International Security
The International Security (IS) field offers courses related to the onset, conduct and termination of large-scale political conflict, violence and war, as well as civil-military relations, crisis management, decision-making, intelligence, non-violent resistance, strategy and statecraft. The field also provides courses devoted to emergent security threats, including cybersecurity, climate change, terrorism, and demographic shifts as well as emerging tools for addressing insecurity such as security sector reform. Course offerings reflect theoretical and practical considerations and historical and contemporary perspectives. Courses might be based in case studies of countries or regions, examine the play of politics within states, or span the international and global system of states. In addition to studying critical events around violence, war, and peace, students will engage crucially important concepts and phenomena including power, legitimacy, authority, sovereignty, institutions, cooperation, democratization, ethnicity, nationalism and self-determination, and religion. The field also offers courses in international relations theory and political systems that seek to describe, explain, and compare the different units and actors that comprise the world in the 21st century.
In essence, students in the IS field are presented with a broad understanding of the historical and contemporary dynamics of the international security environment and acquire requisite knowledge of the key theories, concepts, and leading thinkers in this field. Our curriculum is geared towards developing graduates who can effectively analyze, discuss, and act on key challenges in the contemporary international security environment.
The many achievements of former students and military fellows attest to the efficacy of the International Security field at Fletcher. Our students have gone on to successfully work in a variety of professional career fields, including in the U.S. government, foreign governments, non-governmental organizations, international and national policy institutes, global consulting, international and national media, and academia.
Field Advisor(s)
Research Centers
Students in the field also have access to and are supported by five security related programs and centers listed below. Each hosts an array of fellows, speakers, workshops, and events throughout the academic year and provides financial and logistical support to student-oriented activities, including student-led conferences and publications.
Cyber Security and Policy Program
The Edward R. Murrow Center for Global Diplomacy
International Security Studies Program
Field Requirements
MALD and MIB: 4 courses in field of study (one core, one field elective, and two additional electives)
MGA: 6 courses in field of study (two core, one skills course, and three additional electives)
Total Credits Required
MALD and MIB: 12.0 credits
MGA: 18.0 credits plus Practicum
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MALD and MIB
DHP P240 The Role of Force in International Politics
MGA
DHP P233 International Security
DHP P240 The Role of Force in International Politics
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MALD and MIB
HP D272 U.S. - China Security Relations
DHP P205 National Security Decision Making: Theory and Practice
DHP P206M Maritime Security
DHP P232 Technological Innovation and International Security
DHP P233 International Security
DHP P239 Nuclear Weapons: Technology, Strategy and Policy
DHP P243 Internal Conflicts and War in the 21st Century
DHP P248 Strategy and Grand Strategy: Theory, Art, and Practice
DHP P263 Civil Wars: Theory and Policy
DHP P265 21st Century Intelligence and National Security Seminar
MGA
DHP D220 Processes of International Negotiation
DHP P203 Analytic Frameworks for International Public Policy Decisions
DHP P207 GIS for International Applications
EIB B291 Leadership: Building Teams, Organizations and Shaping Your Path
ILO L215 Ethics in Practice of Foreign Affairs
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DHP D201 Seminar in International Relations Theory
DHP D206 U.S. Diplomatic Tradecraft
DHP D252 Grand Strategy
DHP D282 Contemporary Russian Foreign Policy
DHP H204 Classics of International Relations
DHP H205 The Historian’s Art and Current Affairs
DHP P202M Security Sector Reform: Conceptual and Contextual Debates in Peacebuilding
DHP P209M Demography and National Security
DHP P244 Modern Terrorism and Counterterrorism
DHP P246M Civil Resistance
DHP P249 International Cyber Conflict
DHP P252 Global Water Security Perspectives
DHP P264 AI: Algorithms, Ethics, and Policy
DHP P277 Introduction to Nuclear Security: History, Policy, and Theory
DHP P291 Power in World Politics
EIB B223 Informal and Underground Finance
ILO L216 International Humanitarian Law
ILO L224 Conflict Management Tools for International Organizations
ILO L262 Foreign Relations and National Security
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One skills course is required for the MGA. MALD and MIB students may not use these courses as a field elective unless otherwise indicated above.
DHP D208M Research Methods and Scholarship
DHP D218 Influencing Policy and the Global Debate: Writing Analysis and Opinion
DHP D220 Processes of International Negotiation
DHP D225 Conflict Resolution Practice
DHP D243M Overview of Survey Methods
DHP D245M Working in Difficult Research Environments with Vulnerable Populations: Advanced Field Research Methods
DHP New Advanced GIS
DHP New Introduction to Data Science for Global Applications
DHP P203 Analytic Frameworks for International Public Policy Decisions
DHP P207 GIS for International Applications
DHP P225 Design, Monitoring, and Evaluation
DHP P234 The Arts of Communication
DHP P250 Environmental Problem Solving
EIB B205 Data Analysis and Statistical Methods
EIB B206 Data Analysis and Statistical Methods for Business
EIB B262 Marketing Research and Analysis
EIB B291 Leadership Building Teams, Organizations, and Shaping Your Path
EIB E210M Quantitative Methods
EIB E213 Econometrics
EIB E214 International Economic Policy Analysis
EIB E247 Econometric Impact Evaluation for Development
ILO L215 Ethics in the Practice of Foreign Affairs
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A practicum is required for MGA students.
