Each year cybercriminals steal hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of information from major companies and vital national security secrets from governments, while terrorist organizations leverage cyber-networks for distributing their media and recruiting. It is imperative to nurture the next generation of intelligence professionals to understand the cyber-threat landscape given its ubiquitous impact on our daily lives.

In this course participants are exposed to cyber-threat intelligence as a discipline and its function in providing decision-makers with the support they need to stay abreast of evolving security challenges. Case studies on advanced persistent threat (APT) groups and large cybercrime networks are examined so as to better understand their tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs); their successes; and their shortcomings. Further, we look at technology’s evolution and how it is integrated into our lives along with the likely future threat landscape that accompanies these technologies.

Threat intelligence encompasses more than the government, considering all private companies are reliant on technology and have their own threat intelligence teams, so this course focuses on both the public and private sectors.

Course readings cover the topics of intelligence, analysis, advanced persistent threat groups, cybercriminals, terrorist organizations, and the different methods these actors use to conduct their attacks and operations. We discuss these topics in greater depth in class lectures and with guest speakers. Students produce short white papers and work on group presentations in which they represent threat intel teams focusing on particular entities.

Please note, this is not a computer science class and no technical expertise is required.

The course begins by introducing international relations theory and practice, evolves into the evolution of the international order and concludes by discussing great power competition and economic statecraft.

The first half of the course presents theoretical and practical frameworks for understanding international politics and the policy decisions that shape global outcomes. It considers major international trends, such as the rise and fall of great powers, cooperation and conflict between states, and the influence of non-state actors on security, economics, and politics. With an emphasis on contemporary world affairs, it also explores the institutions, interests, ideas, and personalities behind international events. Foundational knowledge will be conveyed by looking at key historical events and the evolution of theoretical concepts that frame our understanding of international relations and informs policy. Each class meeting will use illustrative historical/contemporary cases to link theory to real world policy formation and execution.

Due to the sensitive nature of possible content and material covered in this course, it is recommended that students should only register if they have the maturity, and willingness to engage thoughtfully with challenging topics.

The second half of the course, which builds on the material covered in part I, examines challenges to the current global order in a world of growing political, economic and military competition. We will examine the rise of great power competition among the United States, China and Russia and use of economic statecraft as a principle tool to advance each country’s interest. This part of the course examines each of these actors from an economic viewpoint, proceeding from the premise that a national economic base provides the resources from which these nations provide for domestic living standards while at the same time resourcing their national security objectives. The course provides an overview of each nation in context to its regional and the world economy. The course will examine contemporary and projected trends for each nation and relate these to security and strategy.

This is designed as an economics course for those who are interested in international relations but who do not have a deep knowledge of macro-economics. The instructor will familiarize students with basic macroeconomic concepts and provide a framework for inquiry which the course will apply to each of the actors. The course will then draw conclusions for strategy and decision makers.

How has the US–China trade war affected the growth of world economies? Why has Latin America, a region rich in natural resources, not been able to attain economic growth levels similar to those in Asia? What implications does a potential global water crisis pose to how nations interact with one another? How has the mix of traditional and renewable energy sources made an impact on the United States? Is it unethical to apply economic principles to natural resources?

This course examines these type of questions as it dives into the fundamentals of natural resources, their pivotal role in the development of OECD (Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development) and non-OECD economies, and the monetization impact from Wall Street to the end consumer on Main Street.

Through case study analyses of current events, students develop an understanding of global reserves and yields of natural resources, identify world consumers and producers – i.e. export (supply/origin) and import (demand/destination) hubs – along with transportation channels, and conduct deep dive analyses in group settings on the financial life of these resources and their contribution to the pace of global growth.

Complementary to these topics, participants debate the basis for responsible business procurement of natural resources – including those that are sustainable – and their effect in the global landscape.

Students gain an understanding of – and think critically about – various natural resources (agricultural, energy, mineral, and livestock) and the key challenges of international trade in an interconnected world. They also learn about the social impact of exploration and production of these raw materials. Topics explored include the relevance of geopolitical analysis, how shipping markets and freight rates/chartering are crucial to world trade, and the growing presence of private capital in shoring up global imbalances.

This course explores the central political, economic, and social ideologies of the modern world, including capitalism, socialism, communism, liberalism, populism, and nationalism. We ask what principles define these ideologies, how these ideologies intersect with democracy, and how they produce and require different meanings and understandings of key concepts such as freedom, equality, justice, and citizenship.

Starting with an extended focus on capitalism and liberal democracy, students investigate the origins and key beliefs of each ideology and think about the pros and cons of various systems of governance and social control. Our goal is not to proclaim any one ideology as superior, but to more deeply understand different ways of thinking about politics and society that have shaped the past and present, and that offer us possibilities for the future. In the process, class participants become more reflective about and aware of their own convictions, and better able to articulate and defend such convictions in speech and writing with thoughtfulness, precision, insight, and persuasive force.

Course materials include excerpts from classic and contemporary political theory texts, as well as newspaper and magazine articles and film clips. Students draft and revise personal ideology statements and participate in debates in which they marshal ideas from the sources studied to justify and defend their positions.

The course also includes guest speakers representing various ideological positions. Students are encouraged to engage in serious dialogue with and pose difficult questions of these guests, probing what they believe and why.

The morning sessions are generally devoted to helping students achieve a firm grasp of the theoretical and factual arguments found in the readings, through a combination of presentations by the instructor and class discussion. The afternoon sessions allow students to put these theories and facts to work in written and oral form, working both individually and in small groups to develop arguments and debate controversial political questions.

By the end of the three weeks, students are equipped with not only a deeper understanding of the competing political and economic ideologies that shape the modern world, but also with the tools to make, understand, and critically evaluate claims of all kinds—tools which should serve them well both in their future studies and as future citizens and leaders.

Due to the sensitive nature of possible content and material covered in this course, it is recommended that students should only register if they have the maturity, and willingness to engage thoughtfully with challenging topics.

This course considers the relationship between wealth and democracy, in theory, in history, and in practice today. Topics investigated include the following: political and legal debates about campaign finance reform from the late 20th century to the present, including whether money is speech and whether campaigns should be publicly financed; the role of the wealthy in American politics as candidates and as donors/funders; and the nature and problem of political corruption.

Readings are drawn from philosophers and political theorists, contemporary studies of the impact of wealth on American democracy, and key Supreme Court decisions including Citizens United. Other sources include film excerpts and press accounts. Students also benefit from several guest speakers working on issues pertaining to campaign finance and related issues of money and politics on the local, state, and/or national level.

Morning sessions are generally devoted to helping students achieve a firm grasp of the theoretical and factual arguments found in the readings, through a combination of presentations by the instructor and class discussion. Afternoon sessions allow students to put these theories and facts to work in written and oral form, working both individually and in small groups.

In addition to completing and discussing reading assignments, students write position papers and participate in debates in which they marshal ideas from the sources studied to justify and defend their positions.

Our ultimate goal is not to establish the proper role of money in politics, but to more deeply understand different ways of thinking about wealth and democracy that have shaped the past and present, and that offer us possibilities for the future.

Due to the sensitive nature of possible content and material covered in this course, it is recommended that students should only register if they have the maturity, and willingness to engage thoughtfully with challenging topics.