Graduate Course Descriptions

Fall 2025

IAFF 6101: IA Cornerstone

The International Affairs Cornerstone is required for all incoming students in the Elliott School’s International Affairs and Global Communications graduate programs. The course introduces students to a variety of ways of thinking about international affairs; explores some of today’s major areas of international policy, while demonstrating the value of international relations theory for analyzing them; and provides students with an appreciation of the range of issues that future practitioners in international affairs will grapple with in the 21st century. The course seeks to ensure that all IA and Global Comms students have a solid foundation in international relations theory, and can use foundational theory to understand and analyze contemporary policy issues. The course also exposes incoming students to several major issues that are currently on the international affairs agenda, including war, conflict, and crises; international trade and finance; international aid and development; gender; global health and the environment; and emerging technology, among many others. Through this course, students will gain a broad view of the field of international affairs and an introduction to the theories with which to understand it.

IAFF 6118: Gender and Security

This course begins with an overview of the gender and security agenda. We examine key concepts that frame and explain gender inequalities, we assess key factors and actors that shape gender and security dynamics, and we analyze the evolution of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) movement. The core of the course is an issue-by-issue examination of the gender dimensions of contemporary security problems. This includes both traditional security issues (armed conflict and peace operations, extremism and terrorism, the roles of women and LGBTQ+ people in military organizations) and human security concerns (development, environmental challenges, humanitarian emergencies and pandemics, human rights and governance). The course concludes with a review of the drivers of gender and security problems, the obstacles to addressing these challenges, and strategies for advancing gender and security priorities, including the adoption of feminist foreign policies.

IAFF 6118: International Law and the Use of Force

The use of force is one of the key focal points at which international law and politics intersect. This course provides an overview of the evolving norms on the legality of war, theories of just war, and the laws of war and wars of aggression, as well as important case studies including the use of force for humanitarian intervention and emerging issues in cyber-security, space law, and automated weapons. Readings will emphasize both the legal and political aspects of the use of force in the contemporary international system, including current uses of force such as the war in Ukraine. The class will examine questions such as: What are the consequences of using force without regard for the law? Is international law adequate to reflect the needs of contemporary politics? Is there a uniform understanding of the meaning of “force” in the international system? Students will discuss and understand the difficult issues involved in using force both effectively and legitimately given the increasing real-time coverage of politics and war around the globe, and examine the consequences of the expansion of actors on the international stage in which even private individuals can have major impacts.

IAFF 6118: Diplomacy and Statecraft

The course asks students to analyze the nature, capabilities, and limitations of the different instruments of national power. Students will evaluate pivotal foreign policy decisions made over the past sixty years to determine whether policymakers successfully orchestrated instruments of statecraft and the degree to which policymakers considered second-order consequences (if they did at all). Sharpening students’ ability to understand the nature of diplomacy; to assess what constitutes successful statecraft; to identify U.S. interests and priorities; and to ask the right questions about policy choices, including longer-term unintended consequences, are key objectives of the course. Another important goal is to hone analytical, written, and oral communications skills through student presentations, writing assignments, and active class discussion. The instructor is a former career diplomat who served as a U.S. Ambassador and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State.

IAFF 6118: Drivers & Impacts of Climate Change

This course offers an in-depth exploration of how global inequality and social norms associated with gender, race, ethnicity, and economic status,shape both the causes and impacts of this crisis. While climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns, it is driven by political, economic and social factors, disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable populations—those least responsible for its causes. The course is organized around four modules. First, we will review the key debates , theories and approaches to climate change including economic and critical theories, decolonial, feminist, and security approaches. Second, we will analyze the key drivers of climate change, including increased greenhouse gas emissions, urbanization, and increasing energy demands. Third, we will examine climate change impacts, particularly with regard to conflict and stability, food systems, water and housing, and global health. Fourth, we will examine national, regional and global policy responses, including approaches to climate justice. Case studies will provide practical insights into the drivers, impacts and policies to deal with climate change. We will pay particular attention to the creation of inclusive policies that promote social inclusion and sustainable development. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the tools to develop climate assessments, design and implement policies that address climate injustices and contribute to a fairer, more sustainable future.

IAFF 6118: Economic Statecraft

This course examines the economic measures that states deploy to advance their foreign policy and national security interests. The tools of economic statecraft—to include sanctions, tariffs, export controls, investment restrictions, and others—are go-to policy options for political leaders in times of international crisis. The frequent use of these economic measures, however, raises questions about their scope and efficacy in the face of global challenges. This course evaluates notable applications of economic statecraft and analyzes their effects, both intended and unintended, on foreign policy outcomes. Special attention will be devoted to financial sanctions, which have proliferated in use and complexity over the past decade. The course also considers positive economic inducements such as preferential trade agreements, bilateral lending, and other forms of assistance that states use to complement their economic statecraft toolkits. Since the study of economic statecraft sits at the nexus of multiple academic disciplines—political science, economics, security studies, etc.—the course material reflects the variety of cases and methods that scholars employ to analyze the relationship between economic power and foreign policy. Throughout the course, students will be equipped with the skills needed to engage with economic statecraft concepts and integrate this knowledge into broader debates about diplomacy, development, and military interventions.

IAFF 6118: Qualitative Methods for Applied and Academic Research

From global pandemics to local community dynamics, today's critical issues demand deeper understanding beyond numerical data. Qualitative research—specifically "Big Q" methods that prioritize in-depth, contextual analysis over surface-level measurements—reveals the human experiences and contextual nuances that quantitative studies often miss. Students will engage in hands-on collaborative pilot studies, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis to gain practical experience and present their study results to the class. As the course unfolds, students will expand their methodological toolkit, learning additional data collection approaches including qualitative surveys, focus groups, participant observation, and archival research. By the semester's end, each student will develop an independent research proposal on a topic of their choosing, potentially laying the groundwork for future academic or professional projects. Throughout the course, students will explore emerging questions about AI's role in qualitative research and its implications for graduate learning . At least one class meeting will be held live online during our regularly scheduled class time. Attendance at all sessions is crucial to the collaborative learning process.

IAFF 6118: Global Justice

Within the domestic context, we often ask ourselves questions about justice: Is a proposed law fair? What would be a just tax policy? As a citizen, how should I engage in the politics of my country? What values—freedom? equality? democracy?—should our political and social institutions promote or embody? In this class, we will address these kinds of questions as they arise in the global context: What would make the world order just? What principles and values should guide states’ foreign policy? How should individuals and other non-state actors engage in global politics? What do we owe to people in other countries? We will read political theory scholarship on global justice from a variety of different perspectives, and use the ideas therein to analyze real-world political issues such as poverty, humanitarian intervention, the refugee crisis, and globalization. By the end of the term, you will be able to make coherent, informed arguments of your own (both orally and in writing) related to (some of) the major ethical debates surrounding global politics today.

IAFF 6118: Global Energy Trade Price & Risk Management

This course entails a deep dive into the physical and financial energy markets associated with pricing, trading, and hedging crude oil, refined petroleum projects, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, NGLs, energy transition minerals, and electricity. The course is open to students pursuing degrees in international affairs, business and public policy. Students will learn how to buy and sell energy commodities in the physical markets and how energy derivatives (futures, options, and swaps) influence global energy prices, flows, and risk management. Students will learn about energy supply chains, supply and demand, the terminology used to buy/sell physical energy commodities, and how to use energy derivatives to hedge and speculate on price movement. The instructor will also cover how the Russia-Ukraine War, Hamas-Israel War, and energy policies and actions by the US, EU, UK, and OPEC+ BRIC countries influence global energy markets energy investments. Students will explore their country or regional interests through a Group presentation and separate paper or market report.

IAFF 6138: External Development Financing

Institutions, instruments, and theory of external development financing; financial flows to developing countries; development finance and the role of international and regional development banks; policies, methods, and practices of the World Bank, the IMF, and others; technical assistance, training, capacity building, and role of institutions in sustained development. In Fall 2025, the course is offered by Jesse Corradi, who will present a robust picture of the development finance ecosystem and actors from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Selected classes will feature speakers from the community of professionals in finance for development, which will allow students to meet industry specialists. Teams of student consultants will work on projects to develop an investment vehicle or financing structure to address a particular development finance challenge.

IAFF 6121: International Development Seminar Cornerstone Seminar

The course examines the theoretical foundations behind the practice of international development, the multiple perspectives in the field, and the challenges of development implementation. In exploring the theory, structure, and practice of international development, the course looks at a variety of viewpoints that are intended to challenge students’ assumptions about not only their own aspirations, but also about the concepts of development and progress in general. In the process, the course also prepares students to think ethically about international development and to carry out meaningful desk-based research and analysis. In doing so, the seminar is intended to push students to think about ways they can improve the practice of international development as they embark upon a career in the field.

IAFF 6137: IDS Pre-Capstone Workshop

“Capstone” refers to the high point, or the crowning achievement. The IDS Capstone project is the culminating experience of the IDS program. It is your chance to integrate all that you have learned, apply it to a real-world situation, and demonstrate to a potential employer what you know and what you know how to do. The capstone project, a pro-bono consultancy, will afford you an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the work of a leading development organization (e.g., a government agency, international organization, NGO, or consulting firm). The pre-capstone workshop is an early step in this process. We will confirm together that you have formed your capstone team, completed a team agreement, and drafted a cover letter and prospectus for reaching out to potential clients. With our support, you will devote most of your time this Fall to securing a client and negotiating a Terms of Reference (ToR) with that client for work to be done over the Winter Break and during the Spring Semester. As soon as possible, you will also begin to undertake research related to your potential client’s needs, in preparation for fulfilling that ToR and conducting related field work as relevant.

IAFF 6138: Locally-led Development

When we think about and imagine humanitarian assistance, we often envision international actors like the Red Cross, United Nations (UN) agencies, or international non-governmental organizations like Doctors Without Borders flying in to provide life-saving aid to communities affected by conflict and natural and climate-related disasters. Yet, the majority of humanitarian workers are neighbors and community organizations living and working in crisis settings. Our approach in this course will be to examine humanitarian action from the perspective of local, national, and regional actors working in crisis settings. This perspective is even more necessary given the US foreign aid freeze and recent funding cuts by several other Western donor countries. What are the geopolitics of humanitarian aid? What impacts will aid withdrawals have on the global humanitarian infrastructure and on local communities who lost vital programming? What can we learn from South-South cooperation on humanitarian assistance? What role do donors from the Gulf States and BRICS play and how might they fill gaps left by the US withdrawal? We will also consider the significant reform movement undertaken by the signatories of the UN’s Grand Bargain which articulated the vision to make humanitarian action “as local as possible, as international as necessary.

IAFF 6138: MEL for International Development Programs

Nearly half of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — lives on less than $2.50 a day. For over five decades, various donors have been promoting much needed international development programs globally. The support from donors ranges from food programs to health care to governance to education. How effective are international development programs? How do you show whether a program is improving people’s lives? What can you do to prevent a $100 million program from becoming a resounding failure? In this entry-level course, you will explore key approaches to measure the results of international development programs and critically consider evaluation methodologies to determine whether they are working to meet the needs of communities and people. In addition, you will be able to determine how to learn from success and failure, apply and integrate approaches from other disciplines, use data as part of management practices, and suggest adaptations to improve program implementation. Throughout this course, you will develop your own Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan for a real-world program; these kinds of MEL Plans are now a standard requirement in most international development programs.

IAFF 6138: Gender, Disaster & Development

Disasters can affect any household, community, or nation although will not do so equally. With climate change, the hazards that can lead to disasters have increased in frequency and range and, in many parts of the world, intensity. Such disasters have differential impacts and relative levels of vulnerability and resilience. Climate change-related disasters and their effects are of major concern to the international community that seeks to support adaptation and sustainability and to address insecurity and inequality. “Gender, Disaster, and Development” examines international development research, practice, and theory regarding the gendered and intersectional issues of disasters and climate change.

IAFF 6138: Private Sector Development

The private sector plays a pivotal role in enhancing productivity and providing capital - which are primary drivers for economic growth – and creating jobs which is important for most developing countries with young populations. However, the growth of the private sector has not always resulted in better social development outcomes. This course will review country experiences with private sector development seeking to support broader societal goals. Private investors consider a wide spectrum of Government policies and behaviors which influence the costs of doing business, policy-related risks and barriers to competition. These include formal rules and actual practice in areas as diverse as: security and property rights, business regulation and taxation, financial sector, infrastructure and labor markets. Since the importance of each area as a constraint varies based upon firm characteristics and constraints change over time, successful private sector development programs have been designed as sustained engagements. This is the central focus of the course, i.e., understanding the keys to success and pitfalls to avoid in private sector development programs. In a shifting development funding landscape, donor countries and multilateral institutions have played an increasing role in private sector development programs. The course will review support for policy dialogue, Technical Assistance, public investments, public-private partnerships and concessional funding for the private sector. The course is designed to combine theoretical underpinnings with practical knowledge drawing on the over three decades of experience of the instructor – including at the World Bank Group - and other experts.

IAFF 6141: International Science & Tech Policy Cornerstone

This course provides a comprehensive overview of the policy issues related to the support, use, management, and regulation of science and technology. It addresses US domestic as well as international issues, is concerned with governmental policies as well as non-governmental decisions, and it is focused on both the economics and politics of science and technology issues. In today’s world, scientific discoveries and technological innovations influence almost every aspect of human existence. Many changes induced by these innovations have been extremely positive, bringing advances in health, communications, material wealth, and quality of life. At the same time, Science and Technology have helped create apparently intractable problems, including new risks to human health, pollution of the natural environment, and the existence of weapons capable of mass destruction. Given all of these impacts, making effective and fair choices regarding technologically complex issues is one of the most challenging tasks of modern governance.

IAFF 6145: U.S. Space Policy

This course will address international space policy issues facing the United States and place them in context with broader technological advances and the changing strategic environment. The course will address current bureaucratic and regulatory issues facing U.S. space programs with regard to dual-use technologies, including export controls, spectrum management, and licensing of commercial remote sensing systems. Conflicts over dual-use technologies, such as space launch, remote sensing, satellite navigation, and communications, will be examined for their implications for a range of national interests. The course will also address strategic choices facing other nations in space activities, including dependence on U.S., European, and Russian space capabilities, developing indigenous space programs, and use of commercial space capabilities.

IAFF 6148: Space and National Security

Recent military operations conducted by the United States and others demonstrate the growing efficacy of space systems and highlight their increasing importance in global security dynamics. Enhancing space security has been an imperative for the United States for at least a generation as space has become an increasingly congested, contested, and competitive domain. Accelerating Chinese and Russian counter space capability development requires the United States to consider options to develop a more lethal, resilient, and agile force better able to outpace adversary threats. Important new space security structures such as the Space Force are addressing these challenges through competitive endurance, an approach that seeks to avoid operational surprise, deny adversaries first mover advantages, and prepare responsible counter space campaigns to prevent adversaries from leveraging space-enabled targeting of our forces. Our seminar examines these, and other issues associated with U.S. policy, strategy, leadership, management, and organization for the national security uses of space.

IAFF 6158: Economics of Technological Change

This course provides an overview of important issues related to technological change and innovation that have attracted the attention of economists up to the present time. Among all social sciences, economics may be argued to have taken the longest and broadest interest in technological advancement and innovation. The specific assumptions and methodologies of mainstream economic analysis have, however, been vigorously criticized more recently for failing to deal with the sources of technological advancement. Criticism has basically coalesced on two fronts. First, it is argued that mainstream economics has not paid adequate attention to the institutional setup supporting innovation and economic growth. Second, it is argued that an overly mechanistic approach has failed to take into account the evolutionary processes involved in scientific and technological advancement. The course attempts to provide a balanced view, taking into account both mainstream and neo-institutional/evolutionary approaches as well as expanding to the appraisal of the sources of new technology.

IAFF 6161: International Security

This course surveys the dynamic and deeply important field of international security. It is a required, cornerstone course for students in the Elliott School’s M.A. program in Security Policy Studies (SPS). The course begins, in Part 1, with an overview of the major theoretical approaches to the field of international security. Part 2 then examines key contemporary issues related to international order and organized violence, including great power rivalry, warfare, coercion, international security institutions, weapons technologies, and international conflict management. In Part 3, the course surveys key global and transnational security challenges, including those stemming from nonstate armed groups such as terrorists and criminal organizations; environmental, ecological and energy issues; emerging technologies; as well as pandemics and public health.

IAFF 6163: Transitional Security & Illicit Finance

Transnational threat actors exploit the globalization of commodity and capital flows to carry out illicit activities, raise revenue, and move and hide funds. Their operations adversely affect human, national, and international security as well as the integrity of the global financial system. Illicit networks cannot function without money, and the international community has adopted a range of tools to combat their financial schemes and mechanisms. This course will examine the character of illicit networks’ financial operations and how they intersect with other transnational trends that threaten security. It will also evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of economic and financial countermeasures relative to other policy tools for disrupting illicit networks, applying coercive pressure, and supporting conflict resolution.

