LEAD 225
International Security Fall 2019
Division II
Cross-listed PSCI 225
This is not the current course catalog

This course deals with basic questions about war and peace. What are the major causes of war? Why do leaders choose to use violence in the pursuit of political objectives? How does the threat of war shape international politics and diplomatic outcomes? How are wars fought? What are their consequences? And why do states sometimes seek to cooperate to achieve their objectives and other times settle disputes through force or the threat of force? To address these questions, this course covers a number of specific topics: the causes, conduct, and consequences of the two world wars; the origins, course, and end of the Cold War; the influence of nuclear weapons on international security; regional conflicts and rivalries; regime type and international conflict; alliances and patron-client relationships; diplomacy; crisis decision-making; asymmetric conflicts; and great power politics, grand strategy, and international order.