For a list of certificate courses offered for fall 2008, click here.

Anthropology Courses (ANT)

Culture in World Affairs

(ANT/IRP/MES 707)

A systematic survey of the ways in which local, organizational, and transnational issues in world affairs are affected by culture.

Multilateral Peacekeeping (Meets in New York City and Syracuse)
(IRP 701, ANT 701)
This seminar addresses the problems and prospect of multilateral peacekeeping through a combination of peacekeeping theory and analysis and practice of operations.  Through sessions at the United Nations, meetings with UN and NGO representatives, case studies of contemporary peacekeeping operations, and simulation exercises, students will explore the theory and practice of multilateral peacekeeping operations (UN and NATO) with expert practitioners from around the world.

Muslim Ritual, Practice, Performances

(ANT 628)

Offered by Kassam

Communications Courses (COM)

Seminar in Communications, Crises, and Leadership

(COM 600)

History Courses (HST)

Contemporary War and the Liberal Conscience, Seminar on European Perspectives on War

(Meets in Syracuse and London, during Spring Break.)
(IRP 635, HST 635)
This course will analyze the nature and effects of liberal ideas on war and peace since the seminal event of the French Revolution.  This is meant to provide the context for a sustained focus on the crisis that is emerging regarding our ideas on war and peace since the end of the Cold War.  By the end of the course, students should have developed a good understanding of how ideas on war and peace in Europe have evolved over the last two centuries and the nature and challenges of contemporary conflict.

Middle East since 1500

(HST 615)

This course surveys Middle Eastern history from the foundation of the Ottoman and Safavid Empires in the sixteenth century to the present day.  The first section of the course focuses on what Marshall Hodgson has called "The Age of the Gunpowder Empires," comparing developments in the territories ruled from Anatolia and Iran that set the stage for the modern period.  The second section of the course takes up European imperialism and Middle Eastern responses to changes over the long nineteenth century (1798-1918).  Finally, the third section of the course addresses twentieth-century colonialism, independence, nationalism, and revolution.  Throughout the course, we supplement textbook-style readings with primary sources and biographical sketches to discuss the complexities of gender, class, and culture, as well as he gender narrative pf political and economic change. 

The Modern Presidency

(HST 615)
This course will analyze the evolution of the modern presidency and its present operation. The focus of our attention will be on the years since the Second World War, especially on those since 1960. The decision making process and operation of presidential administrations from Kennedy to George W. Bush will be studied in detail. We shall consider the various roles that the president plays in government and in national society. The presidency as an institution and as an individual office will be examined to identify factors that have contributed to the successes and failures of particular administrations. This course shall also examine the roles and influence of unelected officials (esp. senior White House staff), and popular attitudes toward both the symbolic and the practical presidency—especially as they have been shaped by the mass media. We will consider what lasting effects, if any, events during the last quarter century have had upon the presidency as an institution. Finally, since this is primary election season, we will pay special attention to the nominating process and ongoing presidential campaign.

History of International Relations

(IRP 645, HST 645)

This course will offer an introduction to the international system since the beginning of the 20th century, and the way it developed through events and crises until the beginning of the 21st century.  Each meeting will be divided into two: a lecture in the first half, and discussion in the second half.  Students are required to be prepared for both parts of the meeting and to be able to participate in the discussions throughout class.  Each student will submit throughout the semester two papers: one book report and one paper on a topic relevant to the course.  Offered by David Tal

Law Courses (LAW)

Computer Crimes

(Law 759)

This course is organized around three questions: 1) what conduct involving a computer is prohibited by criminal law? 2) What legal rules govern the collection of digital evidence in criminal investigations? 3) What powers do state, national, and foreign governments have to investigate and prosecute computer crimes?  More specifically, topics will include computer hacking, computer viruses, encryption, online undercover operations, the Fourth Amendment in cyberspace, the law of Internet surveillance, laws governing access to e-mail, forum-shopping, jurisdiction, national security, and federal-state relations and international cooperation in the enforcement of computer crime laws.  Special attention will be paid to cyber terrorism.  No advanced knowledge of computers and the Internet is required or assumed.  Offered by William Snyder