IAFF 6165: Fundamentals of Intelligence

This graduate-level seminar will discuss the basics of intelligence collection, production, and analysis and provide an introduction to the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC), the authorities under which the IC operates, its role in informing U.S. national security and foreign policy, its role in implementing policy decisions, and the formation of policy and laws that guide the IC. The class will examine the IC in the context of historical, current, and expected future scenarios, and will discuss historic and potential future changes in how the IC informs and implements policy, as well as how oversight is conducted. In particular, the class will discuss the expanded role of the IC, both analytically and operationally, in the post-9/11 world, as well as the impact of the Wikileaks, Snowden, and other unauthorized disclosures in recent years.

IAFF 6171: Intro to Conflict Resolution

In all human societies, conflict is an integral part of daily life, at personal, communal, national and global levels. Conflict can be constructive, focusing attention on neglected voices or social injustice, and driving cultural and political change. It can also be destructive, damaging relationships, polarizing societies or escalating into violence and war. In our increasingly interconnected yet polarizing world, it is crucial to develop effective methods to understand the sources and dynamics of conflicts, and to deal with conflict productively.This course is designed to familiarize students with the interdisciplinary field of conflict analysis and resolution, providing an overview of core concepts of contemporary theory and practice. The course will examine frameworks for analyzing the origins and processes of social and political conflict, and leading practical approaches to the conduct and evaluation of conflict resolution interventions. Our study will focus on intergroup and international levels of analysis, highlighting collective struggles (armed and un-armed) over ideology and power, sovereignty and self-determination, while highlighting the roles of culture, gender, religion, identity, power, relational dynamics and social structure. The first half of the course emphasizes conflict analysis; the second half emphasizes approaches to conflict resolution; throughout the semester several case studies will serve as examples and to anchor the discussions around real world situations.

IAFF 6173: Security and Development

What is the impact of war on society and how can international development practitioners, diplomats, and security actors collaborate with communities and states to build back better? Fragility is multi-dimensional and solutions must be equally holistic to be effective. Transitional states are crowded places as local, regional, and international actors rush in to help, profit, gain influence, and or spoil reform efforts. With distinct values, capabilities, and perspectives, these external inputs must be aligned with local realities, capacities, and aspirations. Through this course, you will learn and apply a set of practical tools to develop international development interventions that first and foremost do no harm, and at their best, achieve sustainable, demand-driven impact that positively transforms the lives of those who have lived with war. Equipped with field-based case studies and real world professional experience; you’ll have a credible basis for pursuing a career in a transitional environment.

IAFF 6186: Cybersecurity

This course will provide an overview of current issues in the realm of cybersecurity, focusing on cybersecurity strategy, threats, conﬂict and policy. We will begin with an understanding of the power inherent in cyberspace and consider the policy issues facing the civilian, military, intelligence and private business sectors in dealing with oﬀensive and defensive cyber activity. Through the use of case studies, we will examine previous and ongoing cyber conﬂicts to understand their impacts on international relations. We will analyze the roles of several diﬀerent types of actors in cybersecurity including state actors, non-state actors such as criminal and terror groups and private sector responses. The course will conclude with a simulation of a cyber incident for which students will provide a final presentation on their responses and “lessons learned”.

IAFF 6186: Emerging Threats

This MA seminar course provides a survey of emerging technology threats that are likely to have a significant impact on national security and global security dynamics, with a particular emphasis on Great Power Competition and the application of technology in the military domain. It is a required course for the “Science & Technology'' concentration in the Elliott School’s Security Policy Studies MA program. Hence, it pays special attention to a range of issues where science and technology play a major role. Topics covered include how to think about technological change; revolutions in military affairs; conflict in the “gray zone;” technology diplomacy; nuclear weapons; cyberspace; advances in robotics and autonomous weapons systems; Artificial Intelligence and machine learning; as well as security challenges related to space, biotechnology, and quantum technologies. A scientific and technical background is not required but will enhance understanding of some issues. For each issue, we will analyze the politics of scientific and technological innovation by asking: What are the most relevant scientific and technological developments? Who benefits from these developments, and who loses out? What are the key drivers of change and who are the most salient actors involved? What risks and threats do these developments pose for security policies at the national and global levels? How should security policies be reformed in response to these developments?

IAFF 6186: Political Violence & Terrorism

What motivates individuals to engage in terrorism? Why do some violent national movements succeed or fail? Why do some political movements decide to use terrorism and others do not? Is terrorism effective? This course covers the causes, conduct, and consequences of political violence and terrorism, explores why the impacts of terrorism outweigh the material significance of actual attacks, and surveys methods and theories of countering terrorism and violent extremism. In the process, the course covers the definition of terrorism and terrorism types, it explores variation both in time and space, and shows perspectives from both practitioners and researchers of terrorism. In studying political violence, the course surveys some advanced analytic methods used in political science and intelligence analysis, including forecasting and structured analytic techniques. Students will come away from this course with a clear understanding of what terrorism is and how to effectively analyze it in a variety of policy, foreign relations, and transnational security contexts.

IAFF 6186: Russia & International Security

What are the sources of Russian conduct? This course facilitates students answering this question by gaining a holistic understanding of the influences on Russia’s policy choices in the context of international security so they can more effectively contribute to relevant public and policy discourse. The course will draw on an eclectic but not arbitrary selection of work by historians, cultural anthropologists, international relations, and political science theorists, economists, fiction authors, artists, and ordinary citizens. Every class will collectively build a foundational capability to comprehend Russia's behavior in the context of International Security in depth and from varying perspectives. Since this course is ambitious in scope and does not have prerequisites, it focuses first on gaining a comprehensive mastery of the chronology of Russia’s evolution as a nation state, the unique historical and geopolitical circumstances and narratives that continue to inform Russian security policy behavior and decision-making, and the orientation, capability, and capacity of the contemporary Russian national security state.

IAFF 6186: U.S. Grand Strategy

What should the United States do in the world? This course examines U.S. grand strategy, meaning the economic, diplomatic, and politico-military means that the state can employ to pursue its principal interests. The course first assesses the components of grand strategy: what are US interests, the means to achieve them, and the challenges to doing so. It then analyzes recent US grand strategies—the Cold War and 5 subsequent US administrations (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden). Finally, the course evaluates three principal options as the basis for grand strategic debates today. Whatever your passion or specialty in global affairs, this course gives both the framework within which it will be pursued, and the trade-offs that will have to be considered. It's the big picture for the United States' role in the world.

IAFF 6186: U.S. National Security

This seminar is a graduate survey course designed to examine the interests, actors, and processes involved in the making of US national security. We will explore key national security issues confronting US policymakers through the use of multimedia materials, discussions, assignments, and a crisis simulation. Topics include conceptual foundations of national security, grand strategy, national security actors and institutions, and selected topics of U.S. national security, such as nuclear proliferation, economic security, and foreign interventions. The course presumes familiarity with American politics and US history, as in-depth analysis of these topics will occur. Students are encouraged to keep up with relevant world events to facilitate discussion and their assessment of US national security policy. By the end of the semester, students should be able to engage, understand, articulate and explain ideas and arguments about the US national security process and the complexity of American strategic interests and decision-making processes.

IAFF 6186: Transnational Organized Crime

Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) is a graduate-level survey course that examines a variety of transnational criminal organizations and their illicit activities (e.g., money laundering, illicit trade, corruption, environmental crimes, drug trafficking, human trafficking, migrant smuggling, etc.). The course will focus on the historical, sociological, political, and economic factors relating to transnational criminal organizations and broad categories of organized crime/illicit trade. Throughout the course, there will be discussions on potential policy responses and their effectiveness in combating these actors and criminal behaviors. Students will be exposed to multidisciplinary, transnational organized crime literature and apply it to contemporary, transnational threats.

IAFF 6186: The Analysis of Military Operation

This MA seminar course introduces students to what militaries are, what technologies they make use of, and, most importantly, how they operate in war. It begins by providing students with the vocabulary necessary to discuss defense and military issues, covering the basics of military organizations and technologies. It then introduces the basic tools for the analysis of conventional military operations, followed by the application of these analytical tools to land, maritime, air, and joint military operations. The course also covers the analysis of “non-traditional” military operations, such as counterinsurgency, stability operations, and humanitarian intervention. The course ends with a look forward, considering how emerging technologies might influence conventional military operations in the years ahead. Through this course, students will gain, not only the fluency to comfortably debate and discuss military affairs, but, more crucially, a set of skills with which to systematically analyze military operations and strategies.

IAFF 6186: Insurgency & Counterinsurgency

This course examines the dynamics of insurgency and counterinsurgency, and aims to familiarize students with the nature, dimensions and history of insurgency and counterinsurgency. The course introduces concepts, theories and analytic frameworks related to insurgency and counterinsurgency, and considers a range of issues to enable a comprehensive understanding of the evolution of insurgency strategy and tactics, as well as counterinsurgency doctrine. Issues examined include, how insurgency differs from other kinds of warfare, sources of insurgency, as well, the conditions under which insurgencies succeed or fail. Students will come away with deeper knowledge of insurgency and counterinsurgency through case studies across various geographies. The course will also develop understanding of other related topics, such as the relationship between conflict, security and economic development, stabilization and peacebuilding, and conflict resolution. We consider challenges faced by states in responding to insurgencies, policy solutions for different types of conflicts and what can be learned for future challenges in the contemporary era.

IAFF 6186: US Special Operations

This seminar is designed as a graduate course to examine the use of U.S. Special Operations Forces in pursuit of a broad range of national security objectives. Taught by a retired Army officer and veteran of both wars in Iraq who is a longtime student of Irregular Warfare, the course explores both historical and contemporary debates over Irregular Warfare and the use of Special Operations Forces. Although primarily focused upon U.S. Special Operations from World War II to the present, the course will also briefly delve into the origins of Special Operations in other countries. Questions and topics to be discussed include: what are special operations; what are the different types of U.S. Special Operations Forces; what are the different roles and missions of each force element; what are the differences between regular and irregular warfare; how have Special Operations historically been used; how will Special Operations be used in the future; and what organizational and cultural challenges face the future force. These topics are introduced to students using multiple heuristic tools, including lectures, discussions, case studies, policy debates, and guest speakers.

IAFF 6186: WMD and Arms Control

The international security landscape has gone through significant changes in the past few years. Traditional ways of addressing challenges to international security, for example, international treaties, multilateral institutions, and sanctions, are all undergoing changes, to either adopt new approaches or adjust existing approaches to combat the new geopolitical landscape, new actors, new domains and new technologies. This course will discuss options for meeting these new challenges, using both traditional and new tools.

IAFF 6198: CRYPTO AND DIGITAL CURRENCIES

Taking stock of the recent literature on the future of digital money and payments, the course will provide an overview of the potential impact of emerging digital payment technologies across several dimensions—such as efficiency, financial inclusion, macro-financial stability, privacy and security. In this context, it will delve into the economic and geopolitical motives for central bank digital currencies and their implications for international security and the international monetary system, while discussing the role of policies in reaping their inherent benefits while addressing associated challenges and risks

IAFF 6198: DIGITAL TRADE AND GEOPOLITICS

Digital trade is increasingly central to international commerce. Beginning with online commercial transactions in the early days of the Internet, digital trade now extends to the cutting edge of technology and the heart of geopolitics, from cross-border delivery of popular consumer applications to development of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI). The course will draw on scholarly literature, case studies, and interaction with expert practitioners from the fields of digital trade, data flows, and technology policy.

In this course, students will learn about:

How international trade rules address—and struggle to address—digital trade in multilateral forums such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as bilateral and regional agreements.
The political economy of digital trade in international forums like the G7, WTO, and OECD, including an analysis of the actors and forces that shape these discussions.
Digital trade’s role in contemporary geopolitics, particularly regarding national competitiveness and "digital sovereignty."
The intersection between digital trade rules, domestic policy areas like data privacy and cybersecurity, and mechanisms to bridge the two, such as the Global Cross-Border Privacy Rules (CBPR) system.
The role of cross-border trade and data flows in the development of emerging technologies like AI.
The relationship between digital trade rules and the governance of AI.

IAFF 6208: Media and Foreign Policy

The effects of U.S. media on U.S. and foreign governments, and of foreign media on the U.S.; effects of other countries’ media on each other; the impact of the Internet, inexpensive global phoning, CNN, al Jazeera, and other newer technologies and networks on the stuff of international relations: diplomacy, military operations, trade negotiations.

IAFF 6318: Chinese Foreign Policy

This graduate-level course covers the foreign relations of the People’s Republic of China. The temporal focus of the course is on the contemporary (post-1949) period. Readings, lectures, and discussion will focus on the sources of China’s international conduct, its interactions with major powers, its relations and neighboring countries, its “footprint” in different regions of the world, the instruments in its foreign policy toolbox, its participation in global governance and international regimes, its national security environment and coercive capabilities, and its soft power. In addition to learning about the substance of these facets of China’s foreign relations and security, the course also seeks to instill several important practical skills to students: critical analysis; forecasting; oral presentation and policy advocacy; teamwork; and primary source research. Different assignments are designed to develop and advance these skills.

IAFF 6318: Contemporary China’s Economy

Is China’s contemporary economy a model of ideal development and nascent global leader, or is it a faltering experiment in hybrid system reform gone awry, or is it yet something else altogether? “Contemporary China’s Economy” will explore the factors and institutions comprising the economy of the People’s Republic of China, and shaping its present and future. Lecture and discussion will be based on English language assigned readings. Students will author and brief analytic projects in a style designed to inform policymakers.

IAFF 6318: Korea-Japan Relations

In this course, we will examine the “history issue” between Japan and the two Koreas in roughly chronological fashion. We will spend two weeks on “ancient history” and the Imjin War, then spend the remainder of the course focused on the 19th and 20th century, as well as contemporary ramifications for this history. The course objectives are as follows:

Effectively situate contemporary Korean-Japanese relations within the broader historical context.
Develop a nuanced understanding of the varying political contexts on the Korean Peninsula and in Japan in which the “history issue” is remembered in order to draw meaningful connections between the past and present.
Relate historical memory and historiography to the fields of international relations and history in order to develop an interdisciplinary toolbox for research and analysis.

IAFF 6318: Women in Asia

This course examines the social, cultural, political, and economic roles of women in Asia in a comparative context, both in terms of historical development (from the mid-19th century to the present) and within different Asian societies. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the class will investigate the place of women in the family and in society, their relationships with one another and with men, and their relationship to politics and the state. By doing so, it will seek to identify major social and institutional constraints on Asian women for expanding their role in their respective societies and to explore both ideas and specific measures to narrow the existing gender gaps in these societies. Emphasis will be placed on China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea, but other countries in Southeast and South Asia will also be examined.

IAFF 6338: Russian Politics & Society War

This class explores in real time how Russia is being transformed by its own full-scale war against Ukraine. The Russian regime has proven more resilient than was expected by Western pundits in terms of its stability, support from the population, ability to withstand the effects of sanctions, and attempts at bypassing international isolation. This class will explore what social sciences and IR tell us about Russia’s transformations both domestically and on the international scene. We will also look at the consequences of the war in Europe, the shifting US foreign policy toward Russia, and the attitudes of the Global South, and discuss how new digital tools such as open-source intelligence (OSINT) help us in breaking through the new Iron Curtain. We will adjust the class depending on the evolution of the conflict and the potentiality of a cease-fire.

IAFF 6338: US-Russia Relations: Global Security

Could “deal-making diplomacy” offer a viable path to resolving the crisis in Ukraine? How have Germany’s energy decisions affected geopolitics in Europe and Eurasia? May the rising Russian-Sino partnership be slowed or even weakened? These are just a few of the pressing questions we will explore in this course. Putin’s war on Ukraine has fundamentally reshaped the world’s strategic landscape, marking the end of the post-Cold War “rules-based” order and ushering in a new era of global uncertainty. This course is designed to equip graduate students with a comprehensive understanding of the primary causes behind these dramatic changes. We will examine the evolution of U.S.-Russia relations and their impact on both countries' domestic and foreign agendas. With a focus on contemporary challenges—geopolitical tensions, military conflicts, cyber warfare, security dilemmas, and economic pressures — we will analyze the fragile balance of power and consider potential future scenarios. These include the prospects for diplomacy, the risks of conflict escalation, and shifting trends in global governance. In this course you will have an opportunity to apply political science theories to real-world foreign policy and security issues; identify the principal drivers of U.S.-Russia interaction within the global security framework; and analyze the roots of the strategic rivalry between Russia and the West, as well as the potential for a renewed détente between Moscow and Washington. Along the way, we will discuss the impact of unprecedented economic sanctions on Russia, assess their effectiveness and the likelihood of their eventual lifting. We will explore the erosion of nuclear arms control treaties, the growing risk of nuclear proliferation, and the shift toward a more precarious era of nuclear uncertainty. This course will challenge you to think critically about the evolving U.S.-Russia relationship and its broader implications for global stability. Through historical analysis, contemporary case studies, and policy evaluation, you will gain insights into the Kremlin’s strategic decision-making and geopolitical behavior, ultimately developing a nuanced perspective on one of the most consequential bilateral dynamics in today’s international system.

