PIA 2362 - LEADERS & U.S. FOREIGN POLICY DECISION-MAKING

Minimum Credits: 3
Maximum Credits: 3
How do U.S. presidents make foreign policy decisions? The class will review the constraints, dilemmas, risks, and opportunities that American presidents face during international crises and wars. It will expose students to alternative explanations for how states make foreign policy, with an emphasis on the decision-making process. We will critically analyze the decision-making process that led to the undertaking of major and historical decisions in the U.S. history and will conduct simulations of potential crisis scenarios. The course will examine rationalist and psychological theories of decision-making, as well as how other characteristics of leaders can create patterns of decision-making in foreign policy. A key part of this course is the role of advisors and intelligence officials in assisting policymakers. Students will take on the role of members of the federal agencies with seats on the U.S. National Security Council in a roleplaying exercise on how to advise the President in an international crisis. As part of this simulation exercise, students will collaborate on policy options, propose them in a group setting, and draft a debriefing memo on the policy ultimately chosen to address the crisis. Students will also write and present a leadership analysis on current international leaders to assist students in understanding the parties across the negotiating table in policy issues involving the United States.
Academic Career: Graduate
Course Component: Lecture
Grade Component: Grad LG/SNC Basis
Course Requirements: Graduate School of Public and International Affairs students only.

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