The idea of security is experienced or defined very differently in different quarters of the Middle East. If you are, say, in Mosul or Baghdad, in Damascus or Aleppo, in Gaza or Hebron, in Jerusalem or Kfar Etzion or Tel Aviv, in Amman or Beirut, in Cairo or El Arish, in Doha or Riyadh. Each of those places stimulates a different sense of security, in the personal or collective sense, and yet their overall security discourse is interconnected. The overall discourse on security in the Middle East is influenced, affected, interrupted, and shaped by what is going on in the region. They represent different facets of the larger issue and discourse of security in the Middle East.

The seminar will address the issue and the discourse of security in the Middle East, with stress on the two sides of the spectrum, from weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to acts of terrorism. We will look at the issue of security from both the national and the regional levels.

The seminar’s fundamental starting point is that to understand the issue of security in the region one must examine the broader historical fundamentals of the region. Religion, ethnicity, ideology, identity and, of course, politics are all closely related to the broader issue of security. Those issues are at the core of all regional conflicts as well as global terrorism; those issues shape the making of the modern Middle East. For this reason the seminar begins with a broad introduction on the making of the modern Middle East. Among the basic themes to be discussed in that introduction are:

• the idea of the “Middle East” as a distinct geo-political region;

• the fundamentals of the region: the religious, ethnic, and linguistic composition of the Middle East;

• The split Sunni versus Shia

• Islam as the major religion of the Middle East;

• the collapse of the Ottoman Empire as the cradle of the modern Middle East;

• the formation of the state system in the Middle East;

• the rise of political Zionism,

• the birth of the Arab-Israeli conflict;

• the rise of modern Iran;

• the creation of Modern Saudi Arabia and the Gulf;

Then, and against this introductory background, the seminar will examine the issue of contemporary security in the Middle East from both national and regional perspectives. We will look at the issue of security in the cases of the major states in the Middle East: Egypt, Iraq, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Israel. As it turns out, those countries –each in its unique way -- struggle now with issues of national identity and ideology that shapes their sense of security or lack therein.

The final part of the seminar will deal with regional issues involve regional security, WMD and ISIS. We will review not only the formation of the nuclear order in the Middle East where is Israel maintains a “benign monopoly” but also the history of the efforts to constrain and control the spread of WMD in the region, and why those efforts turned out not to be successful. The seminar will end by discussing the history as well as the desirability and feasibility of the efforts to establish the Middle East as WMD free zone.

The MANPTS Honors Thesis is a highly selective program through which a limited number of students will design and conduct individual research projects of professional length, scope, and quality under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Applications for the honors thesis will be accepted in the Spring from students in their second or subsequent semesters in the NPTS MA program who are currently maintaining a GPA of 3.7 or higher. Applications will require a personal statement, academic transcript, sample of research writing, proposal for the thesis, and recommendation from a member of the faculty or research staff. In recommending a student for the honors thesis, a faculty or staff member must agree to serve as the student’s thesis advisor if the student is selected for the program. The NPTS Program Chair will appoint a selection committee composed of NPTS faculty and staff from the appropriate MIIS research centers to review applications. Students will be selected for the honors thesis on the basis of GPA, demonstrated proficiency in research and analytical writing, and any other relevant criteria as determined by the selection committee. Throughout the Fall semester, thesis advisors will provide students enrolled in NPTG 8662 with individualized supervision of their thesis projects in a manner similar to a directed study. Thesis advisors will set a schedule for research and writing of the thesis and will meet with students as needed to review progress and provide comments and advice. At the end of the Fall semester, students will present their projects to the Monterey Institute community in a symposium at which invited experts will provide comments and suggestions for further development and publication of research.

