Foreign Policy Course

Lesson 1 • Historical Patterns in Foreign Policy

Surveys recurring patterns across modern diplomatic history to illustrate how context shapes policy. Provides historical anchors for later analytical work.

Lesson 2 • What Foreign Policy Is

Defines foreign policy as a set of goals, decisions, and actions a state pursues abroad. Establishes vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • National Interest and State Goals

Unpacks the concept of national interest and how governments define and prioritize competing objectives. Links interest definition to policy output.

Lesson 4 • The International System

Explains the anarchic structure of the international system and how it shapes state choices. Connects systemic constraints to policy behavior.

Lesson 1 • Leadership and Individual Factors

Examines how leader psychology, beliefs, and style influence foreign policy choices. Introduces leadership analysis as a diagnostic tool.

Lesson 2 • Rational Actor Model

Presents the rational actor model as a baseline for understanding state choices. Highlights its utility and limitations in real policy contexts.

Lesson 3 • Small Group Dynamics

Explores how advisory groups and cabinets affect decision quality, including groupthink and dissent suppression. Links group structure to policy failure.

Lesson 4 • Organizational and Bureaucratic Politics

Analyzes how bureaucratic structures and inter-agency competition shape policy outputs. Connects organizational interests to policy distortion.

Lesson 1 • Instrument Selection and Sequencing

Teaches how to combine and sequence instruments for maximum effect. Applies a decision framework to multi-instrument policy design.

Lesson 2 • Diplomacy as a Primary Tool

Covers bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, negotiation, and signaling as core instruments. Establishes diplomacy as the foundation of the toolkit.

Lesson 3 • Military Instruments

Analyzes deterrence, compellence, force projection, and alliance commitments as military tools. Connects military posture to diplomatic signaling.

Lesson 4 • Economic Instruments

Examines trade policy, sanctions, aid, and investment as tools of statecraft. Links economic leverage to political outcomes.

Lesson 5 • Public Diplomacy and Soft Power

Defines soft power and examines cultural diplomacy, broadcasting, and exchange programs. Links attraction-based influence to long-term policy goals.

Lesson 1 • Qualitative Source Evaluation

Teaches students to assess primary sources, official documents, and expert commentary for reliability. Links source quality to analytical credibility.

Lesson 2 • Structured Analytic Techniques

Covers key assumptions checks, alternative futures analysis, and scenario planning. Connects structured techniques to intelligence and policy communities.

Lesson 3 • Writing the Policy Analysis

Guides students through structuring, arguing, and presenting a complete foreign policy analysis. Produces a polished analytical product as a course deliverable.

Lesson 4 • Quantitative Indicators in Policy

Introduces power indices, trade data, and conflict datasets as analytical inputs. Teaches students to interpret quantitative evidence without advanced statistics.

Lesson 1 • Diplomatic Communication Norms

Covers protocol, diplomatic language, and formal communication channels. Grounds students in the conventions that govern state-to-state interaction.

Lesson 2 • Negotiation Frameworks

Introduces principled negotiation, positional bargaining, and integrative approaches. Students practice applying each framework to policy scenarios.

Lesson 3 • Mediation and Conflict Resolution

Covers third-party mediation, good offices, and arbitration as diplomatic tools. Links conflict resolution mechanisms to foreign policy objectives.

Lesson 4 • Multilateral Diplomacy

Examines coalition building, bloc dynamics, and procedural rules in multilateral forums. Connects multilateral mechanics to bilateral strategy.

Lesson 1 • Intraregional Conflict and Cooperation

Covers territorial disputes, ethnic conflicts, and cooperative security arrangements within regions. Links intraregional dynamics to broader foreign policy choices.

Lesson 2 • Applying Frameworks to Regional Cases

Students apply theoretical and analytical tools from earlier chapters to specific regional scenarios. Reinforces transferable analysis skills across diverse contexts.

Lesson 3 • Regional Power Hierarchies

Explains how regional hegemons, middle powers, and small states interact within subsystems. Connects regional hierarchy to foreign policy behavior.

Lesson 4 • Major Power Competition Regions

Analyzes regions where great power rivalry is most intense and its effect on local states. Links great power competition to regional alignment choices.

Lesson 1 • Technology and Foreign Policy

Analyzes how emerging technologies reshape power, competition, and diplomatic norms. Connects technological change to new foreign policy challenges.

Lesson 2 • Economic Interdependence and Policy

Analyzes how global supply chains, financial flows, and trade regimes constrain and enable foreign policy. Links economic interdependence to strategic vulnerability.

Lesson 3 • Climate and Environmental Diplomacy

Examines climate change as a foreign policy driver and the diplomacy of global environmental agreements. Connects environmental stress to security and migration policy.

Lesson 4 • Security Challenges Beyond the State

Covers terrorism, transnational crime, and non-state armed groups as foreign policy challenges. Connects non-traditional threats to policy instrument choices.

Lesson 1 • Grand Strategy Concepts

Defines grand strategy and distinguishes it from tactical and operational policy. Establishes the strategic planning horizon used in the final project.

Lesson 2 • Strategic Communication

Examines how states communicate strategy to allies, adversaries, and domestic audiences. Connects messaging consistency to deterrence and credibility.

Lesson 3 • Strategy Evaluation and Adaptation

Teaches methods for assessing whether a strategy is working and how to adapt under changing conditions. Closes the strategic planning cycle.

Lesson 4 • National Security Strategy Design

Walks through the structure and logic of a national security strategy document. Students draft key sections using a standardized template.