The Two-State Solution to the Israeli-Pa

2-State Sol:Israel & Pale

The two-state solution has been the overarching framework for all peace negotiations regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, including in the Oslo Accords (1993) and during negotiations between Prime Minister Barak and Chairman Arafat (Camp David, 1999-2001), between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas (2007-2009), and between Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas (2011-2014), as well as for the “Trump Plan” (2020). Even President Trump’s 20-Point Plan discusses a “political horizon” in which Palestinians will realize their “right to self-determination,” which has been a euphemism for statehood.

This workshop, led by an Israeli and a Palestinian who served as negotiators on opposite sides of the table, will take its participants “into the negotiation room,” with a specific focus on the Camp David negotiations of 1999-2001, which are considered to be the most comprehensive attempt to reach a “Permanent Status Agreement.”

The workshop
will assume a political “directive” to reach an agreement based on the principle of two nation-states for two peoples
and will explore the various implications of such a directive for negotiators and for the agreement, with significant attention on the challenge of bringing into being a Palestinian state.

Please note that the workshop will
not
address the overarching dilemmas regarding “one-state” vs “two-state,” the “viability of the two-state solution” or the reasons for the failure to reach an agreement on permanent status thus far. Also, the workshop will address key issues such as refugees, Jerusalem, economics, and security in so far as they affect the issue of Palestinian statehood. Reading or listening materials will be based on accounts of senior negotiators and on relevant legal texts of agreements, UN decisions, and proclamations by both sides.

This will be a for credit workshop, divided into two full-day sessions, which will be held on two Fridays, one week apart. The for-credit assignment will be assigned in the first session and finalized by teams of students
during
the second session.

• Instructor: Nadav Eyal
  Info
• 1.5 points

Data and Conflict

This course equips students for humanitarian, human rights, foreign policy and political risk jobs that require real-time interpretation and analysis of conflict data. The course will introduce students to contemporary open-source data about conflict events, fatalities, forced displacement, human rights violations, settlement patterns in war zones, and much more. Students will learn about how this data is generated, what data reveals, what data obscures, and the choices analysts can make to use conflict data transparently in the face of biases. Then, students will learn introductory skills to visualize a range of conflict data in 
R
 and ArcGIS Pro. The objective is to give students the foundations to go further independently after the course using open-source training material and trouble-shooting portals. Each student will choose a conflict-related policy problem which they will investigate as the course progresses, culminating in a four-page policy brief or an ArcGIS Story Map, along with an explanatory memo.

• Instructor: Sophia Dawkins
  Info
• 3 points

Intelligence and US Foreign Policy

Intelligence & US Foreign

Instructor permission required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.
This seminar explores the role of intelligence in U.S. national security and foreign policy, focusing on both historic and contemporary controversies. Topics include intelligence failures such as 9/11 and Iraq’s WMDs, challenges in cyber and surveillance, and debates about covert action and interrogation practices. The course also considers the Intelligence Community’s (IC) relationship with policymakers, particularly during election cycles and presidential transitions. Recent failures in Russia and Israel will prompt discussion on whether intelligence failures are inevitable and how success or failure should be defined. Students will examine the core functions of intelligence—collection (human, technical, cyber), analysis, and covert action—and their place in a democratic society. Readings focus on the post-WWII period to the present, with an emphasis on reform efforts. Guest speakers and a crisis simulation will provide practical insight into intelligence work, including real-world pressures faced by analysts and decision-makers.

• Instructor: Peter Clement
  Info
• 3 points

Terrorism and Counterterrorism

This course examines the origins and development of modern terrorism, the challenges it poses to states and the international system, and the strategies employed to confront it. The course explores a wide range of terrorist groups, assessing the psychological, political, socioeconomic, and religious factors that contribute to terrorist violence. Students will also evaluate the effectiveness and ethical implications of various counterterrorism approaches. The course is structured in two parts. Part I addresses the nature, causes, tactics, and objectives of terrorism and terrorist organizations. Part II focuses on counterterrorism, including U.S. policy responses, international strategies, and the tension between security and democratic values.

