Examine new challenges to national security.
Emerging Threats in National Security is a semester-long experience that explores non-traditional challenges to U.S. national security. This seminar provides students with a deeper understanding of national security policy in general, while considering the impact of new and non-conventional threats. Topics have included civilian and military government issues, weaponization of space and nuclear issues, human rights, civil rights, and climate change.
In response to a seismic shift from the nation’s highest court, this year the program will delve into the national security implications of significant U.S. Supreme Court decisions from the 2022 term. Students will explore how rulings on abortion, gun control measures, immigration, clean energy, religious freedoms, and other pivotal areas may impact domestic and foreign security priorities and cast a new light on how to protect our nation and its 330 million residents.
The program begins with a basic foundation in national security, providing students an opportunity to think more broadly about the field. Students are encouraged to question whether traditional concepts adequately address new and novel threats facing the United States domestically and internationally.
While national security may be traditionally thought to be the domain of lawyers and political scientists, this program seeks to include students from diverse backgrounds to join the national security dialogue. Students from all majors are encouraged to apply.
Each bi-monthly session will focus on a different national security issue and its application to U.S. policy. Students will explore these topics and engage directly with one another, debating the merits of each issue and proposing policy to elevate those issues they believe to be among the most pressing national security concerns.
The program concludes with discussions on the U.S. national security decision-making process and ethical dimensions of national security policy and will challenge whether the traditional paradigm for addressing national security is adequate given these new threats. National security practitioners will participate as guest speakers. At the end of the program, students will produce a blog post for inclusion on the Eisenhower Institute’s student blog, Ike’s Anvil.
A key component of this program will be an experiential learning trip to the Washington, D.C. area to visit the centers of power where national security decisions are made. As part of this journey, students will participate in a simulation activity with national security professionals to challenge and strengthen their decision-making abilities.
The program is led by Annie Morgan ’06, a Gettysburg College alumna, adjunct professor of political science, and current Department of Defense attorney engaged in investigation of torture and other human rights violations.
Spring 2023
Recurring session dates to be announced, but you must be available every Tuesday while classes are in session 6:30-9 p.m. to apply. The program will meet roughly every 3 weeks at that time.
- March 9-11 — Washington, D.C. Trip