Contemporary Issues in Atrocity Law

(LAW 899)
International criminal law is a new discipline within the legal profession. Over the past 12 years, the discipline has developed at an exponential rate. Cutting edge rulings and decisions are setting the cornerstones in international criminal law for years to come. It is a rare opportunity for teachers, students, practitioners, and policy makers to be present at the beginnings of a new area of the law. Rarer still is the opportunity for students to be able to take a seminar from one of the senior international practitioners in the field, using his work as the basis for this seminar.  Drawing upon unique experiences in West Africa, a great deal of the new ideas and fresh thinking began with our work as the Chief Prosecutor of the international war crimes tribunal in Sierra Leone, called the Special Court for Sierra Leone. The seminar will use, as a case study, the entire creative process in West Africa of establishing the Office of the Prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone; from planning, preparation, and executing the many tasks necessary to prosecute war criminals in a forgotten and tragic land.  Using real world and contemporary cases, vignettes, and scenarios this 2 credit hour seminar will give students a rare opportunity, to study and do research with the practitioner who created the entire prosecutorial plan to prosecute those who bore the greatest responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity that resulted in the murder, rape, maiming, and mutilation of over 1.2 million human beings. Offered by David M. Crane.

Counter Terrorism and the Law  (LAW 790)

This course will concern U.S. and international law responses to terrorism. The course will include a brief overview and history of terrorism. Topics will include legal definitions of terrorism, investigation and intelligence collection in the U.S. and abroad, apprehension of terrorists across borders, immigration and border controls, prosecution of terrorists, sanctions against terrorism and its supporters (including reprisal, assassination, asset freeze and forfeiture), crisis and consequence management in the event of terrorist attacks (including martial law and detention, domestic use of the military, catastrophic emergency measures, hostage and rescue operations), and law reform issues. Offered by William Banks

Internet Law

(LAW 775)

This course surveys a variety of Internet-related legal issues, including issues relating to jurisdiction, intellectual property, content regulation, service provider liability, privacy and data access, and online contracting.  It also includes consideration of Internet governance issues and uses the Internet paradigm to explore the increasingly important interrelationship between law and technology, and how law and policy are made.

Law of Armed Conflict

(LAW 840)

Mankind has attempted to regulate the horror of war for centuries.  This seminar will review those attempts, focusing on the modern era.  Particular attention will be paid to recent challenges related to the war on terror and the ramifications for future enforcement of these key principles.  Any student interested in practicing national security law or going into international criminal justice must have a clear understanding of the law of armed conflict.  This seminar will assist in that understanding.  The student will have the opportunity to be involved in several practical exercises that will reinforce their learning and write a paper on various cutting edge issues, of their choosing, related to the law of armed conflict.  Offered by David Crane

Legal Aspects of Future War

(LAW 863)
The paradigm shifts we see through history affect our society, as well as our laws. These laws, however, are apt to lag behind the swift change in the social, political, and cultural dynamic of today’s information age. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the area of national security law, particularly after the declaration of the war on terror in September of 2001.  This seminar, a first for a law school, will allow both the law student and graduate student from the Maxwell School of Citizenship, to consider the new threats to our national security 5, 10, and 15 years out and review how the appropriate laws will need to be reviewed and to change. The field of national security law needs to be more preventative, proactive, and forward thinking, rather than reactive. Lives are at stake.
The new threats and battlefields will be fought not on the desert plains of the Middle East, but in cyberspace, medical labs, nuclear reactors, corporate board rooms, bank vaults, and in dark corners of the world. The enemy may well be a soldier, but more likely a terrorist with sophisticated technology to attack asymmetrically and from places we have yet to imagine. This seminar will address these issues looking for the next challenges and explore the ways the law can adjust to ensure we defend ourselves under the rule of law. Offered by David M. Crane.
 

National Security Law 

(LAW 700)
The legal framework for national security decision making, including the respective powers of the President, Congress, and the judiciary; the domestic effect of international security law; general and small scale uses of military force; intelligence operations; public access to national security information; and restraints on publication of national security information.  Offered by William Banks and David Crane.