• Instructor: Stuart M Gottlieb
  CULPA: 12 Info
• 3 points

Conduct of War

The conduct of war is central to international security policy. Even when unused, the ability to wage war effectively underpins deterrence and shapes foreign policy. Military organization, training, and strategy are built around this capacity, and the institutions that support it exist largely to ensure effectiveness in conflict. A strong grasp of modern warfare theory and practice is essential for anyone pursuing a career in security policy. This course provides a foundation in the conduct of war, preparing students for professional roles in government agencies, legislative offices, think tanks, and international organizations. It focuses on developing the analytical skills and conceptual tools needed for early-career success and long-term growth in the defense policy field. While the course includes critical thinking and key concepts, it is intended as targeted professional preparation rather than general education. The course complements ISDI IA6000: Foundations of International Security Policy, ISDI IA7250: Military Technology Assessment, and ISDI IA7275: Methods for Defense Analysis. While these courses may be taken independently, this course does not address topics such as war’s causes, ethics, or technology evaluation, which are covered elsewhere. Instead, it concentrates on the theory and practice of how wars are conducted.

• 3 points

The Politics of Defense in the United St

Politics of U.S. Defense

This course examines how national security and defense policy are developed and implemented in the U.S., focusing on political processes and institutional dynamics. Topics include military strategy, budgeting, force structure, acquisition, personnel policy, and the use of force. Students explore five key dimensions: partisan politics, Congress–Executive relations, civil-military relations, inter-service dynamics, and coordination across federal agencies. While grounded in U.S. policy, the course addresses global contexts and current debates, including defense reform, great-power competition, and the sustainability of the all-volunteer force. Readings span historical and contemporary sources.

• Instructor: Michael O'Hanlon
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Writing About War: Seeking Narratives in

In Writing about War, seminar participants engage with a pressing matter of our age: how to evaluate facts and context and create compelling and precise narratives from the fog of war. This intensive writing seminar explores the special challenges of creating narrative and assessing truth claims in the context of violent conflict. In this course you will grow as a writer through extensive practice reporting, writing, revising, and editing your own work and that of your peers.

We will read accounts produced as journalism, policy analysis, advocacy, literature, and philosophy. We will discuss ongoing conflicts as well as historical cases, and grapple with questions of policy and ethics. Students will produce original reported narrative writing about conflict, which they may try to place for publication. Students should expect to write or revise an original piece most weeks of the semester. 

This course cultivates useful skills for any writer, whether they plan to write about conflict as a journalist, advocate, aid worker, policy analyst, or other field. The instructor places a premium on critical thinking and clear writing; grades reflect participation, effort, clarity of thought, reporting initiative, and narrative craft.

• Instructor: Athanasios Cambanis
  Info
• 3 points

Intro to American Civil-Military Relatio

How does, and how should, the United States manage the relationship between elected leadership, the military, and society? This course will examine the history and current state of American civil-military relations, helping students place current challenges and debates within historical and theoretical context while also providing a better understanding of the relationship between elected political leadership, the military, and the people they both serve. This course places a special focus on the unique challenges the US faces in maintaining healthy civil-military relations in an era of heightened partisan polarization and political change.

• Instructor: Jason K Dempsey
  Info
• 3 points

Methods for Defense Analysis

Defense policy involves some of the highest stakes in government, often concerning life-or-death decisions. It is also a major employer, with U.S. government agencies, think tanks, and contractors relying on formal analysis to guide decisions ranging from equipment purchases to national military strategy. A large, trained workforce produces these studies, while others must critically assess their findings. Although most robust in the U.S., similar analytic work exists globally.

This intellectually demanding field requires strong methods and integrity. Poorly designed studies can distort decision-making, while sound analysis improves it. This course prepares students to work effectively as entry-level defense analysts or as informed consumers of analysis. Emphasis is placed on research design, which is often the key determinant of a study’s success. Through methodological training and critique of exemplar analyses, students will build the skills and intellectual foundations to advance quickly in the field and help shape its future. This is not a course in defense policy topics, but in the design and evaluation of defense analysis.

• Instructor: Stephen Biddle
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Failures and Successes of Three Decades

Peacemaking: Lessons & Fa

This course examines three decades of international peacemaking efforts to assess what has been learned, and what has been unlearned, through major conflicts. Drawing on the instructor’s experience leading UN peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution initiatives, the course explores case studies from various regions, including Rwanda, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Colombia, Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine. Students will analyze how geopolitical shifts, institutional capacities, and strategic choices have influenced outcomes. The course pays particular attention to the United Nations' involvement, the evolution of doctrines such as the Responsibility to Protect, and the role of external actors.

• Instructor: Jean-Marie Guehenno
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

Failures and Successes of Three Decades

Peacemaking: Lessons & Fa

This course examines three decades of international peacemaking efforts to assess what has been learned, and what has been unlearned, through major conflicts. Drawing on the instructor’s experience leading UN peacekeeping operations and conflict resolution initiatives, the course explores case studies from various regions, including Rwanda, Bosnia, Libya, Syria, Colombia, Ukraine, and Israel-Palestine. Students will analyze how geopolitical shifts, institutional capacities, and strategic choices have influenced outcomes. The course pays particular attention to the United Nations' involvement, the evolution of doctrines such as the Responsibility to Protect, and the role of external actors.