IAFF 6338: Nationalism and Nation-Building

This is a class on nationalism, ethnic conflict, and nation-building. The course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the most prominent explanations of the emergence and spread of nationalism across the world and the background knowledge and tools with which to evaluate them. We will discuss the importance of conceptualization in understanding social phenomena and confront terms such as: state, nation, nationalism, patriotism, minorities, identity, ethnicity, religion, class, and race. We will also study the effects of nationalism on political identities, state formation, patterns of political violence, definitions of citizenship and migration policies, public good provision, regime type as well as voting behavior. The course also focuses on nation-building, the various policies nation-states have pursued toward different non-core groups over the 19th and 20th centuries in their efforts to make the borders of the state coincide with that of the nation. State policies have ranged from deportation and killings, to forced assimilation or even accommodation. The main emphasis is to understand the logic behind these policy choices and evaluate their consequences. Using the reading material, we will discuss various research methods (how to collect relevant data) and designs (how to maximize the information we can get from the available data). Issues of falsifiability and external validity of arguments will be discussed. Every student will be required to write a research paper or research design on some aspect of nationalism or nation-building that interests you using primary sources.

IAFF 6358: Democracy Under Siege in Latin America

Over the past decade, democracies across Latin America have faced mounting challenges—from entrenched authoritarianism in Venezuela and Nicaragua to acute constitutional crises in Peru and Ecuador and accelerating erosion in El Salvador and beyond. These developments have led many scholars and observers to warn of a possible third, enduring "counter-wave" of autocratization in the region. Public attitudes reflect the turbulence. Support for democracy dropped from 63% in 2010 to 48% in 2022, before modestly rebounding to 52% in 2024. Meanwhile, indifference to regime type rose from 16% to 28% over the same period, then declined slightly to 25% by 2024. In 2018, a striking 72% of Latin Americans expressed dissatisfaction with the way democracy was functioning—a figure that, while still high, fell to 65% by 2024. These numbers suggest glimmers of hope amidst deep concern. This course explores the root causes and consequences of democratic backsliding in Latin America. Why have certain democracies proven more vulnerable than others? How do economic shocks, institutional fragility, and social polarization contribute to democratic erosion? What are the broader implications for the region—and for global democracy? This course offers students a rigorous, conceptually grounded understanding of the region’s political trajectory. The first half of the semester introduces key theoretical frameworks to analyze democratic decline and resilience. The second half applies these frameworks to in-depth case studies across Latin America, allowing students to critically engage with contemporary events and anticipate future trends.

IAFF 6358: Political Economy of Latin America

This advanced upper-level seminar will focus on the politics of economic policymaking in Latin America, raising the following questions. We will begin with a comprehensive review of Latin America’s successes and failures with “big policymaking ideas” from import-substitution industrialization and the Washington Consensus, to a post-neoliberal emphasis on ‘growth with equity.’ What were the political reasons for adopting each new development model? What were the political and economic obstacles to prosperity? In order to shed light on these issues, students will also compare and contrast country cases of development throughout the region over time, from heterodox experiments in Argentina and Brazil and market-oriented strategies in Chile and Mexico in the 20th century to commodity boom models of economic growth and the re-emergence of state capitalism in the early 21st century. We will also turn outside the region to East Asia to examine the strengths and weaknesses of cross-national comparative development strategies.

IAFF 6358: Security in the Americas

Traditional international relations theories on security tend to focus on external threats and conflicts. Since the 20th century, wars between Latin American states and with states in other regions of the world have become quite rare and those that have occurred were relatively short and bloodless. And yet, 20th century Latin America was rife with internal conflicts and civils wars, and today, the region is ignominiously known as the murder capital of the world due to its remarkably high homicide rates. This course will analyze the concept of security in relation to contemporary Latin America and investigate how security and insecurity is framed and experienced by different actors. We will explore the origins of the current insecurity crisis in Latin America and investigate the various security threats in the region, including criminal, state, corporate, and environmental, as well as focus on specific groups who are predominantly under threat. We will also analyze state responses to high levels of crime and violence with an emphasis on the important role played by the police and the military. Finally, we will examine how non-state actors, such as citizen groups and businesses, have responded to this crisis. The role of the United States will lurk throughout the background of all these units.

IAFF 6378: Political Economy of the Middle East

This course will introduce students to the political foundations of the regional economy of the Middle East & North Africa (MENA). Our approach is first to understand the global economy as a tightly integrated system in which transnational forces impose significant constraints on regions and states. There can be no such thing as an ‘Egyptian economy’ or a ‘Lebanese economy’ that exists independently of global forces like credit rating agencies, transnational agribusiness firms, commodities traders, etc. Once we comprehend that these forces permeate and shape states’ political economies we can then investigate this system in detail from two different angles: 1) how the economy of the MENA region is shaped by encounters with these external actors - colonizing governments, transnational firms, international financial institutions, development agencies, etc. and 2) how the MENA region has in turn impacted the global economy, for example how the region’s agricultural exports subsidize European consumption; how its oil exports influence the US economy; the role of Gulf petrodollars in shaping the world’s financial markets and patterns of Global South indebtedness, etc. We will examine the legacy and ongoing impact on the MENA of Western development and reconstruction agencies and their discourses, with special attention to the MENA’s ecology, its agrarian/rural zones, and how war has shaped patterns of economic and political development. Other important regional actors that will receive attention include MENA militaries, national oil companies, sovereign wealth funds and labor movements. This course will focus on critical (or heterodox) political economy approaches but include overviews of mainstream/orthodox approaches in order to provide an understanding of the evolution of theories and practices of economic development as applied to the MENA.

IAFF 6378: US Foreign Policy of the Middle East

This course examines U.S. engagement in the Middle East since the 1940s by studying the evolution of U.S. policy, reviewing key decisions, and assessing 21st century challenges. Students will build on this foundation to determine what U.S. national security interests are – and what U.S. priorities should be – in this region, and how the current inflection point in the global world order affects them. The course also seeks to provide an analytical framework for better understanding differing perspectives on U.S. policy. Student presentations, writing assignments, and active class discussion will help students improve the analytical, written, and oral communications skills essential for a successful career in international affairs. The instructor is a former career diplomat who served as a U.S. Ambassador and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

IAFF 6385: Africa in Global Geopolitics

This course explores Africa’s role in global geopolitics, focusing on the continent’s interactions with major world powers—including China, Russia, the United States, Gulf States, the European Union and more—as well as evolving intra-African geopolitical power dynamics. We will examine the historical, political, economic, and strategic factors shaping these relationships; the motives and modalities of great power engagement; and how African states are leveraging these dynamics to safeguard their independence, economic sovereignty, and influence in global affairs.

IAFF 6385: Power, Politics, and Development in Africa

Students in this course will explore processes related to development—as both a phenomenon of study, and a field of practice—in Sub-Saharan Africa. Rather than a survey course focused on development projects and sectors on the continent, this course will instead focus on building students’ capacity to model decision-making, strategic interactions, institutional constraints on behavior, and other political and social processes which give rise to development outcomes. These capacities—which will be applicable to work and studies beyond the continent—will be reinforced with examination of both historical and current events. Students will have wide latitude in guiding their study to best meet their interests beyond the core motivating questions of the class, which are: What are the key causal inputs to lagging development in Sub-Saharan Africa, and what is the most impactful means to assess “interventions”?

IAFF 6502: Intro to GIS I

In this course, students will further their knowledge and understanding of how to use geographic information systems (GIS) or mapping software as used in international security and conflict studies. This course will start with installation and initial set up of the open-source GIS program QGIS. It will then explore how GIS is used in conflict studies and the major advantages it provides over non-spatial datasets and analysis. It will then explore the different types of data that can be used in GIS and how to load and manipulate the data. Students will learn how to do basic analyses of the data and produce simple maps for publication. By the end of the course, students will be able to adequately describe how and when to use geospatial data in their analysis, produce basic maps that communicate results, and be prepared for more advanced GIS analysis methods courses.

IAFF 6502: Public Opinion in International Affairs

The goals of the course are to make students conversant in survey research, better consumers of public opinion data and gain the ability to use survey data in their work—all without having to become a statistician! This course will offer specific examples of how public opinion data has been used to inform policymakers. It will provide an overview of the different methods of data collection as well as an introduction to sampling and questionnaire design and quality control

measures. This is followed by comparison of the validity of traditional survey research methods versus the more newly arrived social media sentiment analysis. Students will then be exposed to how data is interpreted and used to form the backbone of pithy and cogent analyses. The course will conclude with an exercise in which students will review a data set and draft a policy memo based on a particular theme.

IAFF 6502: Tableau Data Visualization and Analysis

I have some data, now what!?! This skills course is geared toward students looking to develop fundamental data skills using Tableau. Students will work hands-on with Tableau (using a free Academic License) to analyze several datasets and create various types of visualizations. Along the way, students will be challenged to think about how their visualizations can be improved to communicate their ideas and findings more clearly. While this course is meant to be a gentle introduction to Tableau, even students who already have some experience in Tableau will likely find it rewarding. Not only will this course help you build the foundational skills for evidence-based policy formulation, but it will also make you more marketable. Tableau and data communication skills are in high demand among employers and can help set you apart in your professional career.

IAFF 6502/6503: Negotiation Skills

This course helps students identify those aspects of their negotiating style that stand in the way of maximizing their negotiation outcomes. It is based on classic Interest-Based negotiations theory, with a focus on practical application, then followed by self-reflection. It is a highly interactive course composed almost entirely of a series of group exercises with varying degrees of complexity, and then debriefing of students' performance. Therefore, attendance of all 20 hours of class is mandatory, and there will be minimal presentation of concepts. Students are expected to read the book and other assigned materials uploaded onto the course's Blackboard page BEFORE the first class. Regardless of whether the course is given online or in person, students are expected to come ready with copies of their worksheets and exercises to work with.

IAFF 6503: Defense Contracting

This course will provide students with an in-depth understanding of the role of government contracting in National Security and its role in ensuring military superiority. It will benefit students interested in entering government service or the defense and government consulting/manufacturing world. Students will learn about the development of requirements for critical assets and understand how industry translates these requirements into military assets and capabilities. They will gain practical insight on how to analyze, shape and bid on solicitations within the Department of Defense and associated entities. There will also be a simulation of how industry works to help the Government meet current and emerging issues. In addition, they will learn about the often-hidden external considerations such as congressional pressures and inter-service rivalries that play a role in influencing the selection of a particular contractor.

IAFF 6503: Political Risk Analysis

This course examines the concept and foundations of political risk analysis and delves into empirical cases to understand the role that political risk plays in shaping the international business landscape and operating environment. The course explores various sources of political risk, considers how political risk develops and evolves, analyzes how this form of risk influences business decisions, and probes how firms, investors, and international actors manage and respond to political risk. The course takes a multi-disciplinary approach drawing from international relations, economics, risk management, and strategic communications. It begins with a focus on the foundations of political risk analysis before moving to the practical application of key methods and strategies used to analyze political risk. Attention is given to country-based political risk as well as issue-based political risk. By identifying and analyzing existing and emerging political risks, and comparing strategies to measure and mitigate such risk at the macro and/or micro levels, students will learn how to approach each phase involved in political risk analysis.

IAFF 6503/6505: International Business Data with PowerBI

In this course you'll embark on a journey to master the essentials of data visualization and cleaning techniques using Power Query. Learn the art of creating compelling visualizations, enabling you to communicate business insights effectively. Dive into the intricacies of Power Query to skillfully clean and shape international datasets, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of your analyses.

IAFF 6898: Capstone Workshop

First part of a two-semester sequence that addresses a concrete policy problem or issue in international affairs. In small teams, students refine the policy question of the capstone project, develop a research strategy, select appropriate research methods, and begin research. Continued in IAFF 6899.

IAFF 6899: Capstone Course

Second part of a two-semester sequence. Completion of the capstone sequence by conduct of the group's research, completion of the capstone report, and oral presentation of research findings and recommendations. Prerequisite: IAFF 6898.

Summer 2025

IAFF 6118: Women, Peace and Security

This course offers a theoretical, as well as a practical thematic examination of the relevance of the concepts of gender and gender equality to understanding peace, armed conflict, international security and peacebuilding. Feminist IR theory is the critical frame for the class, with substantive coverage of masculinities theory and approaches. The seminar thematically covers issues such as: climate, terrorism and violent extremism, femininities and masculinities in the military, sexualized violence of war, and peacekeeping, post-war reconstruction, and transitional justice. Classes will also cover the emergence of legal and normative frameworks adopted by the UN system to address these issues.

IAFF 6138: DevelProjectImplementation

Congratulations, your development project has been funded! This graduate seminar takes you through the process of implementing a development project from kick-off to exit. Combining theory and practice in weekly case study settings, you will learn how to navigate and overcome implementation challenges, such as making sense of conflicting monitoring data, managing donor expectations, and achieving project sustainability. Through experiential learning approaches, you ultimately will build crucial skillsets for a future career in development.

IAFF 6138: Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption

This course explores the pivotal intersection of legal frameworks and anti-corruption strategies in shaping sustainable international development. Students will examine how weak legal institutions and pervasive corruption undermine national security, hinder market growth, and stall democratic progress. Drawing on insights from foreign policy, national security, and development assistance experts, the course unpacks the multifaceted impacts of corruption while investigating innovative strategies that embed anti-corruption measures within robust development frameworks. Through real-world case studies, students will analyze scenarios where corruption both obstructs progress and destabilizes fragile societies. The curriculum emphasizes the critical role of a strong rule of law in fortifying democratic institutions and enabling successful democratic transitions in developing nations. Participants will gain practical skills and tools for designing effective foreign assistance programs tailored to diverse geopolitical contexts. The course culminates in a research project, allowing students to critically assess the interplay between legal systems, governance, and anti-corruption efforts in a country of their choice.

IAFF 6160: Defense Policy

This MA seminar course examines the history and evolution of U.S. defense policy. It looks at the origins of the Department of Defense’s responsibilities and approaches to developing military and technological advantage; assigning roles and responsibilities to Military Departments and Combatant Commands; and the decisions shaping the development of strategy, force planning, and force design. It will pay particular attention to the institutional and structural changes and trends throughout the defense enterprise, industry, and the security environment, challenging students to consider the priorities, roles, and resourcing for the Department of Defense in supporting broader national security aims in an increasingly complex security environment domestically and overseas. The course will examine some of the underlying challenges and influences necessitating and complicating the need for defense reform. Throughout the seminar, we will address the following questions: What were the major factors, threats, and interests driving defense policy in a particular time frame? What is the role for the U.S. military in meeting the nation’s security requirements? What are the organizing principles for defense strategy, policy, and planning? How have the Department’s priorities evolved over time? What was the underlying defense policy, strategy, and theory of victory in a particular time frame? How did external factors influence the Department’s ability to achieve its stated defense policy? Who manages what in the Department of Defense?

IAFF 6163: Transnatl Sec & Illicit Financ

IAFF 6173: Security and Development

IAFF 6186: AI & International Security

Artificial intelligence (AI) is already changing economies, science and technology, military power, and intelligence operations and analysis. Students will build a foundational understanding of AI, then examine how organizations successfully change their business and operating models to take advantage of AI’s strengths. Students will build on that foundation to understand the military and intelligence applications and implications of AI, its impact on the domestic elements of national power, and effect on the way countries interact with each other.

IAFF 6186: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency

IAFF 6186: Military Power & Effectiveness

What explains victory and defeat in war? Answering this question is vitally important to the course of history and the survival of nations. It is also important to international affairs beyond war, like the outcomes of international negotiations, alliance structures, and the preservation of peace. Students seeking to understand anything about international affairs or foreign policy must have a strong grasp of what explains victory and defeat in war. Students do not need any prior military knowledge as this course will cover the basics on its way to discussing naval and air power, military coups, intelligence in war, military revolutions and technology, grey zone operations, and the limits of military effectiveness. We’ll survey ongoing and hypothetical conflicts to understand these theories in practice, from Ukraine to Gaza, Myanmar to Taiwan. Throughout the course, students will be immersed in the material through simulations, exercises, and multiple wargames. Students will also learn how to apply research and intelligence analysis methods to various military challenges.

IAFF 6186: Transnational Organized Crime

This course provides an overview of transnational organized crime and its connections to corruption, convergence, globalization, and international relations concepts and phenomena. Efforts to effectively control cross-border crime will be considered in the context of increased globalization and advancements in technology. The course includes analysis of specific topics in transnational organized crime (environmental and natural resources, drugs and weapons, antiquity and art trafficking) from not only the perspective of American subject matter experts (SME), but also international SMEs/perspectives. Students will also examine and discuss the legal, political, and cultural responses to transnational organized crime at various levels of analysis, including but not limited to addressing topics such as the role of media and communication technology, the rule of law, and transparency.