The MANPTS Honors Thesis is a highly selective program through which a limited number of students will design and conduct individual research projects of professional length, scope, and quality under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Applications for the honors thesis will be accepted in the Spring from students in their second or subsequent semesters in the NPTS MA program who are currently maintaining a GPA of 3.7 or higher. Applications will require a personal statement, academic transcript, sample of research writing, proposal for the thesis, and recommendation from a member of the faculty or research staff. In recommending a student for the honors thesis, a faculty or staff member must agree to serve as the student’s thesis advisor if the student is selected for the program. The NPTS Program Chair will appoint a selection committee composed of NPTS faculty and staff from the appropriate MIIS research centers to review applications. Students will be selected for the honors thesis on the basis of GPA, demonstrated proficiency in research and analytical writing, and any other relevant criteria as determined by the selection committee. Throughout the Fall semester, thesis advisors will provide students enrolled in NPTG 8662 with individualized supervision of their thesis projects in a manner similar to a directed study. Thesis advisors will set a schedule for research and writing of the thesis and will meet with students as needed to review progress and provide comments and advice. At the end of the Fall semester, students will present their projects to the Monterey Institute community in a symposium at which invited experts will provide comments and suggestions for further development and publication of research.

In the realm of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), South Asia is one of the key regions of analysis. This course takes a comprehensive look at the role of WMD in the strategic thinking of various actors involved in the South Asian security framework. It is important to note that South Asian nuclear issues cannot be studied in isolation from other regional and global dynamics. States such as the U.S., China, and Russia are crucial players in the South Asian strategic framework. The course examines various reasons behind WMD acquisition by India and Pakistan, concentrating especially on nuclear weapons. These factors include threat perceptions, domestic imperatives and nationalistic attitudes. A key element of nuclear weapons programs is the development of effective delivery systems such as missiles and aircraft. Analysis of such programs provides an indicator of current and future strategy. In this context, both India and Pakistan have made major strides in their cruise and ballistic missile programs to make their nuclear strategy more credible. At the same time, neither side has a clearly enunciated nuclear doctrine, although attempts have been made in this direction. This is crucial in context of a reliable command and control system and for crisis stability. Another major issue covered in this course is the proliferation of WMD materials to non-state actors or aspiring nuclear states by proliferation networks connected to South Asia. Relatedly, policymakers in the region and elsewhere are also concerned with the danger of nuclear terrorism. These are some of the prominent issues concerning weapons of mass destruction in South Asia. The two sides have periodically taken steps to prevent nuclear crises situations. Apart from nuclear weapons, this seminar also examines chemical and biological weapons policy in the two countries.

Geographic Information Systems

This course introduces the theory and application of spatial data acquisition, analysis, and display using a project based approach. Students will practice how to conceive, gather, manage, analyze, and visualize geographic datasets using the global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information systems (GIS), and use GIS for spatial analysis and decision making. The course will be conducted using lecture and lab methods; active student participation is required.

This course introduces students to the skills and concepts at the core of a dynamic and rapidly developing interdisciplinary field. Network analytic tools focus on the relationships between nodes (e.g., individuals, groups, organizations, countries, etc.). We analyze these relationships to uncover or predict a variety of important factors (e.g., the potential or importance of various actors, organizational vulnerabilities, potential subgroups, the need for redundancy, social and economic ties, growth within a network, …). Although the security field has received the greatest amount of recent attention (covert or terrorist networks), these tools can offer valuable insight into a variety of disciplines. The combination of – often stunning – visual analytic techniques with more quantitative measures accounts for much of the increasing worldwide popularity of this field.

