POLS 387 National Security Strategy

(3-0-3) This course focuses on U.S. National Security Strategy in the post-Cold War era. The course examines the difficulties involved in defining the terms "National Security" and "National Interest." Following that, students review the literature on Grand Strategy - focusing on how U.S. foreign policy is crafted, the difficulties involved in marshaling diplomatic and military means in service to a coherent strategy, and how grand strategy is implemented in theory. Finally, the class turns to an examination of U.S. Grand Strategy after the fall of the Berlin Wall, paying close attention to the nature of the threat revealed by 9/11 and U.S. efforts to meet it.