• Instructor: Jean-Marie Guehenno
  Wikipedia Info
• 3 points

History for Future Policymakers

This course examines the uses and misuses of historical analysis in policymaking and strategic thinking. Although leaders often invoke historical analogies, they tend to rely on a limited set of familiar episodes. Students will explore the value and limitations of using history to inform decisions about present and future challenges. The course introduces key tools of historical reasoning, including concepts such as continuity and change, contingency, human agency, and structural constraint. Students will also consider the risks of overreliance on analogy or using history to support predetermined conclusions. The goal is to deepen understanding of frequently cited historical examples while encouraging more original and critical approaches to thinking about the future.

• Instructor: Sarah C Kovner
  Info
• 3 points

The UN Development System in Action: Gov

UN Development System Wor

This course examines the United Nations Development System (UNDS) as the world’s most prominent multilateral development actor. Students will explore the governance and funding structures of over 35 UN agencies, programs, and funds, and analyze how they collaborate to achieve country-level results. Topics include joint responses to global crises, UNDS reforms, SDG financing, and partnerships with governments, donors, civil society, and the private sector. Drawing on real-world case studies and practitioner insights, the course emphasizes practical competencies in multilateral development cooperation.

• Instructor: Gulden Turkoz-Cosslett
  Info
• 1.5 points

United Nations and Globalization

United Nations & Globaliz

United Nations and Globalization
introduces the various ways in which the United Nations affect global governance. Over the last decade, every aspect of global governance has become subjected to review and debate: peacekeeping and peacebuilding, the future of humanitarianism, a new climate change architecture, human rights, a new sustainable development agenda, and the need for a new understanding of multilateralism.

Part 1
of this course introduces the different actors, entities, and platforms through which the UN affects global governance. It creates the conceptual foundations for the role of international organizations in today’s multiplex world. It sheds light on how the UN acts at various levels, in different forms and with a varied set of partners to foster global public goods and global public policy. This includes discussions on the role of international law, goal setting, and frameworks, as well as the interlinkages between global-level interventions and regional, national, and local activities and outcomes.

Part 2
applies the conceptual insights to specific issue areas. Discussions on global governance mechanisms in the areas of peace and security, humanitarian action, sustainable development, climate change, human rights, gender, migration, global health, and COVID-19 deepen the understanding of the role the UN plays in global governance regimes more broadly.

In addition to critical scholarship on international organizations and global governance, the course relies on students’ analysis of relevant proceedings and debates at the UN, original policy documents, as well as expert testimony from a range of guest speakers, who share their extensive first-hand observations as actors of global governance processes. By these means,
United Nations and Globalization
offers insights into the processes, challenges, and impacts of UN activities to make global governance regimes stronger, more effective, and hold actors more accountable.

• Instructor: Daniel Naujoks
  Info
• 3 points

Risk Management for UN Crisis and Post-c

This course introduces students to the theory and practice of risk management in crisis and conflict settings, with a focus on the United Nations’ efforts to deliver on mandates in complex environments. Drawing on UN doctrine and international standards such as ISO 31000, the course emphasizes practical skills and real-world applications across the UN’s peace and security, development, human rights, and humanitarian pillars. Students will engage with case studies, guest speakers, and group simulations, culminating in the development of a comprehensive risk assessment for a selected UN mandate. Topics include security risk management, access and protection, strategic communications, human rights, program and partner risks, political engagement, civil affairs, DDR, and mission transitions.

• Instructor: Marc Jacquand
  Info
• 3 points

Basics of Cybersecurity

The purpose of this half-semester course is to familiarize students with how the Internet and cybersecurity works; to provide a foundation of knowledge for later courses; and to familiarize students with the devices, protocols, and functions of computers, the Internet, industrial control systems, and cybersecurity. This course is not intended to be a computer science course, but to provide the students with the lexicon of cyberspace and the understanding of how hardware, software, and networks fit together to create the Internet experience. We will also illuminate some essential and current cybersecurity policy topics, including privacy and risks of emerging technology.

It is a broader course meant to complement Cyber Risks and Vulnerabilities and other coursework throughout SIPA.

