Geopolitics and Geostrategy Course

Lesson 1 • The State as a Geopolitical Actor

Analyzes state attributes—territory, population, resources, and sovereignty—as inputs to geostrategic capacity. Establishes the state-centric baseline before introducing non-state actors.

Lesson 2 • Geography as a Strategic Variable

Examines how physical geography shapes strategic options, constraints, and vulnerabilities. Connects terrain, climate, and location to decision-making outcomes.

Lesson 3 • Classical Geopolitical Theories

Surveys foundational theories from Mackinder, Mahan, Spykman, and Haushofer. Provides the theoretical baseline against which modern frameworks are evaluated.

Lesson 4 • Defining Geopolitics and Geostrategy

Clarifies the conceptual boundaries between geopolitics and geostrategy and their relationship to foreign policy. Anchors all subsequent analysis in precise terminology.

Lesson 1 • Grand Strategy: Concept and Design

Defines grand strategy as the alignment of ends, ways, and means across all instruments of power. Students learn to diagnose strategic coherence and identify gaps.

Lesson 2 • Balancing, Bandwagoning, and Hedging

Examines how states respond to rising powers through alliance, accommodation, or strategic ambiguity. Prepares students to classify state behavior in competitive environments.

Lesson 3 • Defining and Prioritizing National Interests

Distinguishes vital, major, and peripheral interests and explains how governments rank competing objectives. Connects interest hierarchy to resource allocation decisions.

Lesson 4 • Measuring Strategic Effectiveness

Introduces frameworks for evaluating whether a grand strategy achieves its stated objectives over time. Connects strategic assessment to adaptive planning cycles.

Lesson 1 • Africa and the Global South

Evaluates strategic competition for influence, resources, and partnerships across Africa and the broader Global South. Highlights emerging multipolarity and non-Western agency.

Lesson 2 • Indo-Pacific Strategic Competition

Examines maritime rivalry, island chain strategies, and alliance networks across the Indo-Pacific. Connects sea power theory to current great-power competition.

Lesson 3 • Regional Order Theory

Explains how regional security complexes form, persist, and dissolve through patterns of amity and enmity. Provides the conceptual lens for all subsequent regional analysis.

Lesson 4 • Eurasia: Heartland Dynamics

Analyzes the strategic competition across the Eurasian landmass, including continental integration projects and border disputes. Applies Heartland theory to contemporary rivalries.

Lesson 1 • Military Alliances and Collective Defense

Evaluates how alliances aggregate military power, distribute burdens, and manage intra-alliance tensions. Links alliance theory to current collective defense arrangements.

Lesson 2 • Deterrence Theory and Practice

Analyzes nuclear and conventional deterrence, extended deterrence, and credibility challenges. Connects deterrence logic to alliance commitments and arms control.

Lesson 3 • Principles of Military Strategy

Introduces enduring strategic principles—mass, economy of force, maneuver, and surprise—and their operational application. Grounds military analysis in classical strategic thought.

Lesson 4 • Unconventional and Hybrid Warfare

Examines insurgency, proxy warfare, and hybrid strategies that blend conventional and irregular methods. Prepares students to analyze conflicts below the threshold of open war.

Lesson 1 • Sanctions and Economic Coercion

Examines the design, implementation, and effectiveness of economic sanctions as a coercive tool. Analyzes conditions under which sanctions succeed or fail.

Lesson 2 • Geoeconomics: Concept and Logic

Defines geoeconomics as the use of economic instruments to produce geopolitical outcomes. Distinguishes it from conventional trade policy and development economics.

Lesson 3 • Trade Policy as Strategic Instrument

Explores how preferential trade agreements, export controls, and tariffs serve strategic rather than purely commercial goals. Links trade architecture to alliance and rivalry management.

Lesson 4 • Investment, Infrastructure, and Influence

Assesses how foreign direct investment and infrastructure financing generate strategic dependencies and political leverage. Evaluates recipient-state responses and countermeasures.

Lesson 1 • Technology as a Geopolitical Variable

Establishes how technological leadership translates into military, economic, and diplomatic advantage. Frames the technology competition as a core dimension of great-power rivalry.

Lesson 2 • Intelligence and Strategic Decision-Making

Examines how intelligence collection, analysis, and covert action inform and shape geostrategic choices. Highlights the role of intelligence failure in strategic miscalculation.

Lesson 3 • Cyber Power and Digital Geopolitics

Analyzes cyber operations as instruments of espionage, sabotage, and coercion in interstate competition. Connects cyber capabilities to broader deterrence and escalation dynamics.

Lesson 4 • Information Warfare and Influence Operations

Evaluates how states use disinformation, propaganda, and narrative control to shape adversary perceptions and domestic opinion. Links information operations to hybrid warfare strategies.

Lesson 1 • Multilateralism Under Stress

Assesses how great-power competition, populism, and institutional fragmentation challenge the liberal multilateral order. Prepares students to analyze post-liberal governance scenarios.

Lesson 2 • International Institutions and Order

Explains how multilateral institutions emerge from power distributions and serve both cooperative and hegemonic functions. Provides the institutional baseline for governance analysis.

Lesson 3 • Security Governance and Collective Action

Examines how multilateral security bodies manage collective action problems, peacekeeping, and conflict prevention. Connects institutional design to operational effectiveness.

Lesson 4 • Economic Governance and Trade Regimes

Analyzes how multilateral economic institutions regulate trade, finance, and development in a competitive environment. Highlights how great powers use and contest these frameworks.

Lesson 1 • Capstone Strategic Assessment Exercise

Integrates all course frameworks in a full-cycle strategic assessment of a real-world geopolitical challenge. Students demonstrate mastery through a structured, peer-reviewed deliverable.

Lesson 2 • Structured Analytical Techniques

Introduces evidence-based analytical methods that reduce cognitive bias in strategic assessment. Equips students with professional intelligence-community analytical tools.

Lesson 3 • Strategic Communication and Policy Briefs

Develops skills for translating complex geopolitical analysis into concise, decision-ready policy documents. Emphasizes clarity, prioritization, and actionable recommendations.

Lesson 4 • Geopolitical Risk Assessment

Applies probability and impact frameworks to identify, rank, and monitor geopolitical risks for decision-makers. Connects risk assessment to strategic planning and contingency design.