NATL SECURITY DECISION MAKING

Professional writing, opinion writing, presentation and argumentation.

- Borrowing from Joseph Nye's concept of contextual intelligence, I gained a deeper understanding of how decision-makers must adapt strategies to evolving environments. This was particularly relevant when analyzing how historical decisions—such as the Cuban Missile Crisis—hinged on leaders' abilities to interpret the geopolitical landscape, assess adversaries’ motives, and anticipate consequences. - The course provided a nuanced view of how hard (military force) and soft (diplomatic and cultural influence) power must be integrated to achieve national security objectives. The concept of smart power, combining these elements effectively, was especially useful in understanding modern great-power competition with China and Russia. - Through case studies like the Osama bin Laden raid and the 2003 invasion of Iraq, I saw how the lack—or presence—of interagency coordination impacts decision-making outcomes. I learned about frameworks like the National Security Council's (NSC) role in integrating interagency efforts and the challenges in managing bureaucratic silos.

National security decision making was an interesting course that challenged me to think on a different level of support to the national level. Advisement to the President is significant and cannot be rushed or completed without knowledge of the multiple layers of consideration of previous actions or policies.

1. structure of the NSC 2. a president's relationship with his natl sec advisor and NSC 3. how the US is perceived globally and how its actions impact different regions/nations

Familiar with several of the course topics, my familiarity was informed by experience. Course provided an excellent opportunity to dive deeply into foundational and sourcing documents and gain better understanding of “how it should be.” Course encouraged a practice I intend to continue: get engaged in the hard problems. Discussing policy is one thing; engaging policy to the point where you are willing to put pen to paper and enter the ongoing debate is another. We wrote several policy papers and OpEds that proved excellent forcing functions!