.
The academic department web site for this program may provide other details about this course.
|