• Instructor: Ian W Gray
  Info
• 1.5 points

Foundations of Cyber Conflict

This course explores the strategic, policy, and institutional dimensions of cyber conflict. It focuses on the national security implications of cyber threats and responses, rather than the technical mechanics of cyberspace. Students will examine how cyber operations unfold at both tactical and strategic levels, assess the comparison of cyber power to other domains of conflict, and trace the development of U.S. cyber policy and organizational structures. There are no prerequisites, though students without prior exposure to cybersecurity are encouraged to complete the assigned foundational readings before the first class or take a 1.5-credit introductory course.

• Instructor: Jason Healey
  Wikipedia h-index: 15 Info
• 3 points

Cyberspace in Modern Warfare

This course examines the evolving role of cyberspace in modern warfare. Since the emergence of the Internet, scholars and policymakers have debated whether cyber capabilities represent a fundamental shift in the nature of conflict or a complement to conventional military power. Students will engage key conceptual debates about cyber conflict, assess how major powers including the United States, Israel, Russia, and China develop and employ cyber capabilities, and consider whether cyber operations should be viewed as a distinct strategic domain. The course also explores the future of cyber warfare, including the role of non-state actors and the integration of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and space-based systems. Through case studies and policy analysis, students will develop a framework for understanding how cyber strategy is shaped and executed in theory and practice.

• Instructor: Erica D Lonergan
  Info
• 3 points

Cyber Risks and Vulnerabilities

The purpose of this course is to familiarize SIPA students with the function of the internet while focusing on the flaws and vulnerabilities that can be exploited in attacks or impact user privacy.  This course will approach each session in the following manner: discussion of recent cyber events, discussion topic(s) to be covered, and the ramifications when used in the real world.

This course is intended to build on the Basics of Cybersecurity with a tighter focus on specific vulnerabilities and information transmission and how these can be exploited by hackers, criminals, spies, militaries, or business interests.

This course is intended to be an introduction to cyber risk and vulnerabilities and is thus suitable for complete newcomers to the area. It is a big field, with a lot to cover; however, this should get students familiar with all of the basics.  The class is divided into weekly topics; the first five iteratively build on each other, and the others either addressing recent technologies or hosting relevant guest speakers.

Many cyber jobs are opening up with companies that need international affairs analysts who, while not cybersecurity experts, understand the topic well enough to write policy recommendations or intelligence briefs.  Even if you don’t intend your career to focus on cyber issues, having some exposure will deepen your understanding of the dynamics of many other international, privacy, and public policy issues.

• Instructor: Elizabeth Cartier
  Info
• 1.5 points

Cybersecurity and Business Risk

Cybersecurity & Business

This course introduces cybersecurity as a business risk, emphasizing its impact beyond IT and into areas such as regulation, governance, finance, and reputation. Students explore core concepts in cybersecurity, risk management frameworks, and the evolving threat landscape. The course examines how leading organizations assess, quantify, and address cyber risk through strategies such as risk mitigation, transfer, and resilience. Topics include incident response, supply chain vulnerabilities, regulatory compliance, critical infrastructure, and cyber conflict. Through policy memos and a group-designed risk taxonomy, students build practical tools for evaluating and managing cyber threats in public, private, and nonprofit sectors.

• 3 points

Cyberspace in Strategy and Grand Strateg

Cyberspace & Grand Strate

This course examines the role of cyberspace in national strategy and grand strategy, with a primary focus on the United States and select comparative cases. As the United States shifts from counterterrorism and counterinsurgency toward renewed great power competition, questions about the utility of force, alliance structures, economic statecraft, and international institutions are increasingly framed by strategic thinking. Although cyberspace influences nearly all instruments of national power, its role in debates about grand strategy remains underexplored. This course addresses that gap by evaluating how traditional concepts of strategy and grand strategy apply in the digital domain. Students will assess how cyberspace shapes the formulation and execution of strategy through military operations, diplomacy, intelligence, and economic tools.

• Instructor: Erica D Lonergan
  Info
• 3 points

Conduct of Diplomacy

In Conduct of Diplomacy, we will use an interdisciplinary lens to study the strategic and tactical considerations that shape a credible foreign policy and effective international diplomatic engagement.

Drawing examples from U.S. practice, we will explore various forms and attributes of diplomacy, including the international legal framework and the nature of diplomatic missions. We will consider various tools for conflict resolution, including mediation and reconciliation.

We will look at a number of important policy areas where diplomatic strategy can advance national interests, including with respect to the use of force, economic statecraft, human rights, international development, technology, and climate change. In doing so, we will assess the notion that the United States is “the indispensable nation,” as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and others have suggested.