National Security and Counterterrorism Research Center

(LAW 822)

The National Security and Counterterrorism Research Center serves as a working research laboratory for law and other graduate students interested in national security and counterterrorism issues. Students will work in teams on research projects assigned by the director. Other faculty within Syracuse University and experts outside the University may also participate in the development and implementation of research projects. Typically, the projects will involve assessments of legal and law-related issues of concern to federal, state, and local government officials in responding to national security and terrorism threats. Other projects may examine private sector security concerns. Research projects may be pursuant to contract arrangements with sources external to Syracuse University, while others may be developed from within the College of Law or the University. Offered by William Banks and Keli Perrin.

Link to previous course website: National Security and Counterterrorism Research Center

Perspectives on Terrorism

(Meets with LAW 790, PSC 700, and HST 600)
This unique, interdisciplinary course will provide insight into the dynamics of terrorism and counterterrorism. Specializations will be offered in three areas: law, politics, and history. Graduate students may register in any of the three departments, with the permission of the instructor.  Although some class sessions will include discipline-specific discussions in small groups, participants also will converge in a large classroom for presentations, discussions and examinations of fundamental problems associated with terrorism.  Topics will include assessing the terrorist threat; weapons of mass destruction; religiously-driven terrorism; and planning for homeland security.  Guest lecturers are anticipated.  Offered by David Crane (law), David Bennett (HST), Michael Barkun (PSC).

Link to previous course website: Perspectives on Terrorism

Prosecuting Terrorists in Article III Courts

(LAW 779) 

The course will examine the use of civilian Article III courts to prosecute terrorists by following the logical course of a prosecution - legal basis, investigative techniques, litigation and sentencing issues.  Major topics include: principles of counter-terrorism prosecutions, major legislative packages, definitions of terrorism, numerous selected criminal statutes, overview of the intelligence community, overview of federal law enforcement agencies, use and protection of national security information, Fourth

Amendment framework, the Attorney General's Guidelines, U.S. agents acting abroad, electronic surveillance, interviews and interrogation, use of the grand jury, material witnesses, the Classified Information Procedures Act, physical security, witness protection, relevant United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines, litigation strategies and case studies.  Offered by William Snyder.

• Primary Texts (including summary of contents, table of contents, table of authorities and indexes)

• Information on the Instructor

• Syllabus

Political Science (PSC)

Comparative Civil-Military Relations

(PSC 780)
This course is a seminar on the theory and practice of civil-military relations.  We will examine the military's role in the modern state and in modern society.  Conceptually, we will examine three different types of issues: sovereign power issues, or questions of who rules that state; societal choice issues, which refer to non-military issues that may in some states acquire military dimensions; and defense politics, such as the relationship between the military and different branches of government when deciding when to commit to war, how much should be spent on national defense, etc.  Geographically we will cover the globe, including the United States, Europe, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.  Offered by Brian D. Taylor.

Comparative Foreign Policy

(PSC 783)

Comparison in the examination of foreign policy has two basic foci: (1) it is identified, somewhat narrowly, with the study of the foreign policies of countries other than the United States and (2) it is viewed more broadly, and more usefully, as a method for the systematic development of theories of foreign policy that are not limited to a single nation or point in time.  In this course, students are encouraged to examine the foreign policy actions of a range of actors and to learn about the various theoretical perspectives that currently guide this area of inquiry.  This seminar has three parts.  In the first part, we will determine what foreign policy is as we look at the logic of comparative analysis, some ways of analyzing foreign policy, and level of analysis issues.  What are we trying to explain in the comparative study of foreign policy and what are the dilemmas that confront such understanding?  In the second part of the course, we will overview the historical roots of the study of foreign policy and examine the metamorphosis in current research. The third part of the course will open up the "black box" of foreign policy decision making and examine how foreign policy is made. 

Crisis Management

(PSC 600)
This course will examine decision-making, cooperation and conflict in times of crisis.  An emphasis will be placed on understanding the key dynamics that influence the way that decision makers perceive and respond to crises and the kinds of processes that facilitate constructive crisis management.  Real-life case illustrations, exercises and simulations will be used to give participants an interactive experience and a realistic understanding of the limitations and opportunities that arise in high-pressure crisis management situations.  The class will familiarize students with contrasting points of view on crisis management from across disciplinary boundaries.  Offered by Bruce Dayton.

