POLI 386 - Technology, Security and the Future of War

Semester Offered: Spring
1 unit(s)

This seminar course examines how technology is reshaping the international security environment and the future of war. With the advent of the information age and with new technologies such as AI, autonomous drones, and cybernetics transforming military doctrine and norms on the use of force, theories of international politics are struggling to keep up with the pace of innovation and change. Using an interdisciplinary approach that combines history, theory, and practice, this course seeks to advance students’ conceptual understanding of how technologies influence national security decision-making and military innovation from a global perspective. The course provides a brief survey on the causes of war, international instability, and deterrence, then looks at how organizational culture, politics, and relations between the public and private sectors shape (or inhibits) innovation. The course then goes over some basic modeling/gaming scenarios to understand how net assessments shape decisions related to procurement, budgeting and security priorities. The course concludes with a survey of new scientific breakthroughs - ranging from biological to nanotechnology to thermal nuclear – and how advances in technology are shaping the current and future battlefield. Lionel Beehner.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the instructor.

One 2-hour period.

Course Format: CLS