Policy Tools in U.S. National Security

The W&M Washington Center is please to welcome back Professor David Trichler to Hybrid DC Summer Sessions!

3 credits
PUBP 390 CRN: 32109

This hybrid course will be taught online through the W&M Washington Center. During the 5-week course, students will be provided with an overview of the principal national security challenges and the diverse “tools” of statecraft available to policymakers to further U.S. interests. Students will become familiar with the U.S. national security decision-making process, and they will explore the utility of major foreign policy tools including diplomacy in bilateral and multilateral settings, aid, trade, sanctions, intelligence, and the use of force, among others. Taught by David Trichler, formerly a special assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and currently a member of the senior leadership team at W&M's Global Research Institute, students will be challenged to identify contemporary examples of foreign policy tools in practice, analyze the limitations of tools in different scenarios, and recommend the optimal mix of tools appropriate to a given situation.

While in DC students, students will hear from individuals currently at the National Security Council as well as former personal policy advisors to President Obama to gain insight into strategic decision making. They will participate in site visits at such locations as the Pentagon, Capitol Hill, and the State Department, and they will do deep dives with issue experts in topic areas such as sanctions or cyber. Ultimately, they will present their work, in both written and verbal form, in-person to policy experts, in the process gaining expert advice on how to better prepare for a policy career.

{{youtube:medium:center|oA3kI5Rb6ak, Hear Professor Trichler describe his awesome D.C. Summer Session 2022 Course}}