The course will review several key theories of policy making that tackle different levels of analysis and different analytical frameworks. It will examine the impact of a range of factors – including the international system, historical context, political system, domestic politics, bureaucratic politics and individual personalities – in determining national security policies of different countries. Differences between authoritarian and democratic states, large and small states, and presidential and parliamentary democracies, will also be discussed. The material from the discussion of theories will then be applied to more detailed study of practical policy making in four leading international actors: the United States, Russia, China, and the European Union as well as their interaction on a range of international security issues.