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.

The course will explore the principles, evolution and professional practice of public relations with an emphasis on crisis communications. We will do so with a specific examination of the strategies, concepts and tools used to execute an effective public relations campaign or initiative. In addition, we will assess how to and counter harmful events or actions to a company's brand. The class do so with heavy emphasis on student participation and student interaction.

Corporate Risk Management entails the prevention and detection of fraud and financial crimes. However, it also entails the understanding of and compliance with state and federal laws and statutory regulations.

This two credit course will introduce participants to the legal aspects of compliance with those laws and regulations. The course will introduce participants to the United States court system (Federal and state) and highlight the differences between criminal and civil liability. It will introduce participants to pertinent state, federal, and non-US laws (including, for example, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, (“FCPA”), Sarbanes-Oxley Act, privacy laws, and the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"), etc.) dealing with corporate compliance and take participants through the legal process of addressing an alleged violation of one or more of those laws or regulations. It will familiarize participants with the nature of a violation of state or federal laws and regulations, the legal and procedural steps of litigating such a violation, and the possible restitution that might be expected from the perpetrator of such a violation.

The course will use recent or ongoing state and federal court cases to help familiarize participants with the practical application of the subject matter of the course.

This hands-on, project-based course will build on the skills learned in the introductory GIS course. Working within their discipline, students will develop real-world case studies to practice GIS modeling, perform spatial data analysis, statistical analysis and temporal data analysis, test hypotheses and recommend policy based on their findings. Students will employ project management, database design and troubleshooting techniques applicable to GIS and other fields.

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.

Nuclear forensics deals with the science related to the determination of the origins of nuclear and other radioactive materials such as uranium and plutonium. It also deals with... read more policy considerations, such as attribution, which result from these determination. In addition to science and policy considerations this workshop will cover the current international efforts in nuclear forensics and survey the performance of conventional forensics in the presence of radioactive material. It will also touch briefly on elated issues such as radioactive crime scene management and expert testimony on nuclear forensics issues.

Students successfully completing this workshop will be able to:

Demonstrate an understanding of the basic concepts of nuclear forensics science.

Demonstrate an understanding of the potential applications of nuclear forensics in the determination of the origin of nuclear and other radioactive materials,

Demonstrate an understanding of the terms and definitions that are used in the field of nuclear forensics.

Demonstrate a fundamental understanding of the international efforts to cooperate in nuclear forensics analysis.

Demonstrate an understanding of the legal requirements for the introduction of evidence resulting from nuclear forensics analysis.

Demonstrate an understanding of the policy implications of attribution.

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 is devoted to a simulation of the second NPT Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting, which will be held in Geneva from July 22-August 2, 2024. The focus of the next PrepCom is hard to anticipate, especially in light of the unprecedent failure of the 2023 PrepCom to adopt the Chair’s Factual Summary of the meeting, which concluded on August 11. 2023. Although much remains uncertain, the next PrepCom will need to address an array of issues related to nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as regional security. Among major subjects likely to be debated are: the pace of and potential for meaningful nuclear disarmament, arms control, and nuclear risk reduction; further strengthening of the NPT review process, the erosion of nuclear norms accentuated by imprudent rhetoric about nuclear weapons use and attacks on and foreign occupation of civilian nuclear facilities; the integrity of nuclear security assurances; the deployment of nuclear weapons outside of national territories, sharing of naval propulsion technology, viability of nuclear-weapon-free zones; DPRK nuclear brinkmanship; the status of the JCPOA; the future of the CTBT; the potential for nuclear terrorism; and the prospects for peaceful nuclear use. The base point for the simulation is the “real world” at the time of the course.

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.

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.