The National Security Studies course is designed to promote the development of students as strategic thinkers and national security policymakers. Students selected for ICAF already are experienced with the operational level of thinking about “how” to do something (e.g., how to effectively and successfully implement an operation or a policy determined by someone else). A crucial objective of ICAF and the National Security Studies course is to enable students to effectively operate at the strategic level of crafting national-level policies and deciding “why” one policy is more likely to secure the nation’s interests than another. More importantly, students (as future policy advisors or policymakers) must be able to select and integrate a wide range of policy decisions across diverse areas such as domestic and international politics, military strategy, economics, and informational and technological capabilities. As policymakers, they must be adept in the art and science of developing, applying and coordinating the instruments of national power to achieve objectives that ensure national security. In order to do this, students must understand the foundations, elements, and critical considerations for developing a national security “grand strategy.”
Unit One, “Foundations and Fundamentals in National Security Strategy,” is composed of three lessons. These lessons will introduce you to foundational concepts, such as defining strategy and understanding systems and major theoretical approaches, as well as learning and analyzing processes that are essential for the art and science of developing, applying and coordinating the instruments of national power to achieve national security.
Unit Two, “The U.S. Political System and National Security Strategy,” is composed of twelve lessons examining the philosophical and constitutional foundations of the American Political system, the contemporary components of the system, and the elements and instruments available to policymakers in both the domestic and international operating environments. For example, this unit will address the relationship between homeland security and national security strategy. Unit Two also will examine some of the interrelationships between components--elements and instruments that have produced tension and strains in the system and that sometimes constrain the range of options available to policymakers. Some lessons will deal with examples or case studies that touch directly on national security strategy—issues in the interagency process, the strengthening of presidential power, or tensions between Congress and the President that occur during times of war or hostilities.
Unit Three, “Issues in the International System.” is composed of ten sessions that rely primarily on recent or historical case studies to examine past strategic policy challenges, how policymakers interpreted events and crafted strategies to promote their interests, the extent to which they were successful (or not) in achieving their objectives, and the lessons that can be learned from their experiences. This segment of the course begins, though, with more theoretical or conceptual lessons that study the international system, development of states and their behavior, and the status of sovereignty, multilateral institutions, and international law. Lessons in both this unit and the next will examine how states and strategic leaders define and evaluate power and how they try to establish priorities in their strategic decisions. While the focus is on the United States, comparisons with other states and their strategies will be made. One underlying question that recurs is over the extent to which means of assessment and strategic thinking may differ between the levels of national and international politics. Another theme considers the success or failure in linking one’s strategic objectives to the availability of resources to accomplish the strategy. Together, these lessons offer students the opportunity to evaluate how well strategic problems were understood, how well past policymakers applied analyses of ends, ways, and means to promoting national interests, and to assess what concepts and strategies may be applicable to the present-day international system and contemporary national security challenges.
Finally, Unit Four, “Current and Future Challenges in National Security Strategy,” is composed of nine lessons that look at some of the critical national security challenges that have emerged in the post-9/11 era or that existed beforehand and contributed significantly to the present and future strategic environment. Some lessons require assessment of the institutions and process as well as evaluation of traditional and evolving instruments of national power and policy. Students also will integrate and synthesize what they have learned in the first three units and strategize how to apply and coordinate the range of instruments of national power available to them to achieve objectives that ensure national security in the face of these new challenges.
ICAF evaluations measure oral and written performance. They are intended to provide feedback to students as well as information for final academic reports.
The National Security Studies course evaluations are based upon two dimensions:
- Contribution to seminar learning (60%). Contribution to seminar learning is not the same thing as participation in seminar discussions. Contribution is determined by quality of what one adds to the discussions and learning in seminar sessions. Participation in seminar discussions and high quality contribution to seminar learning is a requirement for a passing grade in any course at ICAF.
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National Security Studies writing assignment (40%). You will be required to produce a written product on a topic determined jointly with their instructor during the academic term. A suggestive list of topics will be provided very early in the course. You may choose from this list or propose and develop a topic with your instructor. The topic will be crafted to allow you to demonstrate your understanding of strategic concepts and applications that you have learned during the term. You will be given adequate time to explore, draft, and review your work to meet the requirement. Peer review of papers by fellow students is permitted, but further guidance will be provided from both the College and the NSS department on how to handle this.
