PSCI341 - Mechanics of Foreign Policy (Piw)

Status
O
Activity
SEM
Section number integer
301
Title (text only)
Mechanics of Foreign Policy (Piw)
Term
2021C
Syllabus URL
Subject area
PSCI
Section number only
301
Section ID
PSCI341301
Course number integer
341
Registration notes
Permission Needed From Instructor
Course Taught in Washington, Dc
Meeting times
R 06:00 PM-09:00 PM
Level
undergraduate
Instructors
Joshua R Blumenfeld
Description
The Trump Presidency has profoundly shifted America's role in the world and the way in which key institutions of foreign policy making are staffed and positioned to advance America's interests. The ascent of extreme nationalists and nationalism in other power centers in the world along with growing distrust in government and public institutions may have marked the close of the two-decade post 9/11 era. Indeed, the global COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which actors across the international spectrum have responded (or failed to respond) has led many to question the assumptions inherent in the post-9/11 international order and has marked the beginning of a new era of competition, a return to great-power politics, and the diminishing power of traditional actors, systems, and ideals on the global stage. This course will provide students with an in-depth, practical analysis of foreign policy and foreign policy making, with a view from Washington. It will also provide a baseline global literacy, through the lens of emerging ideas, institutions, interests, and actors, and focus on a framework for understanding shifts already underway in how Washington views the world. We will utilize less traditional resources, and instead focus on practical and "real-world" course material as well as less traditional instruction methods - utilizing and analyzing the sources and resources that policy makers in Washington rely upon. These include long-form journalism, official government documents, hearings and Congressional debate, think tank products, and news sources. Students will have the opportunity to engage with a variety of guest-speakers, all of whom have held senior official and non-governmental roles in American foreign policy making and influencing. Guest speakers will provide unique insight into their own experiences at the highest levels of foreign policy making and advocacy, and offer guidance as to how to pursue careers in foreign policy, national security, and international development. In the past, guest speakers have included: Former Deputy Secretaries of State William Burns and Heather Higginbottom; Executive Director of the ONE Campaign; Former Director of Policy Planning at the State Department; Former Ambassadors, Senior Professional Staff from the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, former Assistant Secretary of Population, Refugees, and Migration, among others.
Course number only
341
Use local description
No