In my capacity as an Adjunct Professor, I teach two graduate courses in the School of Foreign Service's Security Studies Program (SSP):
1- SEST 530: International Security
This is a required course for students in SSP who have a concentration in International Security. The course examines a wide array of military and non-military factors that influence international security.
2- SEST 646: US Defense Policy in the Middle East.
This is not a course on overall U.S. policy toward the Middle East. Nor is it strictly on the impact of Middle Eastern military and security issues on U.S. interests in the region and around the world. It is a little bit of both, though sufficiently distinct to merit an identity of its own. As its name suggests, SEST-646 is about how U.S. defense policy is formulated and implemented in the Middle East. While the relationship between foreign policy and defense policy ideally is one of partnership and interdependence, it is less so the case in the Middle East. The history of America’s involvement in that region, particularly since 9/11, shows that U.S. defense policy more often than not has been in the driver’s seat, operating with a degree of independence and distinct pace.
SEST 530 is a required core course in SSP.
SEST 646 is a new course I created for SSP in Spring 2022.