International Relations, Statecraft and Integrated Strategy

IWP 627
Four credits

This course introduces the field of international relations in a way that blends issues of theory and practice. It is designed to give students an understanding of those questions of international relations theory that have a direct bearing on the ability of policy practitioners to accomplish their mission. The issues of war and peace will be examined in relation to the international system, the problem of sovereignty, and alternative concepts of world order, including the balance of power and the need to create new political forms. The course will then introduce the various methods of statecraft that are available to policymakers and examine how they have been used successfully in the pursuit of national interests and purposes. These include the instruments of power, such as: military power; economic strategy; intelligence; the use of information, disinformation, and propaganda; various types of diplomacy, political, moral, and psychological influence; and other instruments of "soft power."

Semester Available

Fall Semester
Spring Semester

Principal Professor

John Lenczowski

Founder and President, The Institute of World Politics {read more}

Roger W. Fontaine

Former Director of Latin American Affairs, National Security Council {read more}

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FEATURED FACULTY

David Burgess

Chief of Operations of the Europe, Mediterranean and Asia Region, Peace Corps

U.S. Intelligence in the Cold War and Beyond

Secret intelligence is the "missing dimension" of Cold War history, as it is of most diplomatic history. This course analyzes a selective history of the U.S. intelligence community in the Cold War in order to assess its overall role. On the basis of declassified intelligence records and eyewitness accounts of former senior intelligence officers, the course focuses on what the intelligence community collected, knew, and estimated, and how intelligence reporting did or did not affect U.S. national security strategy and policy.

Principal Professor

David L. Thomas