Course Objectives

At the end of the semester, students will be able to:
Explain and apply a number of the concepts that underpin network analysis Apply concepts such as centrality, brokerage, equivalence and diffusion to network data Critically evaluate structures and substructures within a network Perform a variety of approaches to clustering and cohesion to networks Analyze networks using a variety of software packages

Professional Service Semester Field Deliverables

During their PSS internships students complete applied academic deliverables for which they earn six academic credits. The academic credit is not awarded for the internship itself, but for the work that applies students’ academic training to contribute to their host organizations’ mission in area of student’s career interest. The letter grades will be assigned based on the assessment of the following four deliverables:

PSS Field Project: By the end of their internship, students must have completed an ambitious project or other relatively autonomous contribution that presents value for the host organization and builds on students’ strengths and advances his/her skills and knowledge. The field project can take the form of a policy or consultancy report, evaluation, analysis, a website, or other substantive contribution to their host organization that integrates high quality research, analysis, and other skills and subject-matter knowledge. Faculty with relevant expertise and assigned peers will provide every student with regular feedback on the major steps of the field project. A student’s regular internship responsibilities ideally should overlap with but are not limited to the core field assignment. The organizations receiving interns are encouraged to help students identify such assignments prior to their arrival or at the very latest within one month after the start of student’s internship. The organization should provide assistance and guidance in completing this assignment. Presentation: In the final part of the internship students will present their field project to their colleagues at their host organizations. Students will complete a separate presentation to their MIIS faculty and classmates.

Peer feedback: Interns will collaborate with their assigned peers by providing mutual peer feedback on their core field assignments to improve the quality of their work and learn from each other.

Final reflection: Interns will submit a final reflection to PSS faculty and staff near the end of their internship- summarizing their most important insights and lessons they obtained from the internship experience for their professional and academic development.

Professional Service Semester Field Deliverables

During their PSS internships students complete applied academic deliverables for which they earn six academic credits. The academic credit is not awarded for the internship itself, but for the work that applies students’ academic training to contribute to their host organizations’ mission in area of student’s career interest. The letter grades will be assigned based on the assessment of the following four deliverables:

PSS Field Project: By the end of their internship, students must have completed an ambitious project or other relatively autonomous contribution that presents value for the host organization and builds on students’ strengths and advances his/her skills and knowledge. The field project can take the form of a policy or consultancy report, evaluation, analysis, a website, or other substantive contribution to their host organization that integrates high quality research, analysis, and other skills and subject-matter knowledge. Faculty with relevant expertise and assigned peers will provide every student with regular feedback on the major steps of the field project. A student’s regular internship responsibilities ideally should overlap with but are not limited to the core field assignment. The organizations receiving interns are encouraged to help students identify such assignments prior to their arrival or at the very latest within one month after the start of student’s internship. The organization should provide assistance and guidance in completing this assignment. Presentation: In the final part of the internship students will present their field project to their colleagues at their host organizations. Students will complete a separate presentation to their MIIS faculty and classmates.

Peer feedback: Interns will collaborate with their assigned peers by providing mutual peer feedback on their core field assignments to improve the quality of their work and learn from each other.

Final reflection: Interns will submit a final reflection to PSS faculty and staff near the end of their internship- summarizing their most important insights and lessons they obtained from the internship experience for their professional and academic development.

International Security Research and Analysis

An introductory survey of research methods, with special attention to how research can be utilized to inform policies related to international security. The course gives particular emphasis to the processes of identifying research topics and designing research projects. It will also address the basic elements of doing policy analysis. Students who complete the course will be able to read with comprehension and critically assess research produced across a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research methods. The course will also address how to write up and present research proposals and finished research products, and will consider the ethics of doing research. The course will be conducted primarily in lecture format, but some class time will also be devoted to exercises that involve active student participation.

Understanding the complex dynamics of global politics requires examination of a number of issues and characteristics of the international system. The key objective of this class is to provide students with the ability to approach different perspectives to any global political issue. These elements of the study of global politics include theoretical frameworks and historical trajectories, without which no global issue can be understood adequately. Other topics of discussion will include global governance, transnational global problems, and the international financial system.

The course reflects the evolving nature of international relations, a continuous process since recorded history, which included the rise of the Westphalian nation-state system. The continuous transformation now includes the rise of non-state actors as influential participants and protagonists (not necessarily always benign) in the global system; entities that include terrorist and insurgent groups, non-governmental organizations, multi-national corporations, for example.