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This seminar will examine how the norms of international law and multilateral structures can contribute to the resolution of acute security crises – and also how they fail. The role of alliances as instruments of deterrence and commitment, the role of national and pooled intelligence, the function of the United Nations in convening negotiations and imposing sanctions, and the unapologetic survival of great power diplomacy and national military strength, will be addressed. We will also look at how atavistic differences – national economic ambition, ethnic competition, and ideological rivalries – can instigate and prolong conflicts. Seminar participants can prepare research papers or take an examination. Contribution to classroom discussions is required. The course will be taught by Jeffrey Pryce, former senior advisor to the Pentagon’s Undersecretary for Policy and counsel at the law firm of Steptoe and Johnson in the field of international arbitration. Close analysis of the role and strategy of international and national institutions in security crises is one way to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past – in the destabilized global situation so much in evidence now.