Towards the end of the semester, we will have an opportunity to test the theoretical and practical knowledge that we have gained by engaging in two simulations—one involving Russia and Ukraine, and the other involving China and Taiwan—before concluding with a discussion of multilateral diplomatic engagement.

• Instructor: Miriam Sapiro
  Info
• 3 points

Mediation in a World in Flux

This course explores the challenges and opportunities in international peacemaking, with a particular focus on mediation as a tool for advancing political solutions to violent conflict. Complementing other CICR courses, it offers students the opportunity to deepen their understanding of how various mediators—including the United Nations, multilateral institutions, states, and non-governmental organizations—are responding to shifting dynamics in global conflict and politics.

The course considers key questions: What factors hinder current conflict resolution efforts? How have mediators adapted to changes in geopolitics, the fragmentation of non-state armed groups, and a crowded mediation landscape? How should they continue to adapt, especially amid declining resources for peace and humanitarian efforts and growing resistance to established norms?

Students will also examine how mediators can engage conflict parties on emerging issues, including the effects of the climate crisis and digital technologies on conflict dynamics and peace processes.

• Instructor: Teresa Whitfield
  Info
• 1.5 points

Applied Peacebuilding and Conflict Resol

Peacebuilding Fieldwork

Instructor permission and application required. Join the waitlist in Vergil to request registration.

This course prepares students to engage in peacebuilding practice by developing fieldwork-related competencies rooted in critical reflection, professional strategy, and ethical engagement. Students examine foundational values, frameworks, and dilemmas in the peacebuilding field, while cultivating skills in project design, monitoring and evaluation (MEAL), communication, collaboration, and cultural awareness.

Structured as the first part of a spring-summer-fall sequence, the course introduces peacebuilding theory and practice through seminar-style discussions and applied assignments. Students collaborate with vetted field-based partner institutions to design projects aligned with real-world needs. These projects are implemented through optional summer internships, followed by a fall debrief session with the incoming cohort.

Coursework emphasizes partnership with local actors, conflict sensitivity, reflective practice, and an openness to critique and adaptation. Students are expected to grapple with the complexity of field conditions and to develop strategies for self-care, ethical engagement, and navigating uncertainty. Assignments include reflective journals, a midterm conflict analysis and thematic research paper, and a final project design paper.

Please note: All fieldwork and associated travel are voluntary and student-funded, though external funding opportunities may be available.

• Instructor: Zachary B Metz
  Info
• 3 points

Peacebuilding After Mass Violence

Prerequisite: Instructor-Managed Waitlist.
How can we build peace in the aftermath of extensive violence? How can international actors help in this process? This seminar focuses on international peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding efforts in recent conflicts. It adopts a critical, social science approach to the topic of building peace (it is not a class on how to design and implement peacebuilding programs, but rather a class on how to think about such initiatives). It covers general concepts, theories, and debates, as well as specific cases of peacebuilding successes and failures. Throughout the course, students will acquire a broad understanding of the concepts, theoretical traditions, and debates in the study of peacemaking, peacekeeping, and peacebuilding. The course also will introduce students to new issues in the field, such as the micro-foundations of peace settlements, the importance of local perceptions, and the attention to the everyday in the study of conflict-resolution. Furthermore, by the end of the semester, students should have an in-depth understanding of some of the most salient peace processes in recent years, including those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia. Interested students should join the waitlist and make sure that they attend the first class meeting.

• Instructor: Severine Autesserre
  CULPA: 19 Wikipedia h-index: 14 Info
• 3 points

Contemporary Russian Security Policy

This seminar critically examines the evolution and current trajectory of Russian security policy, with particular attention to the ongoing war in Ukraine and its broad strategic implications. The course explores the political, historical, and structural factors that shape Russia’s national security outlook, as well as its use of military force, energy policy, diplomacy, and information operations to advance its interests. The course discusses Russia’s relations with the United States, Europe, China, and the Global South; the role of nuclear strategy and arms control; and lessons from recent military interventions. Readings and case studies are regularly updated to reflect the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape.

• 3 points

Middle East Conflicts and Global Securit

ME Conflicts & Global Sec

This course analyzes the impact of domestic and regional conflicts in the Middle East on global security. Key concepts include: regime change, revolution, civil war, conflict management, security sector reform, arms transfers, nuclear proliferation, counterterrorism, and international criminal justice. These conceptual tools are used for comparative analysis of three sub-regional conflict zones: Saudi Arabia / Iran / Iraq, Egypt / Syria / Lebanon, and Palestine / Jordan / Israel. Each of these regions has galvanized substantial global engagement.

• Instructor: Naomi Weinberger
  CULPA: 11 Info
• 3 points