Teaching

Government 59, “Foreign Policy Analysis and Decision Making”
Winter term mid-level course
Syllabus*

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 50.02, “Civil War, Insurgency, and the International Response”
Summer term mid-level course
Syllabus*

This mid-level course examines why civil wars begin, how they are fought, how they end, and what the international community can do to mitigate their cost. We use these ideas to explore a range of prominent conflicts, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Malaya, Colombia, El Salvador, Sierra Leone, and Congo. We ask how effectively the United States, the United Nations, and other actors have responded to these conflicts, and what lessons we can draw for responding to future challenges. Specific topics include: the theory and practice of insurgency and counterinsurgency; successes and failures of international peacekeeping; the role of ethnicity and religion; and the relationship between civil conflict and economic development.


Government 85.29, “Lessons from America’s Foreign Wars”
Summer term seminar
Syllabus*

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 7.12, “Intelligence and National Security”
Winter term first-year seminar
Syllabus*

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 the September 11 terrorist attacks, assessments of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, CIA methods of “enhanced interrogation,” and Edward Snowden’s disclosure of classified programs. 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.

*- These documents are posted to assist students with course selection, but the official version of each course syllabus will be posted (and updated) on Canvas.

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