International Conflict and Peace

(PSC 754)

International Law and Organizations

(PSC 752)

International Negotiations

(PSC 760)

The seminar presents 'classic' readings about international negotiation, addressing strategic planning, the social psychology of negotiating, bargaining tactics, and negotiators' language.  We engage in a semester-long negotiating exercise.  Our objective is to develop and critique theory using simulated practice.  The negotiating topic for the spring semester is "Banning Biological and Toxin Weapons." 

International Security Theory

(PSC 700)

This course engages key controversies in contemporary security studies.  The course will focus on various theoretical perspectives and approaches for studying international security and foreign security policy, and on a number of "hot" security debates in the subfield.  The course is organized thematically and will cover security issues across multiple global regions and time periods.  In the first part of the course, we will consider how security studies has been delineated as a distinct subfield and we will revisit realist, liberal, and constructivist approaches.  In the second part of the course, we will cover a number of debates in the subfield, and consider how various theoretical approaches are applied to specific security topics, such as terrorism; security cooperation; small wars and insurgencies; military effectiveness; and, ethnic conflict and mass killing.  We also will consider cross-disciplinary trends in the field of security studies, including the intersection of national and international security with demographics, economics, and religion.  The course readings will primarily focus on contemporary (post 2000) literature, rather than on classic texts covered in the international relations survey course.  Offered by Miriam Elman

Political Leadership

(PSC 700)
This class will focus on answering the question: What is the relationship between what political leaders are like and the political behavior of the institutions or governments that they lead? In responding to this question, we will seek to understand the kinds of leaders that are recruited and selected in various types of political systems and the effects of cultural variables on who becomes a political leader and what political leaders can do. We will also explore the links between leadership style and political decision making as well as between leaders' individual characteristics and the ingredients of leadership. And we will consider the conditions under which political leaders' personalities and experiences are likely to shape what their political units do. In the course of the class, students will work with several techniques for studying the effects of leaders and leadership on politics by examining the activities and leadership style of one particular leader.

Course requirements will include completing three projects and mini-papers focused around a political leader of interest to the student and a take-home final exam. The projects and mini-papers will focus on (1) doing a social background study on the leader of choice, (2) ascertaining the leader's leadership style using assessment at a distance techniques, and (3) completing a case study of a decision in which the leader was involved to link leadership style and experience to political behavior.  Offered by Peg Hermann.

Social Theory and the Middle East

(PSC 682)

The aim of the course is to probe the following question: To what extent are Western social science theories and the narrative of Western modernity appropriate for the study of non-Western societies?  To answer this question, you will be exposed to Orientalist, Marxian, Weberian, and postmodern viewpoints about such issues as colonialism, Islamism, nationalism, secularism, authoritarianism, modernity, and patriarchy.  In the process, we will analyze such categories as states, classes, ethnicity, modes of production, ideologies, elites, civic culture, and gender that have been used to shed light on the various political configurations in this region.  The readings will introduce you to some of the more important scholarship on the subject, and form the springboard for class discussions.  Offered by Mehrzad Boroujerdi.

Theories of International Relations
(PSC 651)
An introduction to the theory of practice and International Relations for the professional degree students in the Master of Arts in International Relations Program.  A survey and critique of approaches to understanding international relations from the perspective of the practitioner who must deal with problems of individual choice, small groups, and organizational factors in the conduct of International Relations.  Case studies and simulations are used to provide first-hand experience in policy decision-making and international negotiation. The course begins with an overview and critique of competing world views, such as realism and neo-realism, pluralism, globalism, feminism, and post-modern perspectives.  After exploring these world views, we focus on the challenges of decision-making.  In addition, students have the opportunity to participate in policy research projects and report their findings to clients. 

