POEC6369 - National and International Security Strategies and Policies

POEC 6369 National and International Security Strategies and Policies (3 semester hours) With the end of the decades-long Cold War, the US has become the world's only superpower. But the problem of national and international security continue to be a dominant concern of national and international political and economic life, just as it has been for more than sixty years. Many nations continue to maintain high levels of military expenditure as a mainstay of their security policy. Yet, there has been a profound change in the nature of the threats to security since the Cold War. Some, like the threat of intentional full-scale global nuclear war, have receded. Others, like the threat posed by nuclear proliferation and the terrorism of mass destruction, have increased. From acute hot spots to longer-term questions of restructuring power and security arrangements in a post-Cold War world, understanding the deeper issues of national and international security is critical to understanding what lies behind the headlines -- and what strategies are likely to be effective in achieving real security. Topics include: the nature and meaning of security; security and military force; terrorism, accidents and accidental war; nuclear proliferation; the international arms trade; the experience of war; the economics of security policy; social and psychological factors; and strategies for achieving security by nonmilitary means. (3-0) T