Topics in IR: Military Policy and Planning

This course provides an overview of the uses of the military as an instrument of national power in the US, including an understanding of the size, scope, organization, function, and resources of the Department of Defense (DoD), the relationship between DoD and other Cabinet agencies in formulating and executing US policy, the defense budgeting process, and civil-military relations. It also reviews the trade-offs and planning considerations that affect the range and scope of operations the US military is postured to conduct, as well as factors that go into the determination of how many and what types of forces make up the US military.