3.0

Average Course Rating

This course examines how states (primarily the United States) and other political entities harness military capabilities to pursue policy objectives. It exposes students to levels of strategy—grand strategy, strategy, operations, and tactics—in a national security context. The course will then focus on the practical implications of both the unchanging nature and evolving character of warfare. Students will critically examine, through theoretical and historical lenses, topics such as civil-military relations, military innovation, nuclear strategy, limited war, insurgency and counterinsurgency, and peace operations. The goal is to understand the embedded assumptions of the various theories, the characteristics of the military capabilities animated by them, and, through discussion and case studies, the strengths, limitations, and practical policy implications of each.