Courses at Virginia Tech
​Nuclear Strategy and Politics
This course explores the role that nuclear weapons play in world politics. The course is divided into four sections. Part One examines the basics of nuclear energy and weapons. Part Two discusses theoretical models and historical cases to explain past nuclear proliferation and nonproliferation. Part Three turns explores the role of nuclear strategy and ethics. Finally, in the last section, the course examines specific historical cases and nuclear force postures around the world.
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Security Studies: Theories and Concepts
This course provides an overview of security studies as a field of studies in political science. Part One introduces the key methods and approaches used to understand security issues. In Part Two, the class explores major historical conflicts focusing on the role played by factors such as that the international system, regimes, technological developments, and individuals. Part Three considers prominent issues in security studies. In Part Four, we apply insights developed throughout the course to explore the security situation in key areas of the globe.
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Seminar: Diplomacy and Security
This course explores alliance politics which combine diplomatic and security elements. The course is divided into four main parts. The first two parts examine conceptual issues and frameworks central to explaining alliances. In Part 1 the focus is on alliance formation. Part 2 turns to issues of alliance management and termination. The third and fourth sections explore the history of one of the longest and the most institutionalized alliances in world history: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. In Part 3 the class will examine the origins and evolution of NATO in the Cold War. Then Part 4 turns to NATO’s expansion after the Cold War.
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Strategies of Modern Warfare
This course explores conventional military strategy and organization in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. It includes discussion on the study and nature of war and strategy, the core operational and tactical elements of modern mid- and high-intensity land warfare, variation in combat effectiveness across regimes and military organizations, the role of strategic air power in compelling adversaries, and assesses elements of the Russia-Ukraine War and debates surrounding American strategy and operational planning in the 21st century.
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​National Security (Undergraduate)
This course provides an overview of key actors and concepts in national security, with a focus on the United States. It examines traditions, constraints, and offices in national security policymaking. In addition, it explores the role of economics and force as both sources of power and tools in the national security realm. The course concludes by analyzing the degree to which today's world is characterized by a return to great power competition.
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