Diplomacy & Defense

Despite noble efforts, neither the US government nor the world comes with a reliable user manual. Yet, policymakers must navigate mammoth institutions like the Departments of State and Defense, develop a strategic perspective about their area of the world, and somehow fit institutional capabilities to strategy in their design of operations, policies, and plans. The soloist fails. The skill of orchestrating other people’s minds within this mission is the key.

Therefore, this case studies-based course will develop skills around collaborative intelligence, like scenario-planning simulations (aka wargaming, table-top exercises, etc.). It will explore exemplary cases in which the tensions between the Departments of Defense and State become clear, such as the United States' engagement with reconstruction after war. We will also see how these skills are just as useful in other levels of government and business, and how cutting-edge tools like artificial intelligence may fit in.

The course goal is to help students create benefit for the public; it does this by enabling them to:

1. Lead simulations to design solutions. Simulations are useful for navigating multiple agencies through uncertainty. Yemen’s reconstruction will be this course’s main case as reconstruction around conflict highlights tensions between defense and diplomacy while defining America's greatest foreign policy successes (Germany, Japan), failures (Iraq, Afghanistan), and historical pivot (The Civil War)
2. Use (some) of the policymaking toolkit. This includes the uses and abuses of intelligence, academia, data and machine learning, and historic lessons learned; as well as more day-to-day skills like problem solving, communicating, and negotiating.
3. Navigate institutions and their bureaucracy. The Departments of State and Defense are the big two; there are also many important players including states, IGOs, private companies, and tech ecosystems

Course Flow: A new case will be introduced the second half of class, student inquiry and problem-solving the case will be homework, and debriefs are held the first half of the next class. The course is about building the students’ capabilities and toolkit as a public servant, so we will also frequently offer feedback to each other.