Course Descriptions

Elective Courses

406.632 – Defense Policy I
(formerly Defense Policy)
Today's military is undergoing dramatic transitions from its Cold War force structure to the force structure suited to an interwar period with respect to great power conflict. This course provides students with an understanding of defense policymaking in a period characterized by strategic uncertainty. It poses the question of whether the United States is producing a smaller Cold War military or a different force aligned with present needs. The course pays particular attention to the character, organization, and equipment of the uniformed services, the civilian leadership in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the senior uniformed leadership in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and congressional and executive office participation in the budget process. Course materials respond to current events.

406.634 – Foreign Policy in the Age of Global Terrorism
(formerly Foreign Policy)
This course examines the key challenges facing U.S. foreign policy in the new international security environment of the 21st century. Foremost among these challenges are the threats of global terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the increasing prospects for terrorists groups to acquire such weapons. The various strategies and policies of the United States for coping with these threats are evaluated, including consideration of the constraints that act to impede realization of U.S. objectives. Case studies of coercive diplomacy are given special attention as are U.S. efforts to build international security regimes and regional security structures. The rise of radical Islamic fundamentalism is given sustained attention. Other topics considered in the course include the increasing role of the United States in the politics of Central Asia ; the emergence of serious rifts in the transatlantic alliance; the growing concerns of the United States regarding the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran ; and the U.S. role in promoting democracy abroad.

406.635 – Executive Politics and Policymaking
The founders may have envisioned Congress as the premier branch of the federal government, but in the 20th century the president and the executive branch have typically occupied that position. This course examines presidential and bureaucratic power in the American political system. Students explore the political and policymaking dynamics at the top executive levels and within the bureaucracy. They also investigate the factors that account for variations in the power exercised by officials and consider the relationship between the executive branch and other centers of power in American politics. Finally, students will learn the processes and tools utilized by policymakers in the executive branch. In the final part of the course, students will participate in a simulation that will offer them the opportunity to see firsthand how the policymaking process operates in the executive branch.

406.661 – Constitutional Law
This survey course is designed to introduce students to the foundations of our constitutional system and constitutional analysis. Discussions will focus on the law as well as related policy, political, and societal implications of constitutional interpretation. The course will explore such areas as the roles and powers of the branches of federal government, separation of powers, federalism, and the commerce clause. It will also cover individual rights, due process, equal protection, church and state, and economic liberties.

406.663 – Administering Homeland Security
Working with other agencies, the new Department of Homeland Security must protect the country from a broad range of potential threats. High performance is essential. How should the government carry out its responsibilities? How should the federal government coordinate with healthcare providers and state and local public health departments? What are the tradeoffs between citizen rights and homeland security? How can the federal government work with private organizations to protect important national infrastructure and systems? This course will take a "tools of government" approach to these and other questions of administering homeland security.

406.664 – Humanity, Morality, and War
This course examines the nature of war and its relationship to morality. It is not a course in either philosophy or theology; rather it assesses case studies drawn from history and literature to address issues that penetrate to the heart of war and its relationships to humane behavior and morality (if any). Assigned books include The Western Way of War; War and Peace; We Were Soldiers Once...and Young; A War to Be Won, Fighting the Second World War; The Peloponnesian War; The Trojan Women; Dereliction of Duty; and Downfall. This course is part of the Aitchison Public Service Undergraduate Fellowship in Government program offered by Johns Hopkins in Washington , D.C. , beginning fall 2003.

406.670 – Government and Strategic Communications
The federal response to Hurricane Katrina was the largest, fastest and most effective in our nation's history. Yet, because responding agencies failed to execute a strategic communications plan almost every American believes that Katrina is synonymous with government failure. This class will examine each of the four realms of the strategic communications: public affairs, information operations, public diplomacy, and psychological operations. It will address how they are integrated into government policy and make use of detailed cases studies of the use or misuse of strategic communications during the War in Iraq , The Global War on Terrorism, and Hurricane Katrina. Students will develop a thorough understanding of the government's strategic communications infrastructure as well as how communications plans are designed and executed. In addition, students will explore how the structure of the current media environment can enhance or ruin even the best laid plans.

406.671 – Criminal Law and the Constitution
This course will survey major themes related to substantive criminal law and to constitutional criminal procedure. The first portion of the course will consider the government’s constitutional and political authority to control undesirable behavior by defining criminal law. Through the use of doctrine, case law , and illustrative crimes such as homicide, rape, and theft, the course will examine the criminal act, intent, causation, attempts and inchoate offenses, justification and excuse, and competing rationales for and theories of criminal punishment and sentencing. The second portion of the course will examine the Constitution’s procedural limits upon the government’s ability to investigate and detect crime. This will include study of searches and seizures, confessions and interrogations, and provisions for the right to counsel, as expressed in the Bill of Rights and Fourteenth Amendment and articulated in the opinions of the United States Supreme Court.

406.682 – Technology and Security
“Technology and Security” aims to provide students with a toolkit for understanding important issues in national security studies. In particular, the course uses a range of historical and contemporary cases to understand how policy makers, military officers, and researchers both shape and are shaped by technological change. The goal of the course is to make students aware of the multiplicity of ways in which technology enters into security studies rather than argue that a single theory might account for the complexities of the past and present. Some of the cases we will discuss include the role of technological change in World War I and the interwar period; the development of atomic weapons during World War II; the invention of inertial guidance for aircraft, submarines and ballistic missiles; GPS and information warfare; and the security challenges posed by global climate change. The course will be a combination of lecture and discussion with two take home examinations. No pre-existing technical knowledge is assumed nor is any required.

406.691 – Digital Citizenship
This course will explore the technological and political implications of digital identity, its relation to various models of national identity and the emerging forms of political participation based, in part, on the increasing important of social software and related tools. We will examine the differences between digital identity and "conventional" identity (an aggregate model instead of a genealogical and geographical based model) and the transition into a digital environment (biometrics, etc.). Special emphasis will be given to the political and cultural factors shaping the conception of identity.

406.693 – Constitutional Issues in National Security
This course exams the interpretation of constitutional powers and rights under conditions of heightened national security. We will consider the Supreme Court's role in constitutional interpretation, and the balance of power among the three branches. The course will also examine the tension between security and liberty during a time of war. Topics covered during this semester will include military tribunals, unitary theory of the executive, congressional oversight, war-making power, and treatment of detainees.