IAFF 6186: US National Security

What is in the national interest of the U.S.? Who decides national security policy? What lessons can we learn from past U.S national security challenges? In this graduate survey course, we will examine the interests, actors, and processes involved in the making of U.S. national security. We focus on issues confronting U.S. policymakers using multimedia materials, discussions, written assignments, and a crisis simulation. Topics include U.S. grand strategy, national security actors and institutions, and selected issues in U.S. national security including nuclear proliferation, economic security, and foreign interventions. This course presumes some familiarity with American politics and U.S. history, and students should keep up with relevant world events to facilitate discussion and their assessment of U.S. national security policy. By the end of the semester, students will be able to assess and engage with the U.S. national security process, strategic interests, and decision-making procedures.

IAFF 6198: Privatization, Nationalization, and Public-Private Partnership

"Inside the daily chaos of politics, there seems to be a new invisible foundation: the era of the era of big government being over is over." Lemann, New Yorker, 28 October 2024. We have entered an era of huge changes in government role in the economy. The USA has adopted an “industrial policy” of government intervention in the structure of the economy. The Energy Crisis and the COVID-19 Crisis saw nationalizations, sanctions, and selective government bailouts of firms in many countries.

Where better to examine Business & the State than GW, in the heart of the US capital? This course examines the state’s role in industry and markets, spotlighting interactions between public and private sectors. It complements and builds on traditional Business & Public Policy courses, which employ a USA-centric lens of public sector developing and enforcing rules, and private sector operating within them, trying to influence them, even evading them. The course focuses on both consequences – how and whether the privatization and public-private partnerships improve financial and operating performance. and causes – the rationales for privatization and supporting policies through three perspectives: (1) Management and corporation governance issues after privatization including the impact of privatization and competition on the capital formation, output pricing, and structural change of privatized firms; (2) Effect of privatization on government efficiency, and the effect of the introduction of competition on the public accountability including allocation, distribution, and stabilization; (3) Impact of privatization on consumers in terms of access, reliability, price, quality and distributional equity.

IAFF 6338: Perspectives from Geneva

This program will involve five intensive pre-departure discussion sessions dedicated to key themes that inform the study of international organizations. Additionally, during these sessions, students will workshop their respective research agendas and be coached in the research method of semi-structured interviews. As part of the program preparation and practice, students will conduct semi-structured interviews with senior officials at the IMF and World Bank here in DC. Before arrival in Geneva, and in collaboration with the program professor, students will be expected to have secured interviews with the best-candidate individuals serving various international organizations, and corresponding areas of global governance, located in Geneva.

IAFF 6358: Govts & Politics-Latin America

In this class, we will explore the factors that support and challenge the quality of democracy in Latin America. We will focus specifically on the similarities and differences in political/ economic/ and social development, immigration trends, drug trafficking, Indigenous protest, corruption, and environmental degradation between Latin American countries.

IAFF 6378: State & Society in Egypt

This course will focus on state institutions in Egypt and their engagement with Egyptian society. There will be a special focus on religious and legal institutions since those are fairly accessible but often less understood; they also fall within the expertise of the instructors. In looking at Egyptian legal institutions, the course will examine the role played by those institutions in shaping and being shaped by existing social structures. The course's examination of religious institutions in Egypt will offer insight into their role in Egyptian society and the relationship among legal, religious, and political structures in Egypt. This understanding will be bolstered by a general overview of the development of Islamic law from its classical formulations to the present day.

IAFF 6502: Deconstructing Disinformation

Functional democracies require the public to trust the information they rely on to make decisions. While information manipulation – including disinformation, misinformation, and propaganda – have always existed, networked technologies make it easier for problematic actors to spread inaccurate, misleading, and hateful information to manipulate audiences more quickly and with greater reach than ever. In 2018, thirteen Russians were indicted for waging a three-year disinformation campaign to disrupt American democracy. Since May 2022, Russia has been running the so-called “DoppelGänger” disinformation campaign to disrupt democracies by promoting pro-Russian narratives through fake websites and articles, and social media manipulation. China is running global disinformation campaigns and information operations against Taiwan and the Philippines and to influence regional stability in the Asia-Pacific. Non-state actors also seek to incite partisanship and strategically suppress participation in elections. Violent Extremist groups and partially automated accounts (“bots”) run by foreign state groups both propagated false rumors and conspiracies after a school shooting to shape the political reaction. The stock market lost over $130B in 2013 when a false tweet claimed that Barack Obama was injured in an explosion. And researchers are now confirming common sense about such damaging gossip: false information spreads faster than the truth. This course will critically examine disinformation – and related phenomena – key spreaders, the psychology of it, its impact, and the role of technology in amplifying it. It will then analyze potential interventions by civil society organizations and governments which respect freedom of expression and counter censorship while countering disinformation. In addition to deconstructing the problem of disinformation and critically analyzing potential solutions, students will learn how to plan communications campaigns and projects to counter disinformation.

IAFF 6502: Formal Briefing

This skills course will give students a foundation in giving formal briefings in a safe and supportive workshop environment. Students will be encouraged to try different approaches in developing a personal briefing style and to develop foundational skills in public speaking through mini exercises and in-class performance of a formal briefing. Through reading materials, lecture, and in-class discussion, students will also be introduced to the various types of briefings, how to structure and organize each, how to communicate effectively with different audiences and venues, how to work with colleagues in developing and presenting materials especially on complex policy matters requiring a balancing of many different factors leading up to the actual presentation and delivery, and the elements of proper delivery through a learn-by-doing approach to developing a personal briefing style. Prior to the course weekend, there is required and optional reading, with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the materials together in-class. Also prior to the course weekend, students will submit to the instructor a draft written briefing so that class time can focus on refining the briefing and practicing delivery. The draft briefing submitted prior to class can be as simple as an outline or as elaborate as a prepared slide deck on any topic and should take no more than five (5) minutes to present. To get the most out of the class, it is important to prepare as much as possible in advance as prep time prior to the in-class performance will be limited. Details regarding the readings and draft briefing assignment will be sent to registered students prior to the class start date.

IAFF 6502: Data Analysis & Viz w/ Tableau

IAFF 6502: Ethics in International Affair

This is a course in applied ethics, dealing with questions and problems of ethics that occur in international affairs. Among other concerns, this includes such issues as human rights both national and international, international business, war, globalization, and global assistance and humanitarian intervention(s). We will discuss and analyze, and attempt to find ways and/or methods or steps or techniques to solve ethical disputes and issues that arise in international affairs.

Registration restricted to graduate students only. This course includes asynchronous instruction from 5/27 - 6/27 with synchronous sessions being held on 06/07 and 06/08.

IAFF 6503: Negotiation Skills

IAFF 6503: Strategic Communication

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, communication across cultures becomes critical to understanding the globalized workplace. This course will examine practical approaches to understanding culture and effective communication strategies through scholarly work, discussion, interaction, and presentation. The goals for this course include:

Use lectures, academic readings and discussions, as well as elements of reflection to discuss theory and practice surrounding cross-cultural communication
Examine, apply, and challenge various approaches, theories, concepts, and cross-cultural communication models
Discuss key academic and professional skills relevant to cross-cultural communication
Create an awareness of underlying aspects in the practice of cross-cultural communication
IAFF 6521: US Foreign Policy Summer Prog

This course examines the process of formulating and conducting U.S. foreign policy, the history that informs it, the political culture that sustains it, the ideas and interests that drive it, and the people and institutions responsible for it. Students will interact with leading officials, experts, and members of advocacy groups to gain an understanding of the many influences and perspectives that are brought to bear on U.S. foreign policy. Students will acquire an appreciation of the institutional context in which policy is made and implemented.

The course includes opportunities for experiential learning. The class will include short talks by policy experts, who will join our class or whom we will visit. They will make presentations, answer questions, and engage in discussion. Students will practice persuasive public speaking through explaining and defending their draft policy memos. The written policy memo is useful training in short and effective analytical writing. The exercise provides an opportunity for students to analyze policy, recommend policy changes, advocate for them, and spell out strategies for their implementation.

IAFF 6503: Intro to R

This course will help you familiarize yourself with the R programming language and RStudio integrated development environment (IDE). R is a free tool primarily used for statistical analysis. R is open source and benefits from several contributions (“packages” or “libraries”) made by independent researchers. Statistical analysis is critical for effective, evidence-based policy making, and R counts itself among the highly sought-after skills in the policy realm. In this class you will learn the fundamentals needed to create effective R scripts, run basic analyses, and troubleshoot (or debug) your code. You will also acquire the tools necessary to further develop your R skills to attain advanced-level programming knowledge.

IAFF 6503/6505: International Business Data with PowerBI

IAFF 6505: Expert Foreign Policy Decision-Making Using Data

IAFF 6899: Capstone Course

Spring 2025

IAFF 6102: Global Gender Policy

This course takes an interdisciplinary approach to examining the development of global policy approaches aimed at achieving gender equality. It provides a grounding in the concept of gender equality and the creation of legal and normative approaches to tackling inequality, focused primarily on law and policy produced by the UN system. Critical and emerging policy approaches such as intersectionality-based policy development will also be covered. This course provides an overview of the lineage of global approaches to advancing gender equality and women’s rights. It will equip participants with an understanding of the relevance of gender equality to key international policy issues and concerns. It will examine the success and failures of attempts to advance gender equality policy implementation, including through comparison across different countries and thematic areas of global policy.

IAFF 6104: International Law

This course will cover the fundamental underpinnings of international law, with a focus on public international law. Students will learn how international law is created, how it applies to state and non-state actors, and how it is enforced. Topics covered include sovereignty and self-determination, international humanitarian and human rights law, environmental law, and the relationship between international and domestic law. The goal of the course is to deepen students’ understanding of the law’s applicability to international issues, including contemporary world events.

IAFF 6118: Economic Statecraft

IAFF 6118: Global Electricity Markets

This course teaches students about the structure and operation of the power grid and electricity markets. The class will discuss electric grid models, infrastructure, costs, operation, and environmental aspects of power technologies in developing countries and the US, EU, and G7 nations. Students will learn about electric energy, capacity, ancillary markets, and how electricity is priced in different models. The role of electric transmission and the challenges of integrating renewables and carbon pricing into the grid will also be covered. Retail electric utility regulation and buying and selling renewable power will also be covered. Students can explore their country or regional interests through a course paper.

IAFF 6118: Global Governance

This course examines global governance - the creation, revision, and enforcement of the rules that are intended to govern the world. This course has four goals. To provide something of a history of the present: where are we and how did we get here? To consider what makes for effective and legitimate global governance, and why this has proven so difficult to achieve. To trace the changing architecture of global governance; there are more actors and more kinds of actors involved in different ways than ever before. And, lastly, to challenge the progressive narrative of global governance. Global governance is not only about attempting to find global solutions to global problems, it also is about governing. And governing is always about power and control, with some winning and others losing. Simply put, global governance must be understood as helping to maintain and reproduce existing structures of inequality.

IAFF 6118: Race & International Affairs

Robert Cox observed that “theory is always for someone and for some purpose.” This course examines the centrality of race in international relations (IR) and the ways in which race and racism have influenced – and continue to influence – theories of international relations. Until recently, theories of international politics, and classes on IR, largely ignored questions of race, thereby silencing the ways in which race served as a catalyst for the emergence of IR as a discipline in the early part of the 20th century and influenced IR theory post-WWII. Through in class discussion and a wide range of readings, students will trace what one scholar has described as a “systematic politics of forgetting, a willful amnesia, on the question of race” in IR. From the moment of “first contact” in the 15th and 16th centuries through colonialism, independence movements, and today, students will examine how race and racism have been deployed across time and space to exert power, silence alternative voices and views, and maintain control. We will also examine efforts by scholars around the world to challenge, destabilize, and overturn these controlling narratives. The course will also discuss the intersectionality of race and gender in an effort to move beyond traditionally male, Eurocentric views of international relations and world politics.

IAFF 6118: Research Methods in Global Gender Issues

This course reviews mixed methods techniques and analysis with a focus on gender equality and social inclusion. Choosing which information to collect and which techniques are best for doing so are important steps. By taking this course, students will become better prepared to collect data, review others' research and reports, and analyze and communicate regarding local conditions and concerns. This course is not a substitute for a quantitative, statistical, or qualitative methods requirement, nor are those courses prerequisites for this. Also, while this course complements others in the GW Global Gender Program, it can be taken independently: any student interested in learning about and discussing research, information, and analyses as these support and affect projects, task orders, and assignments aimed at responding to global issues is welcome.

IAFF 6118: The Ethics of Foreign Aid

This class will explore the ethical issues surrounding foreign aid. We will address questions such as: Are individuals in wealthier countries morally obligated to give resources to people in poorer countries, and if so, how much? Sometimes aid comes in the form of "development assistance" with political conditions attached. Are wealthy countries and international financial institutions ever morally justified in attaching these conditions? If so, when, and what kinds of conditions is it morally permissible for them to attach? How should we evaluate the morality of NGO aid programs that provide valuable goods and services, but also become complicit in wrongdoing within the communities they aim to help and/or make those communities dependent on foreign aid?

IAFF 6118: Social Dimensions of Climate Change

This course offers an in-depth exploration of the social dimensions of climate change, examining how global inequality and social norms shape both the causes and impacts of this crisis. While climate change refers to long-term shifts in weather patterns, it is driven by social factors and disproportionately affects the most vulnerable populations—those least responsible for its causes. Students will delve into key concepts such as climate justice, the green economy, just transitions, environmental feminism, coloniality, and intersectionality, learning how these frameworks can help explain and improve societal responses to climate change. Additionally, the course will explore international agreements, national policies, and best practices that aim to mitigate the negative impacts on vulnerable communities. Case studies will provide practical insights into creating inclusive policies that promote social inclusion and sustainable development. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the tools to design and implement policies that address climate injustices and contribute to a fairer, more sustainable future. Key questions include: How can inclusive policies help mitigate climate change? What mechanisms exist to address climate injustice? How do social norms influence climate action?

IAFF 6138: Bottom-Up Development

From William Easterly to Dambisa Moyo, and from Jeffrey Sachs to Paul Collier, development thinkers have expressed both considerable frustration with policies, programs, strategies and institutions charged with alleviating poverty, as well as the need to focus additional resources on or reformed actions toward populations at the ‘bottom.’ Despite the analyses and fretting, and resultant actions, hundreds of millions of the earth’s people remain tragically poor, somehow managing to survive on $2.00 a day or less. The COVID pandemic has exacerbated this number. This graduate seminar takes these analyses, frustrations, and unsatisfactory results as a starting point to delve into prospects for more effective poverty alleviation through the application of ‘bottom-up’ approaches. After briefly examining failings of foreign aid from both grassroots and top-down perspectives, the focus turns to bottom-up approaches, casting an eye on evolutionary aspects, critical components, and current applications. Subsequently, attention is placed on strategies used both by poor and disadvantaged people to strategically manage their limited resources and by forward thinking governments to alleviate poverty. The seminar closes with reflections on the policy environment in support of bottom-up development work and how policymakers might be better encouraged to support this approach toward poverty alleviation.

IAFF 6138: Climate Change & Sustainable Development

With climate change impacts being felt across the world – particularly in fragile states and those least able to adapt – climate change has become a central part of the global sustainable development agenda. The concept of climate resilient development is bringing core climate science into development strategies and programs, and posing significant questions about how development investments are made and how results are measured. It also raises key ethical questions about the expectations placed on developing countries to mitigate their greenhouse gas emissions as well as the role of developed countries to support developing countries to adapt to climate change.

This course will investigate the science of climate change, the impacts for developing countries, and the theoretical foundations of policy responses. It will also delve into the practical opportunities and challenges related to addressing climate change in developing countries and integrating climate change considerations into existing development approaches. The course readings and discussions will draw from a series of practical case studies showcasing efforts to translate theory and policy into concrete program activities.

IAFF 6138: Humanitarian Governance and Policy

In this course we examine humanitarian governance, coordination and policy, focusing on the knowledge and skills required by practitioners to formulate humanitarian policy and coordinate humanitarian response. The course begins by introducing students to the global humanitarian system and providing an overview of the main actors, their roles and mandates; the types and levels of humanitarian crisis; and the main standards, principles and legal frameworks for humanitarian assistance. The course continues by considering key factors that affect program design and implementation including politics, humanitarian access, funding, security, risk management and mitigation, and coordination. We also discuss strategies for humanitarian diplomacy, disaster risk reduction, and coordination across the humanitarian, security and development sectors. Students will engage these topics and dilemmas through course lectures and readings; case studies of current humanitarian crises; guest lectures from practitioners working on humanitarian policy and coordination in U.N. agencies, USAID, and NGOs; and applied learning.