US National Security and Foreign Policy

(PPA 706, PSC 706)

MPA Workshop (link to previous website)

Public Administration (PPA)

Congress and National Security

(PPA 730)

Fundamentals of Conflict Studies

(PPA 601)

The goals of this class are to provide students with a broad overview of the interdisciplinary field of conflict analysis and resolution, to introduce them to faculty and the work they are doing in this field, and to help them to develop a framework for diagnosing and responding to conflicts within their own area of interest.  Over the course of the semester we will explore the diverse range of theories of social conflict found across the social science disciplines.  Of particular interest throughout the course will be uncovering how our theories about the nature of social conflicts result in our making particular choices about which conflict resolution activities make sense under which conditions.  Relying on a number of guest speakers, documentaries, and group projects, we will consider how conflict manifests across multiple levels of analysis, as well as within specific topical areas. 

Homeland Security: Federal Policy and Implementation Challenges

(PPA 730)

This course will provide students with a thorough, broad-based understanding of the multiple challenges faced by the federal government in protecting the nation from a variety of threats, both human and natural.  Upon completion of the course, students will understand the complexities of the current security environment and the most important policy and operational questions facing federal, state and local government.  Class discussions, case studies and a simulation will provide an opportunity for students to become directly engaged in the implementation of various policy options.  There are no prerequisites for this course.  Even students who do not plan to work in a security agency would find this course invaluable as security issues pervade policy decision-making in almost every sector of the government.  Offered by Dean Mitchel Wallerstein and Keli Perrin

Humanitarian Action: Challenges, Responses, Results

(PPA 765)

This course will examine major humanitarian activities worldwide since 1992.  It will review disasters caused by nature and by man, including conflicts and major economic stress.  While the course will be organized around those themes, it will also discuss the key challenges for women and children, for refugees, for displaced people, and will review the involvement of governments,  UN agencies, NGOs, militaries, donors, the press and others.  Preparation will include readings from books and articles, as well as videos.  Students will be graded on their class participation, presentations, and written reports.  Offered by Catherine Bertini

International Organizations and Security

(PPA 730)
International organizations and regimes are recognized today as increasingly important factors in world politics.  This course provides an introduction to the study of international organizations and regimes as actors in the international arena.  It will explore why organizations and regimes matter and what role they play in international politics.  We will explore the distinctions between organizations and regimes; theories about regime formation; and what makes international organizations and regimes effective or ineffective.  We will also examine the functioning of international organizations and regimes in several issues areas, such as the environment, human rights, peace and security, and international trade and business.  The goal in doing so is to gain a better understanding of the role international regimes and organizations play as well as their potential limitations as international governance mechanisms. 
 

International Security

(PPA 704)
This course will familiarize students with some of the major theoretical approaches to the study of international security, and some of the central issues shaping current debates about security and the use of force.  War and conflict have been central to international politics.  The study of security investigates causes of war, strategies for avoiding conflict, and the impact of new technologies, actors, and ideas on calculations about the use of force.  We will examine and discuss anarchy and realism, alliances and security regimes, the political economy of national security, the democratic peace, nationalism and ethnic conflict, culture and security, the impact of changing weapons technologies, the impact of resources and migration on security, international intervention, and the role of transnational actors in the international security arena.  Offered by Renee de Nevers
 

International Security and the Asymmetric Uses of Force

(PPA 730)
The end of the of the Cold War and the emergence of the United States as the sole remaining superpower - one with truly global reach and overwhelming technological superiority - has forced state actors and non-state actors alike to fundamentally rethink basic conceptions of international security.  Indeed, perhaps the principal lesson of the recent military actions in the Persian Gulf and in the Balkans is that, for the foreseeable future, there is no prospect for deterring, much less prevailing over, the United States through conventional alignments of military power.  In fact, most have now recognized that such direct confrontations are an almost certain recipe for the defeat of the weaker party or parties.  This course will explore the theoretical, doctrinal and policy implications of this new reality, focusing in particular on the emergence of asymmetrical warfare as a rational response by those unable to counter the U.S. through conventional means.  After laying the conceptual groundwork through an examination of the contemporary (and likely future) international security environment, the course will explore in detail a variety of asymmetrical threats, including the use of weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, biological and chemical weapons), cyber attacks, attacks on civil infrastructure (transportation, communications, electrical grids, etc.), attacks on agriculture, and others.  The course will be taught as a seminar, and enrollment will be limited to encourage class discussion.  Students should expect an extensive reading list and will be evaluated in part, on the basis of their class preparation and participation.  Each member of the class will be expected to prepare and orally defend a policy memorandum to the National Security Council inter-agency process concerning a selected asymmetric vulnerability.  There also will be a second writing assignment at the end of the semester that will also function as a take home exam.  Offered by Dean Mitchel Wallerstein.

