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TEACHING
Undergraduate Classes
National Security (Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016)
This course invites students to think social-scientifically about questions of national security. What are the causes of war? What are possible paths to peace? How do state, sub-state and non-state-actors use violence or the threat of it? How has U.S. Grand Strategy evolved over the past century? What are momentarily the most pressing national security challenges? What tools exists to counter these challenges? The course will examine these questions using a variety of different theoretical frameworks as well as analytical techniques. The first part of the course provides an historical perspective on U.S. national security challenges: what were the causes of WW1, WW2 and the Cold War? How did these events shape U.S. national security doctrine? The second part examines topics of national security that gained prominence particularly after the end of the Cold War e.g., ethnic and civil wars, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian interventions and economic sanctions. The third part offers a geographical overview of today's most demanding security challenges. We will study conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eurasia and their impact on U.S. national security considerations. Finally, we will look at "non-traditional" security challenges such as cyber, human and environmental security.
Syllabus
Military Interventions (Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Fall 2016)
Military interventions are the most costly foreign policy tool extent. The purpose of this research seminar is to examine systematically and comparatively why military interventions are launched and what results they produce on the ground. The seminar, in particular, tries to find answers to the following questions: (1) What were the broad policy arguments in favor of or opposed to a particular intervention? (2) Who were the principal players arguing for intervention? (3) What role did international institutions play in the set-up of the intervention? (4) What specific kinds of military force proved particularly useful in the actual intervention? (6) In each case, do we judge the intervention a success or failure, and how do we explain the success or failure?
Syllabus
The EU in International Affairs (Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
The European Union (EU) is unique in world history. Never before have twenty-eight sovereign states cooperated more intensely on political, economic, social, judicial and security affairs than is currently the case under the European Union umbrella. This course examines how this "multi-state" entity operates in international affairs. What are the power assets of the European Union? How do EU member states cooperate in economic affairs? How do they project power in security affairs? What does the EU do to fight ISIS, to resolve the conflict in Ukraine or to deal with the current refugee crisis? How does it cooperate with the United States? Is this cooperation successful? What does the future hold for the EU?
Syllabus
Graduate Classes
International Security (Spring 2015, Spring 2017)
This class addresses fundamental questions of International Security. What are the causes of war? What are possible paths to peace? How do state, sub-state and non-state-actors use violence or the threat of it? How has U.S. Grand Strategy evolved over the past century? What are momentarily the most pressing national security challenges? What tools exists to counter these challenges?
Syllabus
National Security (Fall 2014, Fall 2015, Fall 2016)
This course invites students to think social-scientifically about questions of national security. What are the causes of war? What are possible paths to peace? How do state, sub-state and non-state-actors use violence or the threat of it? How has U.S. Grand Strategy evolved over the past century? What are momentarily the most pressing national security challenges? What tools exists to counter these challenges? The course will examine these questions using a variety of different theoretical frameworks as well as analytical techniques. The first part of the course provides an historical perspective on U.S. national security challenges: what were the causes of WW1, WW2 and the Cold War? How did these events shape U.S. national security doctrine? The second part examines topics of national security that gained prominence particularly after the end of the Cold War e.g., ethnic and civil wars, terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian interventions and economic sanctions. The third part offers a geographical overview of today's most demanding security challenges. We will study conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Eurasia and their impact on U.S. national security considerations. Finally, we will look at "non-traditional" security challenges such as cyber, human and environmental security.
Syllabus
Military Interventions (Fall 2014, Spring 2016, Fall 2016)
Military interventions are the most costly foreign policy tool extent. The purpose of this research seminar is to examine systematically and comparatively why military interventions are launched and what results they produce on the ground. The seminar, in particular, tries to find answers to the following questions: (1) What were the broad policy arguments in favor of or opposed to a particular intervention? (2) Who were the principal players arguing for intervention? (3) What role did international institutions play in the set-up of the intervention? (4) What specific kinds of military force proved particularly useful in the actual intervention? (6) In each case, do we judge the intervention a success or failure, and how do we explain the success or failure?
Syllabus
The EU in International Affairs (Spring 2015, Spring 2016, Spring 2017)
The European Union (EU) is unique in world history. Never before have twenty-eight sovereign states cooperated more intensely on political, economic, social, judicial and security affairs than is currently the case under the European Union umbrella. This course examines how this "multi-state" entity operates in international affairs. What are the power assets of the European Union? How do EU member states cooperate in economic affairs? How do they project power in security affairs? What does the EU do to fight ISIS, to resolve the conflict in Ukraine or to deal with the current refugee crisis? How does it cooperate with the United States? Is this cooperation successful? What does the future hold for the EU?
Syllabus
Graduate Classes
International Security (Spring 2015, Spring 2017)
This class addresses fundamental questions of International Security. What are the causes of war? What are possible paths to peace? How do state, sub-state and non-state-actors use violence or the threat of it? How has U.S. Grand Strategy evolved over the past century? What are momentarily the most pressing national security challenges? What tools exists to counter these challenges?
Syllabus