IAFF 6138: The Belt & Road Initiative as China’s Model of International Development

This course will examine China’s ‘Belt and Road Initiative’ objectively as an articulation of the Chinese state’s approach to bilateral international development assistance (assistance from one state to another country). The approaches of all states to bilateral development assistance generally combine both benefits for global development and the geo-strategic interests of the donor state. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), for example, openly states that its assistance to other countries is dictated by US national interests, and it is logical to assume that China’s BRI is likewise driven by the national interests of the PRC. As such, analysts have provided dramatically different assessments of the BRI’s goals and impacts. The Chinese government frames the initiative as an attempt to create global connectivity in the interests of global development, emphasizing that it is an offer of development assistance that, unlike much ‘western’ development assistance, is non-conditional. Many analysts in the US and Europe, by contrast, view the initiative as an attempt by China to establish global hegemony, stressing that the assistance associated with it is often conditional on political allegiances and can create ‘debt traps’ that allow China to take over critical assets internationally. This course seeks to investigate both of these divergent assessments of the BRI and allow students to make their own evaluations of the initiative’s benefits to global development and its role in China’s position in a changing geopolitical climate. In doing so, students will be asked to think about the ways that international development inevitably becomes entangled with geopolitics.

IAFF 6138: Violence, Gender and Humanitarian Assistance

This course examines the issues, challenges, policies, and interventions related to one of the most complex protection concerns in humanitarian settings, gender-based violence. Students will develop a practical understanding of the scope of violence that women and girls face in conflict and disasters and explore programmatic interventions to prevent and respond to such violence across sectors. This course will also address trends in gender and humanitarian settings including evidence-based interventions, policy initiatives, and the role of global feminist and women’s movements in emergency work.

IAFF 6143: Science and Technology Policy Analysis

Many of the most important and salient policy decisions taken by governments—whether for war or peace, whether they address everyday needs or long-term global grand challenges—involve science and technology. S&T is at the heart of debates regarding climate change; immunization against diseases such as COVID-19, measles, and rubella; decisions involving nuclear weapons; space exploration; cybersecurity and the generation and diffusion of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and gene-editing technologies like CRISPR; the widespread use of robotics, nanotechnology, 3-D printing, and advanced energy storage technologies; the internet of things (IoT); advanced manufacturing and the oncoming of the 4th industrial revolution (I4.0); energy policy and the transition to a carbon neutral economy; and many more. The second in the sequence of required core courses for the ISTP program, this seminar course offers the opportunity to go deeper and ask more probing questions about select contemporary policy topics like those listed above. The course will take an international perspective and provide opportunities for comparative analysis across both developed market economies and emerging economies.

IAFF 6141 is a prerequisite for this course.

IAFF 6146: Space Law

There are five international treaties specifically on space law. Most advanced space-faring nations have complex national laws and regulations implementing the various obligations under those treaties. However, space exploration, use, and exploitation is rapidly changing with the advent of technological capability spreading quickly among all nations and often involving the private sector alongside the more traditional governmental uses of space. Space is risky and complicated and the law is only slowly catching up to handle new problems. This course will develop a comprehensive understanding of the international treaties as well as exploring the evolving legal issues of new government and commercial initiatives such as using the Moon’s resources, advanced telecommunications, servicing spacecraft, placing weapons in space, and the threats of serious accidents in orbit.

IAFF 6158: Issues in U.S. Space Policy: Tools and Scenarios

This course will address international space policy issues facing the United States and provides an overview of common tools (e.g., orbital mechanics, cost estimation, regulation) used in space policy making and implementation. The course will address current policy and regulatory issues facing U.S. space programs with regard to dual-use technologies, including export controls, spectrum management, and licensing of commercial remote sensing systems. Conflicts over dual-use technologies will be examined for their implications for a range of national interests. The course will also address strategic choices facing other nations in space activities, including dependence on U.S., European, and Russian space capabilities, developing indigenous space programs, and use of commercial space capabilities.

IAFF 6160: Defense Policy

IAFF 6162: Security Policy Analysis

This core course for students in the Elliott School’s Security Policy Studies (SPS) MA program is designed to help them analyze and evaluate contemporary security policies. Policies are statements of intent or commitments to actions made by governments and other actors; they involve decisions about the priorities and values to pursue as well as the resources and tools that will be devoted to that enterprise. Every policy decision could have been made differently. The course examines how social scientific concepts, methods, and analytic techniques can identify and prioritize security threats, risks, and challenges, and guide effective responses to them. It focuses on tools to analyze three important dimensions of contemporary security policies related to great power competition, conflict dynamics, and future uncertainty.

IAFF 6163: Transnational Security and Illicit Finance

IAFF 6165: Fundamentals of Intelligence

IAFF 6169: Homeland Security

This course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of homeland security, encompassing domestic and international dimensions, including counterproliferation strategies and the roles played by governmental entities. The curriculum explores border security, countering illicit trafficking, transnational criminal organizations, domestic and foreign terrorism, and nation-state competition. The “whole of government” approach will be discussed. The course critically examines the functions of foreign and domestic intelligence organizations in managing threats, including biodefense and health surveillance strategies. It also places a significant emphasis on the potential ramifications of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and synthetic biology, MDM, and the burgeoning role of artificial intelligence in the field of homeland security. Risk assessment and risk-based decision-making techniques are addressed. Active class participation is deemed indispensable. Facilitated brainstorming will foster a dynamic and interactive learning environment, ensuring that all are fully engaged and involved in the learning process.

IAFF 6171: Introduction to Conflict Resolution

This course examines the causes of armed conflicts as well as efforts to prevent, limit, manage, and resolve conflicts. Our primary focus is the most prevalent types of armed conflicts in the world today: intra-state conflicts and civil wars — along with regionalized and internationalized intra-state conflicts. The course begins with an overview of conflict trends, conflict types, and conflict consequences. The second part of the course examines the factors that lead to the onset and escalation of intra-state conflicts: conflict settings; weak states; security dynamics; demographic, economic and environmental factors; political factors and political leaders. The third part of the course turns to the efforts of national and international actors to prevent, limit, and resolve conflicts, including the use of mediation, economic sanctions, military interventions, peacekeeping, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The course concludes with a look to the future.

IAFF 6173: Security and Development

IAFF 6186: Civil Wars in World Politics

This course reviews the theories and empirics of civil wars and their relationship with the international system. Students will explore the causes, processes, and termination of civil wars through varying theoretical lenses. Questions will include: when do civil wars begin, how are they fought, who intervenes, why do some last longer than others, and what are their consequences for international peace and stability? Throughout the course, students will critically assess the divergent explanations for conflict processes by examining historical examples and violence datasets. By the end of the semester, students will acquire the tools and techniques necessary to better understand these conflicts and the associated foreign policy responses.

IAFF 6186: Countering Violent Extremism

Violent extremism presents a serious threat to international peace and security. In the United States, radicalization, polarization and acts of political violence - such as the attack on Capitol on June 6th, 2021 and various attempts to assassinate political leaders - all make it abundantly clear that the violent extremism is again presenting an existential threat to American democracy as well. By promoting, supporting, or committing acts that aim to shape political outcomes, violent extremism often seeks to defend an ideology by advocating racial, national, ethnic, or religious supremacy while opposing core democratic principles and values. Prof. Alistair Millar’s course focuses on governmental and nongovernmental efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism. It provides students with an introduction to a burgeoning academic literature. The course charts the evolution of these efforts to prevent and counter violent extremism (P/CVE), particularly over the past fifteen years or so. This course also offers an opportunity to critically examine and discuss domestic and international P/CVE policies and programs around the world. The course will be useful for anyone with an interest in counterterrorism and/or preventing violent conflict, as well as a wide array of disciplines and issues including diplomacy, development assistance, peacebuilding, criminology, psychology, sociology, and political science. The course will connect theory to practice through discussion, research, and examinations of several case studies throughout the semester.

IAFF 6186: Cybersecurity

This course will provide an overview of current issues in the realm of cybersecurity, focusing on cybersecurity strategy, threats, conﬂict and policy. We will begin with an understanding of the power inherent in cyberspace and consider the policy issues facing the civilian, military, intelligence and private business sectors in dealing with oﬀensive and defensive cyber activity. Through the use of case studies, we will examine previous and ongoing cyber conﬂicts to understand their impacts on international relations. We will analyze the roles of several diﬀerent types of actors in cybersecurity including state actors, non-state actors such as criminal and terror groups and private sector responses. This course will also examine the issue of cyber deterrence, and the unique aspects of oﬀensive and defensive cyber activities by all cyber actors. A technical background is not required and basic aspects of cyber operations will be discussed in the introductory class sessions.

IAFF 6186: Cyber Threats & Policy

This seminar provides an overview of current issues surrounding cyber conflict. The seminar explores issues facing policymakers on the global stage through the lens of cyber conflict. Using cyberspace as the point of reference, this seminar explores state actors, non-state actors, state and global responses to cyber aggression, international relations focusing on cyberwar, ethics, and policy. Further, the seminar explores modern-day threat actors, their actions, and implications on national policy as it pertains to cybersecurity, attribution, privacy, and the law. The role of the private sector is analyzed in the context of national defense. The seminar concludes with an examination of the potential impact of hybrid threats and emerging technologies on US policy. The seminar is not intended to be a technical course, rather it seeks to examine political and security-related implications of cyber conflict as they pertain to the national-level policymaker.

IAFF 6186: Emerging Threats

This course surveys emerging risks and challenges that threaten human, national and global security. It does so by paying special attention to a range of issues where scientific and technological innovation play a major role. Topics covered include how to think about the concepts of risk and securitization; revolutions in military affairs; the challenges of nuclear security and terrorism; conflict in cyberspace; the uses and consequences of robotics, drones and autonomous weapons systems; military developments in biotechnology; artificial intelligence; as well as security challenges related to demography, urbanization, public health, the environment, outer space, and quantum computing. For each issue, the course examines the politics of scientific and technological evolution by identifying the key drivers of change; the nature of threats at the local, national, and global levels; and how existing security policies should be reformed in response. A technical background is not required but will enhance one’s understanding.

IAFF 6186: Insurgency and Counterinsurgency

IAFF 6186 National Security Crisis Simulation

When an international crisis strikes, it’s best to be prepared. This course illuminates how the national security interagency apparatus really works, especially when the United States and its allies are under stress and (sometimes literally) under fire. This course involves a semester-length simulation of the national security decision-making process, with students role-playing members of the US National Security Council. The hands-on exercise will bombard you with various inputs—intelligence reports, presidential demands, news accounts, etc.—in an ever-shifting Middle East crisis. Like every crisis in that region, this one has global implications, involving competing military, economic, and political dimensions and multiple international powers. Students exercise their interpersonal and bureaucratic skills to build consensus on a way forward. Readings, lectures, and a scenario-specific supplementary bibliography provide detailed insight into US national security agencies and the real-world dynamics at play. The practical tools you learn to employ in this course can be applied to any crisis in the real world, and will help prepare you for important elements of the US Foreign Service oral examination.

IAFF 6186: Political Risk Analysis

This course examines the importance of political risk in shaping the international operating environment, particularly in the commercial/business context. This course examines the sources of political risk, how that risk may grow or change, how political risk influences business decisions, and how businesses and international actors manage political risk. This course takes a multi-disciplinary approach drawing from international relations, economics, risk management, intelligence, and strategic communications to examine real-world political risks. The course begins with an introduction to the fundamentals of political risk analysis, then explores megatrends, before shifting to empirical cases that focus on a range of country-level risks, including the UK/Brexit, Russia, and China, as well as issue-based political risk associated with supply chains, the pharmaceutical industry, and technology among others. By identifying and analyzing emerging and existing political risks, as well as comparing strategies to measure and mitigate political risk at the macro and micro levels, students will learn to navigate the complexities of political risk analysis. The course draws on academic literature while also focusing on the development of practical knowledge and skills that are applicable to both the public and private sector.

IAFF 6186: Understanding US Special Ops

The purpose of this graduate course is to examine the unique characteristics of U.S. Special Operations Forces (SOF), the merits and limits of Special Operations (SO), and their implications for US national security objectives and interests. This course consists of four blocks of instruction that are positioned within existing strategic guidance, executive orders, and policies, which are informed by the current—and projected—operating environment. When integrated, these blocks of instruction provide students rare insights into the political and operational considerations that shape SOF employment globally, enabling them to interpret and optimize policies and strategies that govern SO in contested areas of operations. First, students will explore how SOF operate as a function of unique organizational cultures, competencies and capabilities, and funding authorities. Second, students will consider SO in terms of coordination across the US Interagency and in concert with allies and partners, which frame a global SOF network that emphasizes burden-sharing in an era of coalition warfare. Third, students will evaluate how SOF plan, prepare, and execute politically sensitive and militarily challenging operations and campaigns across the continuum of competition and in consideration of emerging technologies, including Artificial Intelligence and Unmanned Aerial Systems. Finally, students will assess how shifting strategic contexts, namely a renewal of great power competition globally, may condition SOF employment in the future.

IAFF 6186: U.S. Grand Strategy

What should the United States do in the world? How has it, and how should it? This course examines U.S. grand strategy, meaning the economic, diplomatic and politico-military means that the state can employ to pursue its principal interests. The course first assesses the components of grand strategy: what are US interests, the means to achieve them, and the challenges to doing so. It then analyzes recent US grand strategies—the Cold War and 5 subsequent US administrations (Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump and Biden). Finally, the course evaluates three principal options as the basis for grand strategic debates today. Whatever your passion or specialty in global affairs, this course gives both the framework within which it will be pursued, and the trade-offs that will have to be considered. It's the big picture.

IAFF 6186: US National Security

IAFF 6186: US Security Policy in Asia

This course surveys the major security trends in East and Southeast Asia and the strategic challenges these issues pose to the United States. Topics include great power competition and the rise of China, nuclear proliferation and deterrence, alliance dynamics, human rights and democracy promotion, maritime security, cyber security, and non-traditional security issues such as climate change and pandemics. Students will apply core concepts from International Relations (IR) theory to examine the emerging security trends and threats and their implications for U.S. national security. By the end of the semester, students will be able to critically engage, understand, and articulate realistic U.S. policy responses to major security issues in Asia.

IAFF 6208: Communication in Modern Diplomacy

This course examines the expanding public dimension of modern diplomacy. It builds on global interest in public diplomacy in the 21st century’s diplomatic environment. We will explore how diplomats and political leaders communicate in a world of rapid globalization, new diplomatic actors, complex policy issues, digital technologies, increased risk, and uncertain boundaries between foreign and domestic. This seminar is designed to help public diplomacy concentrators deepen their knowledge and serve the interdisciplinary interests of students in global communication, international relations, and media studies.

IAFF 6212: Strategy and Leadership

Leaders in government, the private sector, and the non-profit sector must be able to develop a compelling strategy that is understood by managers and employers. They will be most successful if they can articulate a vision for staff and clients to embrace. The goal of this course is to provide you with some knowledge and tools to devise and implement your own smart visions and strategies at any level. The basis is how leaders determine their vision and then communicate and execute the vision, using their leadership skills.

Registration is restricted to MIPP students only.

IAFF 6216 Analytical Tools for Global Economic Policy

This course will introduce students to concepts used in international economic public policy. All students looking to understand the complicated world of economic globalization will benefit from the course. We will pay particular attention to policy choice among competing options. The course will develop an analytical framework to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative choices. Students will learn about the consequences of globalization, international trade rules and agreements, foreign direct investment, foreign exchange markets, balance of payments crises, and the effectiveness of economic sanctions. Successful students will have current knowledge of basic microeconomic theory, especially supply and demand analysis.

IAFF 6222: Foreign Policy Decision Making

The goal of this class is to prepare students to effectively participate in the crafting of U.S. foreign policy. Being a policymaker means that you aim to shape the future, while being an expert policymaker means you’re effective at it. But how do we know what works? Many say that foreign policy is an art form and that each official should rely on their own judgment in the policy process. This class advocates for an alternative approach. It offers a scientific framework for the conduct of foreign policymaking grounded in more rigorous and evidenced-based decision-making methods. This class will also survey the process and culture of key organizations and agencies crafting our foreign policy. Over the course of the semester, students will produce a detailed study and policy recommendation of an issue of their choosing, using the knowledge and skills gained in class.

IAFF 6302: Taiwan:Internal Development Foreign Policies

When will China invade Taiwan? Will the United States defend Taiwan should China attack Taiwan? How will China’s attack on Taiwan impact the global supply chain? These are the questions pertaining to Taiwan that have been featured on media headlines, book titles, and public event announcements. They all suggest that Taiwan’s importance is determined by external actors and forces. Without a doubt, as a small island located at a strategic point in the Asia-Pacific region, Taiwan’s past, present, and future have and will continue to be shaped by outsiders. However, there is more to Taiwan than that. In this course, we will address the aforementioned questions, but we will also go beyond them to explore Taiwan’s history, internal developments, and its management of relations with external actors, including China and the United States. In this manner, the course seeks to go beyond the headlines in an effort to explore Taiwan’s intrinsic as well as strategic value to the world.

