Government 59, “Foreign Policy Analysis and Decision Making”
This mid-level course examines conceptual, political, psychological, and organizational challenges in foreign policy decision making. Through class discussions and course assignments, we evaluate how well practitioners grapple with these challenges. Case studies include escalation in Vietnam, assessments of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction programs, and the raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. As we analyze and critique foreign policy, we seek to develop broader intuitions for making better decisions in everyday contexts.
Government 85.29, “U.S. Military Interventions Since Vietnam”
This upper-level seminar surveys prominent studies of United States military operations. We examine how scholars have attempted to inform public debates about these conflicts, and how those experiences have shaped broader conceptions of politics and war. How much (or how little) it is possible for political scientists to learn from armed conflict? What aspects of these experiences are academic methods best suited to address, and where have they come up short? We direct these questions towards scholarship on conflicts in a range of areas including Vietnam, Grenada, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya. The goal of this class is to deepen students’ substantive knowledge of military affairs while engaging broader questions about the possibilities and limits of analyzing controversial events.
Government 85.52, “Politics of National Security”
This upper-level seminar examines how domestic politics shape international behavior, particularly in the realm of national security. We ask questions such as: Are democratic checks and balances an asset or a liability in international affairs? How do military and civilian elites compete for influence over national security decisions? To what extent is political polarization undermining U.S. foreign policy? What role will economic forces play in shaping China’s rise? By engaging cutting-edge scholarship on these topics, students will develop a deeper understanding of how public preferences and political institutions guide foreign policy in ways that sometimes help – and sometimes hinder – the pursuit of national interests.
Government 7.12, “Intelligence and National Security”
This first-year seminar explores challenges and controversies of U.S. intelligence analysis. Almost all important issues in intelligence are surrounded by secrecy and uncertainty. It is inherently difficult to know “what works” in intelligence, to define “good” analysis, or to make sound recommendations for improvement. Specific controversies we examine include whether the United States could have prevented the September 11 terrorist attacks, how US analysts came to believe that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction programs, why Israel did not anticipate the onset of its current war with Hamas, and what impact artificial intelligence is likely to have on national security. In analyzing these topics, we engage broader debates about what it means to address high-stakes controversies in a manner that is both rigorous and useful.
Government 50.02, “Civil War and Insurgency in the Modern World”
This midlevel course examines why civil wars begin, how they are fought, how they end, and what the international community can do to mitigate their cost. The course has four units. Unit 1 discusses why civil wars begin. Unit 2 describes how civil wars are fought, focusing especially on contemporary debates about counterinsurgency. Unit 3 studies how civil wars end, and why some civil war outcomes are more damaging than others. Unit 4 uses course concepts to analyze the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, examining how well our theories of civil war help to structure analysis of complex and controversial events.
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