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.

This course introduces students to the formulation of U.S. national security policy. It summarizes the roles played by different governmental actors, including the President, Congress, and relevant bureaucratic departments and agencies, and describes the interagency process. It then covers the influence of domestic politics on national security policy, including the impact of interest groups, the media, and public opinion.

This course will examine contemporary issues relating to nuclear arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation in Northeast Asia. Topics to be examined include China's strategic modernization, North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and US extended deterrence commitments to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

International Crisis Negotiation Exercise

The International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise (ISCNE) is a three-day, experiential learning opportunity in diplomacy and negotiations. This year's scenario is based on a hypothetical crisis in the South China Sea. Tensions in the regions have been rising for the last several years with the intensification of rivalry between China and the West, and with maritime disputes between Beijing and regional powers such the Philippines. Up to nine delegations, comprised of students, will try to find diplomatic solutions to a complex set of issues in this crisis. This includes matters involving climate change, resources, militarization, territory, international trade, and governance. The simulation will allow you to think creatively about this region and experience what diplomatic negotiators do to solve real-world issues affecting people globally.

This course is an introduction to open source analysis used in the context of nonproliferation and terrorism studies. The instructors will give policy lectures as well as hands-on training in the lab. The course is designed as an overview of geospatial and data analysis techniques which are only just recently being applied to the nonproliferation and terrorism research fields. Students will study policy and intelligence analysis using deep web searching, ground and satellite imagery analysis, basic GIS, 3D modeling, crowd-sourcing, text mining, and network analysis.

This practicum is organized within the framework of a partnership between the James Martin Center for Non-proliferation Studies, Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS) and the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, Czech Republic (CTU).

This course relates directly to issues having to do with nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. The technology, materials, and know-how involved in running a nuclear reactor are potentially “dual use” and can be diverted to efforts to develop nuclear weapons. For these reasons, international efforts to prevent proliferation and terrorism require putting nuclear reactors under safeguards and providing physical security of the nuclear materials. The course will enable students to observe how safeguards and nuclear security measures are implemented in practice.

Strategic export controls – which include export, brokering, transshipment and transit controls, as well as sanctions and supply chain security mechanisms – are important tools used in international and national security efforts, including countering WMD proliferation and terrorism. Traditionally, they have focused on raising the cost of WMD development programs and reducing access to advanced military capabilities by terrorist organizations or states active in proscribed proliferation activities or regional conflict. Strategic export controls have also become a prominent feature of the international trade landscape, and as such, are calibrated to facilitate legal trade in dual-use goods and technologies while reducing risk of instability and conflict.

This lecture course will explore the role of strategic export controls in balancing security and trade. Course participants will learn how strategic controls are applied at global, multilateral, national and industry levels. Course participants will also acquire an understanding of policies and legal-regulatory frameworks used by governments to shape strategic export controls – as well as strategies used by exporters in industry and the private sector to comply with them. The course will also examine challenges to these controls, in the form of illicit trafficking networks, evolving supply chains and new means of distribution, and emerging dual-use technologies – and implications for the future of balancing security and trade.

The course will also feature a ‘red-teaming’ exercise, simulating the operation of trafficking networks. The exercise will give course participants an opportunity to apply knowledge gained through the lectures and readings to better understand illicit procurement and diversion of dual-use goods and technologies – and consider strategies for addressing this challenge while facilitating legal trade and its advantages for global prosperity and human welfare.

The course explores classical films, features and documentary, which address fundamental issues involving both nuclear weapons and terrorism.

Workshop: Writing and Briefing Memos

The goal of this workshop is to hone students’ professionally-relevant, policy-oriented communication abilities, including memo writing and briefing. The course will include a combination of lectures, seminar-style discussion, small working group engagement, and individual student work.

The "crime terror nexus" is a major area of concern for policymakers. In a globalized world, extremist groups use criminal relationships or skills for a range of purposes: from sourcing weapons to smuggling operatives into and out of countries to 'simply' circumventing financial regulations designed to starve such groups of needed monetary support. Thus far, countermeasures have had uneven results in disrupting or deterring transnational criminal activities by violent non-state actors. This course will explore the problems of international crime and terrorism in today's strategic environment, with a particular emphasis on the 'why' and 'how' of the crime-terrorism relationship. Students will gain an understanding of the factors that have contributed to the proliferation of transnational crime and terrorism, the types of crimes that pose the greatest threat to lawful societies, the institutions and tactical responses that have been developed to combat transnational crime, and the extent to which transnational crime and terrorism threaten the national security interests of the United States and the world community. By the end of this course, students should be familiar with the prevailing explanations for why terrorist groups use crime in the modern era, the organizational consequences of such a funding stream, and  how states can and should respond to these challenges.