IAFF 6318: China and the Global South

China’s relations with the countries of the Global South, also known as the Developing World, is the focus of this graduate seminar. Contrary to media depictions as a “Great Game” competition of the USA and China, the relationship of the Global South and China is both older and more complex than the simplistic images of pawns and spaces on a chess board. In the past decade, high-profile proposals such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) have been seen as part of China’s spreading influence around the world, sparking debates over the political, economic, and environmental consequences of China’s engagement with the Global South, debates that include voices from the Global South. The course examines both the evolution of China’s relations since 1949 and the actions, reactions, and policies of states within those regions toward China and broader global issues. The seminar then focuses on China’s current relations with neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and Central Asia, as well as more distant regions in Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific Island states.

IAFF 6318: International Politics - East Asia

The course briefly assesses the historical dynamics of the region and the evolution of salient relationships since World War II, and then provides systematic review of developments since the Cold War. It treats pertinent contemporary Asian relations involving acute American rivalry with rising China, Korean peninsula developments, Japan’s future, Taiwan, territorial disputes along the rim of eastern, southeastern and southern Asia, relations with important flanking powers—India, Russia and Australia, regional multilateralism, terrorism, economic globalization, energy security, and climate change. Relevant issues and developments are assessed with a focus on relations among East Asian governments including relations involving a longstanding leading power in the region, the United States.

IAFF 6318: Political Economy of Industrializing Asia

Exploration of the political economy of industrializing economies of East Asia (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China), Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Indonesia, etc.) and South Asia (India), focusing on the interaction of state policies, political institutions, and economic development. Topics include high-speed growth, energy, the environment and global warming, supply-chain effects of pandemic, governance and corruption, and sector case studies, such as automotive industrialization. The emphasis is on industrializing economies and their integration into global trade and investment networks.

IAFF 6318: The Xinjiang Crisis

This course explores the “Xinjiang crisis,” i.e., the set of state-perpetrated policies targeting Uyghurs and other Turkic and/or Muslim peoples in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) from approximately 2014 into the present. The course will equip students with an in-depth understanding of the body of evidence for the various dimensions of this crisis, which include mass detention, mass incarceration, forced labor, family separation, forced sterilization and birth control, cultural assimilation, religious restriction, surveillance, and more. The course also explores the history and politics of the region from 1949 into the present, shedding light on the colonial nature of the relationship between the Chinese party-state and the XUAR, as well as on the roots of policies that have led several governments and international bodies to make atrocity determinations regarding the party-state’s treatment of Uyghurs. Students will read, reflect on, and discuss secondary sources alongside some key primary texts, in the process exploring how competing narratives emerge and circulate in relation to the most pressing issues of our time. Through a combination of weekly seminar discussions, occasional short-form writing assignments, and self-designed final projects, students will actively engage with real-world questions at the intersections of geopolitics and human rights. This course will foster a learning environment that encourages critical thinking and practical communication skills.

IAFF 6338: Central Asian Politics

This course provides a deep dive into the political, social, economic, and security landscapes of Central Asia, focusing on Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. We examine political culture and how it changes against geopolitics. Key topics include the interplay between political institutions and democratization, the challenges of governance in authoritarian contexts, and the region’s economic dynamics—particularly the influence of natural resources, such as oil and gas, on political economies and state development. Course materials and discussions provide a view of the political through the life lenses of religion, family, gender, economics, security, military power, migration, education, healthcare, media, and activism. How do citizens and the state interact in these spheres? We will explore pressing security concerns, terrorism, extremism, border instability, the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and ongoing instability in Afghanistan, as well as the influence of neighboring powers and global actors like China, Iran, Russia, and the United States on Central Asian politics.

IAFF 6338: Transatlantic Relations

For decades after World War II, the transatlantic alliance between Europe and North America was the cornerstone to security and prosperity against the backdrop of the Cold War. With the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the agenda shifted from a bilateral to a global focus on challenges like international terrorism, climate change, technology, and trade. Recently, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China's growing global influence, and electoral victories by populist leaders in the United States and Europe have provoked renewed questions about the future of the transatlantic alliance. This graduate seminar seeks to promote deeper understanding of the transatlantic alliance by analyzing the prospects for promoting security and prosperity in the 21st century. It reviews the historical origins of the transatlantic alliance and evolution of key institutions like NATO and the European Union; the role of interests and values; the impact of significant turning points since the end of the Cold War; and cooperation on the global challenges. It seeks to develop and strengthen skills of policy analysis and persuasive speaking and writing to influence policy debates.

IAFF 6338: The Rise of the Far Right in the World

This course introduces students to the contemporary rise of the far right worldwide. The class will help students understand how the far right has been able to mainstream its concepts and worldviews to a broad audience, producing a spectrum that runs from populist and illiberal leaders in power to extreme threats of domestic terrorism. It will introduce students to the different forms far right take today across the globe, in the "Global North" as in the "Global South". Students will develop critical thinking skills by reading social science articles that combine political science, sociology of gender and race, and cultural anthropology of media and radical subcultures.

IAFF 6358: Contemp Issues of US-Mexico Relations

This course examines the current drivers of the US-Mexico relationship and uses concrete issues and recent junctures of the relationship to explore and understand both the policy and decision-making processes as well as the outcomes. It will provide students with a holistic understanding of the multifaceted agenda that makes this relationship so unique for US foreign and domestic policy. The course will also place the US-Mexico relationship in a larger geostrategic context -North American, hemispheric and global. This is not a "history of US-Mexico relations" course, though some readings on key defining moments will be required for context. The course will entail issue-driven policy simulation exercises in the latter portion of the semester in order to ensure that students understand both the issues but also the praxis and actual decision-making processes of this vastly complex relationship.

IAFF 6358: Cuba in the Global Arena

This course focuses on understanding the evolution of Cuba’s foreign policy and uses it as a case study to answer three questions of relevance far beyond the island: the strategies small states use to maximize international influence, the role of foreign policy in ensuring regime survival, and the obstacles and opportunities for democratic transitions in contested international environments. To achieve its goals, the course pays particular attention to the intersection of foreign and domestic policy, how the domestic arena creates demands for external action, and how changes in the international scenario open or close political opportunities at home. The course is divided into three modules. The first focuses on the historical analysis of Cuba’s international insertion and how the island’s political evolution has been shaped by changes in the global arena, from independence in 1902 to the present. The second block analyzes the formal and real stakeholders of Cuba’s international strategy and the regime’s foreign policy-making. Finally, the third module examines Cuba's relations with a number of critical actors - the United States, China, Russia, Venezuela, etc. - discussing the interests and objectives with each of them, the strategy implemented by the regime, and the balance of successes and frustrations in each case. The course will include guest lecturers who will provide expert perspectives on Cuban politics and foreign relations. Students’ progress will be measured by class presentations, two short papers and participation in a class simulation.

IAFF 6358: International Relations of Latin America

This course analyzes the trajectory of Latin America’s role in the world, assessing in particular conflict and cooperation with the United States. Focusing first on the Cold War, we explore why the U.S. frequently intervened in Latin American domestic politics; the U.S. cited security concerns amid its superpower rivalry with the Soviet Union, but many Latin Americans argued that these concerns were exaggerated. Focusing next on the post-Cold-War era, we analyze the emergence in Latin America of the “liberal international order,” including dramatic advances of market economics and democracy and considerable engagement in multilateral institutions. In the last half of the course, we explore how the “liberal international order” has frayed: the Trump administration proclaimed “America First;” China is a superpower rival; Russia is assertive; and the pandemic was devastating and corrosive. Goals that at one time were broadly shared across the hemisphere--democratization; attenuating climate change; controlling drugs and organized crime; establishing humane immigration policies—now appear elusive.

IAFF 6378: Arabic for Diplomacy

This course examines the ever growing state and public realm of modern diplomacy. It builds on global interest in enhancing state and public diplomacy in today’s diplomatic climate. We will examine how government officials working in foreign affairs and political leaders communicate in a modern world of globalization, conflict, and complex policy issues. We will read and analyze articles from multiple media sources, focusing on TV interviews of Arab leaders and officials. This course is designed to help students engaging in the study of international affairs and diplomatic relations expand their Arabic language skills and cultural competence. This course is of special interest to students studying global communication, international relations, and media studies.

IAFF 6378 Oil: Industry, Economy, Security, Society

Petroleum is one of the largest and most controversial industries worldwide, and affects the fortunes of companies and nations. This course takes a multidisciplinary approach (primarily political economy and management) to oil and its effects on business, nation-states, conflict, and the world economy. The first half of the course adopts a top-down viewpoint, examining the global oil environment. The second half is more bottom-up, using cases to grapple with issues such as governance, transparency, and security. The course is conducted in a mixture of seminar and lecture formats. A group proposal, paper, and presentation, as well as active class participation are expected, and constitute over half the assessment.

IAFF 6378: Popular Politics in the Middle East

Waves of mass protest, revolutions, and social activism have transformed the landscape of the Middle East over recent years. In this course, we will look at the origins, evolution, and impact of popular politics across the region. What brings ordinary people to mobilize in the streets? How do people sustain under authoritarian regimes? Can a culture of resistance flourish in the face of violence? Our case studies will range from the Arab uprisings of 2011 to the Iranian revolution of 1979, from rural peasants in Syria to urban factory workers in Egypt, from the Palestinian Intifadas to the Tishreen protests in Iraq. Using conceptual frameworks inspired by social movement theory, the comparative study of revolutions, subaltern studies, and cultural analysis, students will discover new insights into the dynamics and passions of popular politics in the modern Middle East.

IAFF 6385: Africa in the Global Economy

This course will examine the significant changes underway in Africa and its economies that are transforming its relationship to the rest of the world. The course will consider the impact of specific issues and integrate them into the kind of coherent narrative that policy makers and private sector leaders employ to understand and address critical trends. Issues covered will include Africa’s commercial integration, the impact of climate change and the green economy, the changing nature of health, rapid urbanism and demographic change, digital transformation and challenges and opportunities in finance.

IAFF 6385: U.S. Policy Toward Africa

This course will examine the evolution of interests, institutions, and instruments that have shaped U.S. engagement in Africa from the Cold War to the present day. Through debate and role-playing exercises, we will explore key pivot points in U.S.-Africa policy, analyzing the policy dilemmas, contradictions, and consequences generated by competing interests and priorities. In the second half of the semester will debate contemporary questions in U.S.-Africa relations, including, for example: How best can the U.S. promote democratic change and human rights in Africa while balancing its strategic and economic interests? What strategies and diplomatic leverage might the U.S. deploy to address the crisis in Sudan, currently the world’s worst humanitarian disaster? How best can the United States engage in combating violent extremism in the Sahel, coastal West Africa, and the Horn of Africa? How do global geopolitics shape U.S. policy toward Africa and how should the U.S. respond to the expanding influence of Russia, China, the Gulf State and others? Students will develop a critical and nuanced understanding of U.S. engagement in contemporary Africa and the ability to assess how domestic and international factors will shape U.S. interests and policy choices moving forward.

IAFF 6501: Quantitative Analysis for IA Pro

Quantitative analysis is an integral part of any professional’s skill set. A firm understanding of quantitative analysis will provide you with the tools necessary to attain greater knowledge and understanding of the world. Students who complete this course will have gained a solid foundation in quantitative analysis and basic R programming skills. While this course moves quickly, and prior Quantitative/Econometric/Statistic skills would certainly be useful, prior experience isn’t necessary. Class lectures, homework assignments and class readings should provide the necessary tools to immediately and meaningfully engage in this class. An end of the semester class project where you can collect your own data or use approved International data sets will allow students to test their programming skills and their understanding of quantitative analysis.

IAFF 6502: Alternative Analysis: Red Team

Members of both the 9/11 Commission and the WMD Commission expressed concerns that the U.S. intelligence community lacks imagination, does not "think outside the box," or challenge prevailing assumptions when analyzing threats to national security. Alternative analysis—often referred to as "red cell" or "red team”—uses various analytical methodologies to provide a more complete picture of issues than traditional analysis alone. Students will also be introduced to various methods of wargaming formats in which red teaming is applied. Students will be required to apply a variety of techniques used in red teaming and participate in a multi-sided war game.

IAFF 6502/6503: Analyzing International Economic Data

The course will use trade, investment, and other economic data sources to examine international trade and other economic topics. Students will gain hands-on experience using merchandise and services trade flows, foreign direct investment stocks and flows, balance of payments data, and foreign exchange rates. The course includes practical instruction on several types of online resources to specify data queries, and will expose students to sources, terminology, and definitions unique to the analysis of international economic data.

IAFF 6502: Data Visualization and Analysis with Tableau

IAFF 6502: Writing for International Policymakers

Outstanding international affairs professionals inform and influence through clear and concise communications. Successful writers create a foundation for decision and action by efficiently providing context and logically presenting evidence. Effective policy writing anticipates a leader's needs and identifies challenges, present options, and uncover opportunities. This course uses short written assignments, exercises, and tailored feedback to hone the skills of accuracy, brevity, and clarity. We will write against the backdrop of current international affairs or national security challenges. Specific skills include the ability to start with your bottom line, explain complex information, develop recommendations, and write with proper syntax and grammar.

IAFF 6502: Public Speaking

Many aspects of daily life – work and personal – involve public speaking. Whether you are giving a toast at a social event or making a presentation before a professional audience, good public speaking skills are important, and can help you to make the right impression and further your career. This course will provide students the opportunity to learn (1) how to structure and organize a speech, (2) the elements of proper delivery, (3) the various speech types, (4) how to use visual aides, (5) how to encourage audience participation, and (6) how to identify topics. Students will present several speeches on different topics.

IAFF 6502: Intro to R

This course will help you familiarize yourself with the R programming language and R Studio integrated development environment (IDE). R is a free tool primarily used for statistical analysis. R is open source and benefits from several contributions (“packages'' or “libraries”) made by independent researchers. Statistical analysis is critical for effective, evidence-based policy making, and R counts itself among the highly sought after skills in the policy realm. In this class you will learn the fundamentals needed to create effective R scripts,run basic analyses, and troubleshoot (or debug) your code. You will also acquire the tools necessary to further develop your R skills to attain advanced-level programming knowledge.

IAFF 6502/6503: Negotiations Skills

IAFF 6503/6505: Applied AI: Digital Democracy

This course will prepare students and practitioners to use data analytics tools and AI to navigate the narrative warfare space on social media. The course will run real-time exercises on two recent global crises, Gaza War and Ukraine War to enable participants a mastery in monitoring, analyzing and strategizing for narrative warfare in a high-frequency and decentralized information space using AI. The course does not require any coding language as we will be using LLMs and a custom built AI platform for assignments.

IAFF 6503: Advocating for Women's Rights

This skills class will equip students with the building blocks for conducting successful advocacy on global women’s issues. It will foster an understanding of different elements of advocacy strategies and campaigns, from grassroots mobilization to direct engagement of policymakers through individual and coalition advocacy. It will build students’ skills in various tactics such as identifying the elements of “the ask,” crafting successful messages, building and managing coalitions, conducting power analyses, understanding strategic entry points in the policy process, and tailoring messaging for media and policy audiences. Finally, it will examine successful case studies of gender-responsive foreign policy advocacy from the perspective of advocates and policymakers alike.

IAFF 6503: Cities & States in Nat'l Sec

In an era of increasingly complex international relations, "Cities and States in National Security" provides a new lens on how subnational leaders—such as mayors, governors, and local leaders—emerge as key players on the global stage. This course invites students to examine national security through the innovative and often overlooked lens of subnational diplomacy: can state and local leaders shape and uphold values of openness, democracy, and partnership? With growing partisanship at the federal level, cities and states are stepping up to address critical global challenges—cyber threats, economic crises, public health, and climate risks. They offer agile responses that can complement traditional statecraft, pushing beyond groupthink that sometimes limits national foreign policy. Students will engage in guest lectures from experts to learn how city and state leaders use sports diplomacy to promote cross-cultural exchange, advocate for sustainable technologies in global trade, enhance economic competitiveness, and build resilience through crisis response. These professionals from diverse disciplines will share present case studies on local initiatives that have successfully influenced broader national and international policies. By the end of this course, students will gain a deeper understanding of the critical role cities and states play in national security. They will be equipped to think critically about how subnational diplomacy can enhance security while fostering innovative partnerships and global cooperation. Through this dynamic approach, "Cities and States in National Security" will empower future leaders to broaden the tools and perspectives of international relations to meet the demands of a rapidly changing world.

IAFF 6503: Ethics in International Affairs

IAFF 6503: Structured Analytic Techniques

This course introduces students to qualitative structured analytic techniques that they will be able to use across disciplines to help solve analytic problems. This course shows students how to use these techniques to approach analytic challenges and produce useful, insightful analysis. In numerous hands-on exercises, students practice specific skills to help them overcome mindsets, organize information, diagnose problems, explore different ways of thinking, and avoid surprises.

IAFF 6503/6505: Research and Data 101

In this course, participants will learn the basics of data, its uses, and what goes into data modeling. Learn to facilitate collaboration between policy analysts and data scientists for data-informed policy development, evaluate and interpret analyses and give feedback to improve modeling and forecasting, provide real-world context to models provided by data scientists, communicate policy scenarios based on data visualizations and predictive models, and utilize modern data-driven tools to evaluate policy and program success.