UN Organizations: Managing for Change

(PPA 730)

Comparing and contrasting UN funds and programs and the UN secretariat, this course will follow the ten-year reform program that was put in place at the UN World Food Program, and the various reforms recommended to change the operations of the UN Secretariat.  Students will be expected to read a variety of reports on related issues, and to write reports on reform and management issues.  Offered by Catherine Bertini

Negotiation of International Conflict

(Offered in Washington, D.C.)
(IRP 715, PPA 715)
This course examines international conflict management and resolution.  Students will be introduced to a number of core theoretical perspectives.  Topics to be covered include conflict prevention, methods of conflict resolution, conflict analysis, communication and conflict, the role of history in conflict, systems of enmity, and conflict intervention.  In addition, students will be introduced to a variety of practices of conflict resolution including negotiation, mediation and facilitation.  Students will be encouraged to take a critical view in examining the claims made for resolution.

Link to previous course website: International Conflict and Peace

Non-Traditional Challenges to Global Security

(Offered in Washington, D.C.)
(IRP 715, PPA 715)
This seminar will assess the scale, impact, and outlook for various transnational, especially non-traditional, challenges to global security and development, and their implications for the United States.  These include population and migration, the environment and health, ethnic and other forms of conflict, conflict prevention and peacekeeping, humanitarian intervention and human rights, terrorism and organized crime, globalization and financial vulnerability, and democratization.  The seminar will conclude with an examination of alternative global futures, the role these challenges would play in such futures, and the extent and means by which the United States would both shape and be affected by such futures.

Responding to Proliferation of WMD's

(PPA 705)
This course will examine the dangers caused by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and strategies to address this threat.  It will include an examination of theories about the spread of WMD, and efforts to control this spread both during and after the Cold War.  We will look at both national and international efforts to prevent the spread of WMD, ranging from diplomacy and arms control to counter-proliferation strategies.  We will also look at the factors that have led some states to choose not to develop such weapons.  The course will look at cases that raised fears about proliferation to both state and non-state actors.  The goal is to provide students with a strong grasp of the challenges presented by proliferation, and the strategies that have been developed to address this problem.  Offered by Renee de Nevers
 

U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy

(PPA 706, PSC 706)
This is a policy-oriented course in which students will study a range of issues in the field of U.S. national security and foreign policy.  The instructor uses readings, case studies, exercises, simulations, personal experience, and invited guest speakers to explore such issues as the U.S. national security structure and strategy, threats to US national interest, diplomacy and the use of force, civil-military relations, the place of the UN and other international organizations in U.S. foreign and defense policy, the role of human rights and morality in U.S. policy, the links between foreign and defense policy and homeland security, U.S. relations with allies and real and potential adversaries.  The instructor places strong emphasis on class discussion, and written and oral policy presentations. 

Offered by Renee de Nevers

Seminar in Resource Management 

(BUA 600)
This course provides students a broad perspective of the core competencies of Defense Financial Management and the application of those competencies within DoD and to external stake holders.  The course emphasizes the management of resource/financial management.  Students actively participate in a simulation involving Federal Budget prioritization, congressional processes, and Program & Budget formulation.  PPBE is examined not only from a process perspective, but also from an interpersonal, cross-functional and organizational view.  Students are asked to both analyze data and to determine how to market the results of the analysis to decision-makers at various levels of the organization.  Throughout these simulations, consensus building is stressed - both the difficulty and the necessity of achieving it.  The course also examines the following areas: outsourcing and privatization, BRAC, DoD, manpower and personnel policy's relationship with PPBE, fiscal law, management & internal controls and ethics.  Offered by David Berg.