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Research Guides

U.S. Grand Strategy in the Twenty-First Century

Daniel Bessner TTh 2:30-4:20 THO 231

The United States is the world’s hegemon and its actions impact manifold nations. Nevertheless, many critics in the United States and abroad have claimed that the nation regularly acts in an ad hoc manner without reference to a strategic blueprint. This Task Force will answer these critiques by having students develop a “grand strategy”—a plan for the future of U.S. political, economic, and sociocultural relations with the world—that addresses the manifold issues with which the United States will likely deal in the coming years. Students will begin the course by reading classic works of strategy written by thinkers from Thucydides to George Kennan in order to become familiar with the complex interrelationships between strategy, the environment, politics, culture, and society. After finishing these readings, students will join together to become a “Policy Planning Staff” composed of small groups dedicated to exploring a given issue area with the purpose of developing policy recommendations that relate U.S. behavior to the national interest. By the course’s end, students will have produced a single strategic document intended to provide guidance to U.S. policymakers in the twenty-first century.

Key research tools

Selected security think tanks

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Selected journals