IAFF 6898: Capstone Workshop

IAFF 6899: Capstone Course

Fall 2024

IAFF 6101: International Affairs Cornerstone

IAFF 6102: Global Gender Policy

IAFF 6106: Nuclear Weapons

Nearly thirty-five years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and over three decades after the end of the Cold War, we find ourselves in a world in which nuclear weapons are still with us. Why do we have nuclear weapons? Why do countries seek nuclear weapons and how do they get them? How are nuclear weapons used, both in times of peace and in times of conflict? How is the spread of nuclear weapons controlled? Will we ever live in a world free of nuclear weapons? This course is designed to provide students with a basic orientation to the technologies, policies, and politics to answer these and other questions. We will examine the underlying technologies of the nuclear fuel cycle, production and accounting of nuclear weapons-usable fissile material, and the life cycle of nuclear weapons. We will discuss nuclear strategy and deterrence, particularly in how they relate to nuclear force planning and operations and the prospect of nuclear terrorism. Efforts to control the spread of nuclear weapons through nonproliferation, cooperative threat reduction, nuclear forensics, and counterproliferation are compared in the broader effort to control and reduce nuclear weapons through diplomacy and the means of verifying arms control and reduction agreements.

IAFF 6118: Diplomacy and Statecraft

IAFF 6118: Applied Qualitative Methods

This course introduces students to doing research that employs qualitative techniques within a fully qualitative paradigm, in contrast to the quantitative paradigm that underlies statistical research. The first part of the course will focus on (1) interviewing, the most common qualitative data collection method, and (2) coding, the foundation for more advanced qualitative analysis methods. Students will gain hands-on practice by working collaboratively in small groups and learning from their peers’ experiences as we explore a timely topic related to international studies selected by the instructor. (Bring your curiosity; no prior knowledge or experience necessary.) The second part of the course will introduce additional data collection methods such as qualitative surveys, focus groups, participant observation, and archival/document research. Time permitting and based on class interests, the course may also cover topics such as: research design, funding, navigating Institutional Review Board (IRB) requirements, and specialized qualitative data analysis methods. For their final project, each student will write a research proposal on a topic of their choice and present it to the class for peer feedback. In prior semesters, students have used this proposal to refine ideas for capstone projects, dissertations, journal articles, or other projects. At least one class meeting will be held online, using Zoom, during our regularly scheduled class time.

IAFF 6118: Gender and Security

IAFF 6118: Global Energy Trading, Pricing & Risk Management

This course entails a deep dive into the physical and financial energy markets associated with pricing, trading, and hedging crude oil, refined petroleum projects, natural gas, liquefied natural gas, NGLs coal, energy transition minerals, and electricity. The course is open to students pursuing degrees in international affairs and business. Students will learn how to buy and sell energy commodities in the physical markets and how energy derivatives (futures, options, and swaps) influence global energy prices, flows, and risk management. Students will learn about energy supply chains, supply and demand, the terminology used to buy/sell physical energy commodities, and how to use energy derivatives to hedge and speculate on price movement. The instructor will also cover how the Russia-Ukraine War, Hamas-Israel War, and energy policies and actions by the US, EU, UK, and OPEC+ BRIC countries influence global energy markets energy investments. Students will explore their country or regional interests through a Group presentation and separate paper or market report.

IAFF 6118: Global Justice

IAFF 6118: International Law and the Use of Force

IAFF 6118: Leadership & International Affairs

The course will focus on the leadership challenges that Elliott School graduates are certain to confront in their professional lives. The course will begin with a consideration of case studies of famous international leaders, and how concepts of leadership have changed over time. Part II of the course will then move into examining the skill sets required of successful leaders at all levels of career development, drawing on examples and case studies from international settings. Part III of the course will look at the exercise of those skills in different institutional settings, including inside the US government, across diverse cultural boundaries, and in the leading of NGOs, international organizations and key governments. Case studies will also figure prominently. Part IV will look at tomorrow’s challenges for international leaders and includes the development of a personal leadership plan by each student.

IAFF 6118: Theories of Ethnic Politics

Experts often regard ethnic divides as causing everything from civil war to democratic breakdown. This course engages the most prominent recent and classic research in the politics of ethnicity, nationalism, and identity, research that frequently challenges common assumptions. Readings will include leading works in a wide variety of theoretical and empirical traditions, including comparative political science, psychology, comparative history, sociology, economics, and anthropology. Empirical material will address cases from many parts of the world.

IAFF 6137: IDS Pre-capstone Workshop

The IDS Capstone is the culminating experience of the IDS program, allowing students to demonstrate the skills and knowledge they have gained in their program of study. The IDS program trains students in the theory and practice of development with an emphasis on ethics and cultural sensitivity. IDS capstone projects, which are pro-bono consultancies, have allowed students to make significant contributions to the work of dozens of leading development organizations, including government agencies, international organizations, NGOs, and consulting firms.

IAFF 6138 Achieving Sustainable Development

How can we achieve sustainable development? Our graduate seminar will investigate this question by first examining challenges to sustainability from a local to a global scale. Grounded in the UN’s Agenda 2030, we will identify the potential and limitations of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to support a change in development implementation. With a focus on rural development, we will identify the complexities of livelihoods and analyze novel, holistic approaches to development. Taking into account consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, the war in Ukraine, and persistent gender inequality, we will ground our discussions using case studies of existing and new projects and initiatives. We will also draw on exchanges with experts, with the ultimate goal of sharpening your skill sets to contribute towards sustainable development from the household to the policy levels. By the end of the course, you should be empowered to become a change maker towards sustainable development in your career in the public or private sector.

IAFF 6138: Gender, Disaster, Development

Disasters have increased in frequency and range and, in many locations around the world, intensity. Disasters affect all households, communities, and nations; however, disasters do not affect all persons equally. Instead, disasters and the climate change now influencing disasters have differential impacts. Relative levels of vulnerability and resilience to hazardous events vary by socioeconomic differences among genders, age groups, income levels, disability statuses, and other intersectional divisions. Disasters and their effects are of major concern to international development that seeks to address inequality, support sustainability, and mitigate environmental harm. With this course, students become familiar with forms of analysis and practice from a range of sources and disciplines within development related to disasters and climate change as they link to gender and other categories of identity.

IAFF 6138: Gender and Development

This graduate-level seminar will begin by examining the evolution of theoretical approaches regarding gender and development and the debates that have emerged over how to promote gender equity and rights across the gender spectrum. We will then consider some of the key issues in the field of gender and development and the challenges and successes that development practitioners have experienced in addressing gender inequalities. Throughout the course, we will seek to identify general patterns and lessons with broader applications as well as to recognize differences within and between societies. We will use a combination of academic sources, international development reports, and other materials produced by development practitioners to ground our discussions and study how organizations have sought to implement gender-sensitive approaches to development. The assignments are practical and relevant to professional work in the field of gender and development.

IAFF 6138: Humanitarian Governance and Policy

IAFF 6138: Human Trafficking

This course will examine the global problem of human trafficking, a complex socio-economic, political, human rights, law enforcement, and public health issue that affects a variety of individuals and communities in nearly every country. Vulnerabilities such as statelessness, poverty, the lack of economic opportunities, environmental degradation, weak national laws and policies, displacement, migration policies, corruption, gender-based violence, discrimination and social exclusion – among others – create conditions that allow traffickers/exploiters to take advantage of individuals and keep them in situations of forced labor and/or commercial sexual exploitation. Responding to human trafficking requires a wide spectrum of activities usually referred to as the “4 Ps” – prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership. The course will explore many of the important concepts used to discuss the issue of human trafficking; the root causes of trafficking; the debates within the community of anti-trafficking activists and advocates; the major challenges governments face when combating trafficking; and the many tools available to prevent and address the challenges. We will look at a broad range of policies, case studies, and best practices from the perspectives in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and Latin and North America. Guest speakers from government, NGOs, and academia will be invited to contribute to the seminar.

IAFF 6138: MEL for International Development Programs

Nearly half of the world’s population — more than 3 billion people — lives on less than $2.50 a day. For over five decades, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and other donors have been promoting much needed international development programs globally. The support from donors ranges from food programs to health care to governance to education. How effective are international development programs? How do you show whether a program is improving people’s lives? What can you do to prevent a $100 million program from becoming a resounding failure? In this entry-level course, you will explore key approaches to measure the results of international development programs and critically consider evaluation methodologies to determine whether they are working to meet the needs of communities and people. In addition, you will be able to determine how to learn from success and failure, apply and integrate approaches from other disciplines, use data as part of management practices, and suggest adaptations to improve program implementation. Throughout this course, you will develop your own Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) Plan for a real-world program; these kinds of MEL Plans are now a standard requirement in most international development programs.

IAFF 6141 International Science and Technology Policy

IAFF 6145: U.S. Space Policy

IAFF 6146 Space Law

IAFF 6148: Space and National Security

IAFF 6158: Artificial Intelligence & Policy Challenges

This class examines artificial intelligence (AI), problems of various sorts that AI use can cause, and candidate policy frameworks, both international and domestic, to manage these problems. No prior technical knowledge of artificial intelligence is needed to be successful in the class. The class distinguishes between new capabilities enabled by artificial intelligence, such as persistent surveillance and purposeful genomic manipulation, and inherent risks embedded in the mechanics of the algorithms themselves, such as poisoned data or drift. The class considers whether AI inherently favors autocracies, such as by closing the space for political dissent, or whether the current imbalance reflects an understandable lag in democracies implementing the policy frameworks needed to benefit from AI. It also considers whether AI should never be used for predictive policing and other law enforcement decisions because historical bias in the training database means that past prejudice will inevitably be reflected in the algorithm results. The class examines candidate policy frameworks, including international treaties, norms, and regimes for similar problems, as well as different domestic frameworks (implicit and explicit) to regulate AI in the United States, China, and the European Union.

IAFF 6158 Economics of Technological Change and Innovation

IAFF 6160: Defense Policy

IAFF 6161 International Security

IAFF 6163: Transnational Security Issues

As a required course for the transnational security concentration in the Security Policy Studies (SPS) program, this course is designed to provide an overview of pressing transnational security challenges. Weekly sessions will delve into the illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons, human beings, piracy, terrorism, insurgency, infectious diseases, environmental degradation, and corruption. While these issues are not new, their global impact and potential for devastation profoundly undermine both traditional state sovereignty and human security around the globe. Students will engage with a diverse array of academic journals, policy analyses, and news articles to better understand these issues, develop critical thinking skills, and evaluate diverse policy approaches aimed at mitigating these complex threats.

IAFF 6163: Transnational Security and Illicit Finance (Online)

IAFF 6164 Environmental Security

This graduate course will examine the link between environmental issues and security. Although scholars for decades have studied how environmental issues can threaten security and lead to conflict, their research often lags behind the growing international consensus that environmental issues are national security issues. National leaders and international policymakers are increasingly taking action to address what they see as environmental threats to national and global security. The course will examine these emerging threats, such as climate change, energy, water stress, pollution, desertification, the arctic and oceans, and assess how conflict and competition in these areas has led to internal instability and international conflict. We will study how environmental change and stress can worsen resource shortages, including food and water stress, intensify migration, bolster recruiting by militants, and raise the prospects for cross-border conflict. And we will study the use and damage of the environment during war.

IAFF 6165 Fundamentals of Intelligence

IAFF 6186: Asian Security

This graduate seminar explores the principal hard power security issues facing East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia as well as Australia, New Zealand, and the rest of Oceania. Now known as the “Indo-Pacific,” this enormous region comprises dozens of unique countries, many of which are critical to the security of the United States. The goal of this course is to offer students a survey of the key challenges facing the Indo-Pacific including: China’s economic and military rise; North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons arsenal; sovereignty disputes between China and numerous Southeast Asian countries in the South China Sea; maintaining peace in the nuclear-charged India-Pakistan relationship; competition among great powers in Afghanistan and Central Asia; and China’s growing influence in Pacific Island nations. By the end of the course, students should have a greater appreciation for and awareness of how the Indo-Pacific impacts U.S. security interests.

IAFF 6186: Competition in the Global Commons

A central philosophy of US security policy is to defend the "rules-based international order." But what is the rules-based order, and what does it mean, practically, to defend it? In this class, we will address those questions by focusing on global commons as frontier spaces—from maritime territorial disputes, to polar governance, to space policy. These frontiers are where state authority is constrained to oases (ships, satellites, bases), making them likely domains where Western norms will be tested, reinforced, or rewritten. Global commons are where state sovereignty is often at its most tenuous, where militaries are often dominant actors, and where norms may be most susceptible to manipulation or erosion. That makes for a unique, potentially explosive combination. This course will explore key concepts of international order, global commons, and great powers. We will assess the core security policy debates in the global commons, and we will workshop policies to defend, revise, or even retreat from US security commitments in those spaces.

IAFF 6186: China's Military

This course focuses on the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and de facto state military of the People’s Republic of China. This course offers criteria and metrics to assess military forces that students will apply in critical analyses of the PLA. The course begins with the CCP’s assessment of its security environment and national security objectives that frame the requirements for China’s military. It goes on to explore the assigned roles and missions of the PLA and the military capabilities necessary to accomplish those missions. Most classes will focus on the characteristics of China’s armed forces in the context of major warfare domains – land, maritime, air, space, cyberspace, and nuclear. These classes will include overviews of weapons and equipment, force structure, operational capabilities, and force development goals for each of the military services. Civilian-military relations and the fusion of civil capabilities to military missions will also be discussed. The course does not require previous detailed knowledge of military affairs or the Chinese political system, but those who have not studied those areas may require additional reading to establish a sufficient foundation for class discussions.

IAFF 6186: Cybersecurity

This course will provide an overview of current issues in the realm of cybersecurity, focusing on cybersecurity strategy, threats, conﬂict and policy. This course emphasizes the pragmatic impacts of the cyber domain on national and international security. We will begin with an understanding of the power inherent in cyberspace and consider the policy issues facing the civilian, military, intelligence and private business sectors in dealing with oﬀensive and defensive cyber activity. Through the use of case studies, we will examine previous and ongoing cyber conﬂicts. We will analyze the roles of several diﬀerent types of cyber actors including state actors, non-state actors such as criminal and terror groups and private sector responses. This course will also examine the issue of cyber deterrence, and the unique aspects of oﬀensive and defensive cyber activities by all cyber actors. This is an online course with weekly required synchronization (“sync”) sessions and some online assignments. At the end of the semester, students will participate in a “cyber simulation,” providing them with an opportunity to apply what they have learned to a “real life” cybersecurity event. The course will also require student presentations during sync sessions as well as exercises on key cyber issues. A technical background is not required and basic aspects of cyber operations will be discussed in the introductory class sessions.

IAFF 6186 Cyber Threats and Policy

IAFF 6186 Emerging Threats

IAFF 6186: Great Power Competition

This course examines the past, present, and future of how the most powerful states in the international system—the great powers—compete and cooperate in international relations. It begins by introducing different ways of defining and measuring relative power, and covers the key theoretical models of great power competition. It then examines various facets of great power competition, including its relationship to geography, technology, economics, ideology, status, nuclear weapons, and the global “periphery.” The course also examines the foreign and national security policies of individual great powers in detail, including those of the United States, the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, and a number of near- or potential-great powers, such as India, Japan, and European states. The course closes by looking forward to some emerging present and future challenges in great power competition. Through this course, students will gain a thorough understanding of how the great powers protect their security and pursue their interests in international politics.

IAFF 6186: Russia & International Security

IAFF 6186 Transnational Organized Crime

IAFF 6186: The Analysis of Military Operations

This course introduces students to what militaries are, what technologies they make use of, and, most importantly, how they operate in peace and at war. It begins by providing students with the vocabulary necessary to discuss defense and military issues, covering the basics of military organizations and technologies. It then introduces the basic tools for the analysis of conventional military operations, followed by the application of these analytical tools to land, maritime, air, and joint military operations. The course also covers the analysis of “non-traditional” military operations, such as counterinsurgency, stability operations, and humanitarian intervention. The course ends with a look forward, considering how changes in the balance of power and emerging technologies will likely influence conventional military operations in the years ahead. Through this course, students will gain not only the fluency to comfortably debate and discuss military affairs, but, more crucially, a set of skills with which to systematically analyze military operations and strategies.

IAFF 6186: U.S. National Security

IAFF 6186: US Security Policy in Asia

IAFF 6186 Understanding U.S. Special Operations

This graduate course examines the use of U.S. special operations forces (SOF) in pursuit of a broad range of national security objectives. The course explores both historical (emphasis on post-World War II) and contemporary issues and debates surrounding the utility of special operations and the use of SOF. During the course, we will address a number of questions, including: What are special operations and SOF? How are special operations different from conventional military operations and why are they conducted? What are the different types of U.S. SOF, and how and why did they come to exist? What are the different roles and missions of each type of U.S. SOF? How have special operations and SOF historically been used? How are special operations and SOF used today and how is that likely to change in the future? What are the major operational, organizational, and cultural challenges facing U.S. SOF today and how should they think about overcoming them?

