American University
School of International Service
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20016
Intelligence and National Security
Summer 2016
Course Description
This course is designed to introduce students to the role that intelligence and intelligence agencies play in
contemporary national security. The class will begin with an overview of the concept of national security
and the different organizations that protect the United States. We will continue with an exploration of the
nature of contemporary threats, focusing on why today’s threats are different and more challenging than
those of the past (or are they?). Finally, the class will investigate the tough choices policy-makers address
on a daily basis. Threats, responses, and intelligence are rarely crystal-clear, necessitating a set of very
high-stakes decisions by national leaders. The follow-on assignments will allow students to explore these
issues in written format.
Course Assignments
All assignments MUST be submitted 30 days after your NSLC program.
1. Class Participation- 30%
2. Threat Assessment Briefing Memo - 30%
4 pages, double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman, 1 inch margins on all sides
One important way to assess a threat is to imagine how you would perpetrate the actual attack. The
briefing memo asks you to either plan a terrorist attack in detail (including how and why it would
succeed) or highlight a particular vulnerability in American security practice for which you provide
specific remedies. Both options are written for an informed audience, like the Joint Chiefs. In doing so,
you must use a minimum of five (5) of the texts from the course's reading list, which are available on
the Blackboard site. Extra research beyond specified readings will help the quality of your paper
significantly.
3. Research Paper - 40%
6-7 pages, double-spaced, with 12 pt. Times New Roman, 1 inch margins on all sides
Following the turmoil in the Middle East, pick one country that has experienced (or is currently
experiencing) a revolution and analyze its significance for the national security of the United States.
Argument should be supported with evidence from the reading list as well as any outside articles/books
you find useful for your research.
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