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.  

This workshop will examine human trafficking as an emerging public issue, while focusing on the real-world challenges to identifying and rescuing victims, prosecuting traffickers, while also addressing the socio-economic and cultural dynamics that are leveraged by traffickers. This course will focus heavily on the multi-disciplinary, victim-centered approach promoted through international and domestic anti-human trafficking protocols and policies, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the subsequent reauthorizations.

The course will include an examination of relevant existing data, types of trafficking, legal definitions, domestic and international efforts to combat trafficking, challenges faced by law enforcement, the nexus between trafficking and other transnational crime, the role of traditional NGOs and social entrepreneurs, and corporate social responsibility. Finally, we will examine potential career opportunities related to combating human trafficking and the leadership, collaboration and consensus-building skills necessary for success, whether working in the global arena or for a local agency.

This course, on the evolution of Chinese nuclear policy, is divided into three parts. The first part outlines early Chinese attitudes to nuclear weapons, proliferation and disarmament, prior to and immediately following China’s nuclear test in 1964. The second part examines enduring concepts in Chinese nuclear policy, such as No First Use, and introduces students to important debates in China since the 1980s on nuclear deterrence. The third part focuses on contemporary issues and challenges that shape Chinese nuclear policy, from ballistic missile defense, to the South Asian nuclear tests in 1999, and the North Korean nuclear crisis. The nature of the US-China nuclear relationship will also be explored. The principal objective of the course is to give students a better understanding of China’s nuclear policy, both past and present. A secondary objective is to introduce to students key literature and sources, both in English and Chinese, on this issue.

This course is divided into two components. The first is an introduction to ballistic missiles including discussions about why missiles matter and the history of their development, rocket components, propulsion, steering, guidance, structure, launchers, trajectories and cruise missiles. Then we will start to apply what we have learned to understand the current status of ballistic missile defense. How difficult is it to hit a bullet with a bullet? We will discuss defense-in-depth and layered defense, defended footprint and radars, boost-phase, mid-course and terminal-phase intercepts, discrimination of warheads and decoys, missile defense effectiveness modelling and evaluating testing, drone-based and space-based missile defense, and cost and status of programs around the world. It is recommended that students will have taken the Science for Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies course but a handout will be given before the course starts as a refresher of the main concepts. This will be a pass/fail course.

Political Violence in Latin America

Why is Costa Rica politically stable with little domestic violence while Colombia has struggled with eighty years of civil conflict? Why are drug cartels a problem in Mexico but not in Argentina? This course is an introduction to the dynamics and intricacies of political violence in Latin America. Understanding why political violence occurs, how it is used, what its effects are, and how it can be countered, is crucial to a clear understanding of the problems facing states and non-state actors, as well as the dynamics of a conflict-ridden global environment. Latin America has been particularly challenged by a high level of domestic violence, perpetrated by criminal, non-state, and state actors, but has attracted less public and policymaker attention than other regions. We will cover numerous subjects, including: why non-state actors and states use violent means to pursue political ends, as well as state repression and terrorism, riots, coups, revolutions, civil wars, communal conflict, and violence by insurgents, criminals, and terrorists.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the issues surrounding the proliferation of nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological (NBCR) weapons and their means of delivery, the consequences of proliferation, and means to stem it or ameliorate its dangers, including:

• Nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons technologies

• Means of delivery, including ballistic and cruise missile technology

• Alternative perspectives on the dangers of proliferation and the utility of the term “weapons of mass destruction” (WMD)

• Factors affecting why states do or don’t pursue and obtain nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological weapons and their means of delivery

• Potential and actual non-state actor pursuit, acquisition, and use of NBCR weapons

• Profiles of key countries and their NBCR programs and policies

• Deterrence vis-à-vis states and non-state actors

• Counterproliferation, including the possible use of force

• The nuclear nonproliferation regime, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards system

• The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BWC)

• The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

• Missile control regimes and other export control arrangements

• Cooperative threat reduction and various post-9/11 initiatives

• Alternative futures, including new nuclear abolition debates

The Emergency Response to Terrorism Workshop is a new two-weekend workshop offering for 2023. Students will have the opportunity to learn how emergency services function and how they respond to incidents of mass violence, including shootings, bombings, and chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear (CBRN) attacks. Coursework will combine lecture-based instruction with hands-on, experiential emergency response training on topics such as bleeding control, explosives recognition, and CBRN response. Subject matter experts from regional emergency services organizations, all certified as instructors with the agencies pertinent to their disciplines (e.g. California POST, California State Fire Marshal, California Emergency Medical Services Authority), will join as guest instructors. Although students will gain insights into emergency services operations, and gain some practical skills, they will not earn emergency services certifications.

This workshop is designed to provide the student with a basic knowledge of the issues relating to... read more drone and satellite usage in a variety of situations. The workshop will focus more on the issues relating to drones and surveillance, but other issues such as satellite use will also be addressed.

Consideration will be given to the use of drones and satellites to perform both commercial and military/intelligence tasks and the policy issues raised by use of drones in domestic (US) and international airspace. Issues of privacy, the 4th Amendment right to be free from intrusive searches and seizures, and the legal regimes that affect the use of drones and satellites will be discussed. The impact of changing technical capabilities and potential collisions with civil liberties in these and other areas will be addressed.

This workshop will deal with the technical, policy, and legal issues involved in these subjects. It will provide the student with a working understanding of the issues involved in the current use of drones and overhead surveillance and will provide a look at the future uses and limitations, examining how civil liberties are and can be balanced against security interests.