IAFF 6171: Introduction to Conflict Resolution

This course examines the causes of armed conflicts as well as efforts to prevent, limit, manage, and resolve conflicts. Our primary focus is the most prevalent types of armed conflicts in the world today: intra-state conflicts and civil wars — along with regionalized and internationalized intrastate conflicts. We also examine prominent inter-state conflicts. The course begins with an overview of conflict trends, conflict types, and conflict consequences. The second part of the course examines the factors that lead to the onset and escalation of intra-state conflicts: conflict settings; weak states; security dynamics; demographic, economic and environmental factors; political factors and political leaders. The third part of the course turns to the efforts of national and international actors to prevent, limit, and resolve conflicts, including the use of mediation, economic sanctions, military interventions, peacekeeping, and post-conflict peacebuilding. The course concludes with a look to the future.

IAFF 6198 Law, Economics, and Governance of Global Trade

The global trading system is in crisis – reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ongoing US-China trade war, a dysfunctional dispute settlement system, and mounting pressure for “de-globalization”. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is struggling to stay relevant, as countries continue shaping the future of trade through bilateral and mega-regional trade deals. Against this complex backdrop, this interdisciplinary course offers practical, in-depth knowledge of the law, economics, and governance of the global trading order. Topics include rationales for concluding trade agreements; the role, function, and organization of the WTO; bedrock principles and core disciplines of multilateral trade; the WTO dispute settlement system; recent trends in international trade cooperation; and the role of the United States in shaping and reforming the international trade order; and the future of the global trading system.

IAFF 6208: Public Diplomacy

This course examines concepts, practices, institutions, and critical issues in public diplomacy (PD). It assumes the central importance of public engagement in today’s diplomacy and that diplomatic practice is changing in fundamental ways that pose challenges for practitioners of PD. More diplomatic engagement occurs in public places – real and virtual. A more diverse and increasingly active set of players is filling the global space for engagement and communications. Issues are more complex and often global in nature. The communications landscape is faster and more competitive than ever before, and new technologies are accelerating the speed of diplomacy and transforming its forms and core functions. Current events have led to more virtual engagement with foreign publics. Drawing on the experiences of diplomats, practitioners and a growing body of literature, this course will be organized as a practicum in public diplomacy and will examine the strategies, tools and practice of public diplomacy.

IAFF 6212: Strategy and Leadership

Registration is restricted to MIPP students only.

IAFF 6213: Leadership Capstone

The MIPP Leadership Capstone is the second course in the two-semester MIPP leadership program, building on IAFF 6212 Strategy and Leadership. This two-semester sequence explores the evolving nature of international leadership in the twenty-first century, focusing on horizontal leadership – a leadership approach that is critical for managing expert, networked teams on complex problems that require adaptation and learning. That is, it is an emerging leadership style for the current century where power is diffused and global challenges are complex and transnational. In the Leadership Capstone, students practice horizontal leadership skills by researching and designing an individual leadership project that addresses a critical issue in their professional field, using lateral leadership skills to build alliances and buy-in. While the first semester of the program focused on strategic thinking and team leadership skills, the second semester emphasizes the development of skills in research, program design and evaluation, coalition building, proposal writing, and oral presentation.

This course is restricted to MIPP students only.

IAFF 6318: Reading Seminar - 20th Century China

This seminar explores the latest scholarship on the history of modern China, 1850s–present day. We will read recent, engaging books, and then discuss them together in class. We will come to understand how and why scholars writing in English have studied the Chinese past in certain ways, and how and why their approaches have changed.

IAFF 6318: Asian Security

An examination of the major issues in Asian Security using various theoretical perspectives involving a mix of political science and policy analysis.

IAFF 6318: Contemporary China’s Economy

IAFF 6318: Women in Asia

IAFF 6318: Korean Politics

In this course, we will examine political institutions, political processes, and policy issues in South Korea (the Republic of Korea, ROK) and North Korea (the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, DPRK). We will trace the evolution of political institutions and examine the legacies of Japanese colonial rule, national division, and authoritarian rule. Topics include authoritarianism and democratization (or lack thereof), economic development, political participation, civil society, and policymaking. In the final part of the semester, our focus will turn to inter-Korean relations and regional security. We will examine issues related to North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, illicit activities, and human rights, as well as dialogue, sanctions, and the possibility of unification.

IAFF 6338: Populism and Illiberalism

This course introduces students to the rise of populist and illiberal movements in Western and Central Europe, as well as in the US. It comprehensively explores the multifaceted challenges faced by liberal democracies today, such as democratic backsliding; the rise of authoritarian leaders; the electoral successes of far-right parties and movements; the emergence of illiberal governance and its political economy; the role of gender issues; and the central place of social media in spreading disinformation, hate speech, and conspiracy theories. Students will develop skills in reading and analyzing quantitative and qualitative research at the intersection of the social sciences and international affairs, and will enhance their ability to identify the structural changes that challenge democratic institutions.

IAFF 6338: Nationalism, Nation-Building, and Ethnic Conflicts in Eurasia

Russia’s war in Ukraine has relaunched debates about Russia’s nationalism and imperial identity. How should we think about nationalism, nation-building, and ethnic conflict in the post-Soviet space? This class examines imperial and Soviet legacies in the present-day shaping of national identities, citizenship policies, memory wars, nationhood ideologies, ethnic tensions, and de facto states in countries ranging from Ukraine to the South Caucasus, Central Asia, and the Baltic States. It delves into Russia’s complex identity-building and nationalist symbolic politics before and after the outbreak of the war.

IAFF 6338: Nationalism in Eurasia

This is a class on the causes and the political effects of nationalism in Europe. The first part of the course is designed to provide you with an understanding of the most prominent explanations of the emergence and spread of nationalism, and the background knowledge and tools with which to evaluate them. We will study the transition from Empires to nation-states. We will also focus on developments in the "periphery of Europe." The second part of the course focuses on the effects of nation-building on state policies toward non-core groups and diasporas, patterns of political violence, and political identities. The third part of the course deals with contemporary challenges: populism, nativism, immigrant incorporation, the prospects of a European supranational identity, and contemporary self-determination movements. We will cover cases across Europe and different time periods. Students will learn how to formulate research questions, develop arguments, and evaluate hypotheses.

IAFF 6358: Democracy in Latin America

This seminar offers a long-term perspective on current discussions of democracy in Latin America. It traces the journey of democracy in the region, analyzing its advances and setbacks over the last two hundred years. It is divided chronologically into three main periods, beginning with the rise of democratic ideas and practices between the nineteenth century and the 1930s, followed by the post-Depression and Cold War years, and ending with the democratization process that began in the 1970s, up to current discussions of democratic backsliding. Throughout these periods, the seminar addresses issues of race, ethnicity, gender, populism (old and new), dictatorships, inequality, and human rights (defined in broad, social terms). The seminar aims to situate Latin America within global conversations about democracy.

IAFF 6358: Government & Politics of Latin America

Democracy is challenged around the world, and Latin America is no exception. In recent years in Latin America, politics are more polarized and democratic principles are more commonly violated; in Nicaragua and Venezuela, democracy has died. This course asks: Why? Why, after the Cold War, did democracy reach every Latin American country save Cuba? And why did it recede? We discuss scholarly explanations, including political culture, political institutions, modernization theory, dependency theory, and the resource curse. And we consider the capacity of Latin America’s democracies to resolve long-standing challenges of poverty, inequality, corruption, violent crime, environmental degradation, and exclusion due to race and gender. Through lectures, discussion, and student debates, the course aims to expand the range of concepts and facts that build students’ capacity to perceive patterns and solve problems. In the professor’s many years of research in Latin America, Peru has been a particular focus.

IAFF 6358: Geopolitics and Geoeconomics of Latin America

This course analyzse the geopolitics and geoeconomics of Latin America. At the intersection of both lies the use of geopolitics to promote economic goals and of economic means to promote geopolitical objectives. Both seek to alter the balance of power and influence of the countries in the international arena. How has this interaction evolved in a context in which domestic politics underwent turmoil and the international arena drastic changes? How have Latin American nations sought to redefine their insertion, role, and influence in the ever-changing shape international system, from the years of the Cold War to the one of Globalization and the heyday of multilateralism to the era of Retrenchment and bilateralism. What are the implications for the future? The course will be based on lectures, student presentations, guest speakers, and research work. By the end of the semester students would have a solid grasp of facts and concepts, be able to analyze and forecast trends, and develop critical analytical skills.

IAFF 6361: Middle East Studies Cornerstone

Multidisciplinary foundation course for the Middle East studies program. Introduction to key issues.

IAFF 6377: Middle East Studies Capstone

A project-oriented course, designed to synthesize the skills and knowledge that students have acquired in their graduate study. Restricted to students in the MA in Middle East studies program.

IAFF 6378: Refugees and Displaced People in the Middle East

This course offers students the opportunity to learn about the current dynamics of displacement and migration in the Middle East. The Middle East is the site of significant forced displacement—both across and within borders. Conflicts in the region over the past decade have driven millions from their homes. Yet states in the region are also the destination and origin for millions of migrants seeking economic and social opportunities. Rapidly intensifying climate change is also driving increasing movement primarily within countries. Together, these mobility dynamics have indelibly shaped the region’s politics, society, and economy. Students will engage with academic literature from across disciplines as well as policy texts reflecting important current debates. We will cover key topics including: forced migration including refugees and internal displacement, climate change and mobility, labor migration, determinants of immigration policy, and the role of non-state and humanitarian aid. We will also discuss specific cases, including Syrian and Palestinian displacement and labor migration in the Levant.

IAFF 6378: Gender & the Middle East

Why is there such an emphasis on gendered power relations in the Middle East? How do we go about examining the significance of gender to the contemporary Middle East? To address these questions, this course provides students with the historical and analytical foundations to examine the role gender—understood as forms of interrelations through which difference and power are produced—plays in the contemporary Middle East. Two major objectives animate this course. The first is to learn about the diversity of gender relations and gendered experiences in the contemporary Middle East. The second is to develop a robust analytical vocabulary that will enable us to critically interrogate gendered power relations and how these intersect with colonial modernity, geopolitics, religion, kinship, sexuality, dis/ability, political economy, and affect.

IAFF 6378: Iran in the Middle East

Iran has long played a critical role in the international relations of the Middle East–historically one of the most tumultuous regions in the world. In this graduate course, we will critically discuss Iran's foreign and security policies, against the backdrop of its controversial nuclear and missile programs, support for proxy groups, and its contentious relations with other regional players, especially Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Israel. The aim of this course is to familiarize students with goals, characteristics, and evolution of Iran’s regional policies and the daunting challenges it faces. Some of the questions that this course aims to address: How do Iranians look at the region? What are Iran’s strategic goals in the Middle East? How does the rest of the region look at Iran? What are the driving forces behind Iran’s foreign and security policies?

IAFF 6378: Political Economy of the Middle East

This course will introduce students to the political foundations of the region’s economy. Wewill examine how the economy of the MENA has been shaped by encounters with external actors (foreign traders, colonizing governments, transnational firms, international financial institutions, development agencies, etc.) but also how the region has impacted the global economy, with a special focus on the Gulf states and their role in shaping global financial markets. We will examine the legacy and ongoing impact of Western development and reconstruction agencies and their discourses, with special attention to the region's agrarian zones as well as zones transformed by imperial wars. Other important regional actors such as militaries, oil companies, sovereign wealth funds and labor movements will also be examined. This course will introduce students to mainstream political economy approaches concurrently with their critiques, in order to provide an understanding of the evolution of theories and practices of economic development and their political origins.

IAFF 6378: Readings in Arab Politics & Society

Readings in Politics & Society course will introduce students to events and issues, with the goal of enhancing their knowledge of past, current and future challenges that confront the Arab-speaking world. The diverse body of media articles presented in this class aims to foster the students’ critical thinking skills and allow them to compare and contrast news sources through analysis.The course is conducted in Arabic and aims to contribute to the development of advanced level competence in the fundamental language skills (reading, writing, speaking, and listening) at the advanced level of the ACTFL Guidelines for proficiency, and to build on their knowledge of some salient aspects of Arab culture.Through a multidisciplinary, practical approach students will be asked to engage with real authentic language through a range of articles published in various Arabic news outlets. Students will interact with the text through a variety of drills that target different skills.

IAFF 6378: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East

This course examines U.S. engagement in the Middle East since the 1940s by studying the evolution of U.S. policy, reviewing key decisions, and assessing 21^st century challenges. Students will build on this foundation to determine what U.S. national security interests are – and what U.S. priorities should be – in this region, and how the current inflection point in the global world order affects them. The course also seeks to provide an analytical framework for better understanding differing perspectives on U.S. policy. Student presentations, writing assignments, and active class discussion will help students improve the analytical, written, and oral communications skills essential for a successful career in international affairs. The instructor is a former career diplomat who served as a U.S. Ambassador and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs.

IAFF 6385: Power, Politics, and Development in Africa

Students in this course will explore sectors and themes related to the field of development—as both a phenomenon of study, and a field of practice—in Sub-Saharan Africa. Students will be exposed to a cross-section of approaches towards development from various disciplines, with specific emphasis on strategic interactions, institutional constraints on behavior, and other political and social processes which all give rise to the modern development challenges faced by communities and states on the continent. Students will have wide latitude in guiding their study to best meet their interests beyond the core questions of the class, which is: What are the key causal inputs to lagging development in Sub-Saharan Africa, and what is the most impactful means to design or assess “interventions”?

IAFF 6385: Rising China in Africa

Students will investigate the political, economic, security, and soft power China-Africa relationship historically, currently, and looking to the future. The course has a strong policy component and makes frequent comparisons with US-Africa relations. The primary text for the course is my co-authored China's Relations with Africa: A New Era of Strategic Engagement published by Columbia University Press in 2023. The focus of the book is China's political and security relationship with Africa. The course draws on a significant number of specialized readings that cover other elements of the relationship from academic, policy, and journalistic accounts. It treats Africa as an integrated unit when appropriate but cites numerous country examples from both Sub-Saharan and North Africa. The professor has 37 years of practical experience in the US Foreign Service, most of it concerning Africa, and another 23 years of teaching and research on African issues and the China-Africa relationship. Students write two 10-12 page research papers, give one oral presentation, and are expected to participate actively in class discussions of the required reading and whatever may be of interest to them.

IAFF 6502: Intro to R

This course will help you familiarize yourself with the R programming language and R Studio integrated development environment (IDE). R is a free tool primarily used for statistical analysis. R is open source and benefits from several contributions (“packages'' or “libraries”) made by independent researchers. Statistical analysis is critical for effective, evidence-based policy making, and R counts itself among the highly sought after skills in the policy realm. In this class you will learn the fundamentals needed to create effective R scripts,run basic analyses, and troubleshoot (or debug) your code. You will also acquire the tools necessary to further develop your R skills to attain advanced-level programming knowledge. This course focuses on coding in R and does not teach quantitative topics and techniques.

IAFF 6502/6503 Negotiations Skills.

IAFF 6502/6503: Writing for International Policymakers

IAFF 6502/6505: Digital Development - Monitoring & Evaluation

The importance and rise in technology innovation in the international development space has brought about new solutions to complex problems and created challenges for successful program implementation. Students will explore the opportunity technology plays as a catalyst for social impact and sustainability across the development landscape. The course will introduce students to the DevResults platform along with practical implementations of technology solutions from leaders within the field.

IAFF 6502/6503: Formal Briefing

IAFF 6502/6503: STATA: Fundamentals

A four-week Stata introduction course that will cover basic skills for students to get hands-on using Stata for data analysis. This course provides a basic introduction to Stata software and its applications on data management, data analysis and econometric modeling.

IAFF 6503: The Role of Defense Contracting

IAFF 6503 Political Risk Analysis

This course examines the concept and foundations of political risk analysis and delves into empirical cases to understand the role that political risk plays in shaping the international business landscape and operating environment. The course explores various sources of political risk, considers how political risk develops and evolves, analyses how this form of risk influences business decisions, and probes how firms, investors, and international actors manage political risk. To these ends, the course takes a multi-disciplinary approach drawing from international relations, economics, risk management, and strategic communications. It begins with a focus on the fundamentals of political risk analysis before moving to the practical application of key methods and strategies used to in political risk analysis. Attention is given to country-based political risk as well as issue-based political risk. By identifying and analyzing existing and emerging political risks, and comparing strategies to measure and mitigate such risk at the macro and/or micro levels, students will learn how to approach each phase involved in political risk analysis.

IAFF 6503: International Business Data with PowerBI

In this course, International Business Data with PowerBI, you'll embark on a journey to master the essentials of data visualization and cleaning techniques using Power Query. Learn the art of creating compelling visualizations, enabling you to communicate business insights effectively. Dive into the intricacies of Power Query to skillfully clean and shape international datasets, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of your analyses.