Security Policy and Conflict Certificate of Completion

The Security Policy and Conflict Certificate consists of three courses (9 credit hours) designed to meet the needs of traditional and non-traditional students in the fields of security and intelligence, in the military, in higher education, and in other vocations in the private and public sector. Courses included in the certificate introduce students to global security and comparative foreign policy across the globe. Concepts related to power, policy, diplomacy, and military strength are examined.

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This course defines, analyzes, and compares foreign policies across the globe. The materials review internal and external factors that influence and complicate the formation of foreign policy as well as consider the various norms and theories that exist about foreign policy construction within the global environment. Finally, numerous case studies are examined in terms of divergence and variety across states and regions. This course is designed to make students familiar with the foreign-policy thinking of countries that are both allied with and adversarial to the United States.

This course examines hard and soft power as concepts, theories, and consequential implications in global politics. It will estimate the applications of diplomatic and military strength and the proper context and applicability of each in given complex foreign dilemmas.

This course examines strategic deterrence across various case studies – individual states, various crucial regions, and the larger global context. It will assess how states work within their own regions, to impact not only other states but also transnational relations with major powers. The evolution of deterrence as a concept, both in the classical strategic environment and in the new modern context, will be important. Constraining deterrence and/or utilizing it through diplomacy will also be examined and considered. Finally the course will look at deterrence from a future strategy perspective, asking if there are new variations and differentiations that can be foreseen and addressed.