Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes University of Pennsylvania political scientist Ian Lustick for a discussion of the War on Terror including its erroneous assumptions, its consequences for domestic politics, and its implications for Al Queda's long term strategy. He compares the Bush administration response to 911 to America's response to the Soviet threat during the Cold War. (57 min)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Michael Scheuer, a 20 year veteran of the CIA, who in the 1990's headed the search for Osama Bin Laden and the rendition program to imprison jihadists. Scheuer discusses the career of Osama bin Laden, the origins of the rendition program, and the failure of the US foreign policy elite to understand the challenges posed by jihadist terrorism. (55 minutes)

Conversations host Harry Kreisler welcomes Louise Richard, Executive Dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University, for a discussion of how to understand terrorism and contain the threat. (56 minutes)

In this podcast, Professor Roberta Pearson from the School of American and Canadian Studies, discusses the fictional representation of terrorism in modern day television programmes and why more and more people are using fiction instead of the news to inform their opinions of world events.

Professor Pearson considers the frequent engagement of modern audiences with such television series’ as ‘24’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and how these common cultural experiences should not be underestimated as a factor in affecting the way public issues are viewed.

In this podcast, Professor Roberta Pearson from the School of American and Canadian Studies, discusses the fictional representation of terrorism in modern day television programmes and why more and more people are using fiction instead of the news to inform their opinions of world events.

Professor Pearson considers the frequent engagement of modern audiences with such television series’ as ‘24’ and ‘Battlestar Galactica’ and how these common cultural experiences should not be underestimated as a factor in affecting the way public issues are viewed.

The Middle East conflict and terrorism are issues we hear about almost daily in the news. This lesson will use video clips from WIDE ANGLE's 'Suicide Bombers' (2004), Internet sites, and primary sources to examine the roots of the Middle East conflict. The video contains interviews with young Palestinians who participated -- or intended to participate -- in suicide bombings. These young Palestinians share the personal, religious, political and emotional reasons behind their participation in these suicide operations. This lesson could be used to review information about the three major monotheistic religions and their connections to Israel, to relate post-World War II policies to the current political state of the Middle East, and/or to get students to understand the roots of the terrorism that threatens the world we live in.

Run as a workshop, students collaborate in teams to design and prototype games for social change and civic engagement. Through readings, discussion, and presentations, we explore principles of game design and the social history of games. Guest speakers from academia, industry, the non-profit sector, and the gaming community contribute unique and diverse perspectives. Course culminates in an end of semester open house to showcase our games.

This class is designed to expose you to the cycles of disasters, the roots of emergency planning in the U.S., how to understand and map vulnerabilities, and expose you to the disaster planning in different contexts, including in developing countries.

This class is designed to expose you to the cycles of disasters, the roots of emergency planning in the U.S., how to understand and map vulnerabilities, and expose you to the disaster planning in different contexts, including in developing countries.

This course explores perspectives in the policy process - agenda setting, problem definition, framing the terms of debate, formulation and analysis of options, implementation and evaluation of policy outcomes using frameworks including economics and markets, law, and business and management. Methods include cost/benefit analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and system dynamics. Exercises include developing skills to work on the interface between technology and societal issues; simulation exercises; case studies; and group projects that illustrate issues involving multiple stakeholders with different value structures, high levels of uncertainty, multiple levels of complexity; and value trade-offs that are characteristic of engineering systems. Emphasis on negotiation, team building and group dynamics, and management of multiple actors and leadership.

This course explores Japan’s role in world orders, past, present, and future. It focuses on Japanese conceptions of security; rearmament debates; the relationship of domestic politics to foreign policy; the impact of Japanese technological and economic transformation at home and abroad; alternative trade and security regimes; Japan’s response to 9/11; and relations with Asian neighbors, Russia, and the alliance with the United States.

Le phénomène terroriste perturbe aujourd’hui la paix et la sécurité internationale. L’espace sahélien est durablement touché par ce fléau qui déstabilise les États, notamment le Niger qui fait face depuis quelques années à d’importants défis sécuritaires liés au terrorisme. Pour combattre ce fléau, le Niger a adopté un dispositif pénal conformément aux recommandations des instances internationales en matière de répression des infractions de terrorisme. Ces règles sont respectueuses des droits humains et assurent la concordance des décisions rendues en la matière. Ce dispositif instaure également un régime pénal spécialisé et adapté en renforçant la prévention et la répression des actes terroristes et en faisant de la coopération internationale la clé de voute de cette lutte.Ce livre présente en détail ce dispositif juridique antiterroriste, issu de textes divers, qui a permis de mettre en place un cadre juridique complet et efficace de répression du terrorisme au Niger.

In this podcast, Professor Richard Aldrich from the School of Politics and International Relations, discusses the impact of globalisation, the opportunities this affords to global terrorists and the challenges faced by the intelligence services.

Globalisation has led to a free flow of money, people and ideas, which has benefited many people in the West in recent years and enhanced our standard of living, but the price paid is a reduction in security. As we see a shift towards a de-regulated global economy, with states removing controls over their borders, how does a state maintain its security? This has led to an increase in intelligence led activities and increasing expectations upon them.

In addition, Professor Aldrich discusses how mass communication has magnified the influence of terrorists and increased the problems faced by the security services. Finally, Professor Aldrich also discusses the challenges faced by the state in balancing our security, liberty and luxury. Are our civil liberties at risk?

In this podcast, Professor Richard Aldrich from the School of Politics and International Relations, discusses the impact of globalisation, the opportunities this affords to global terrorists and the challenges faced by the intelligence services.

Globalisation has led to a free flow of money, people and ideas, which has benefited many people in the West in recent years and enhanced our standard of living, but the price paid is a reduction in security. As we see a shift towards a de-regulated global economy, with states removing controls over their borders, how does a state maintain its security? This has led to an increase in intelligence led activities and increasing expectations upon them.

In addition, Professor Aldrich discusses how mass communication has magnified the influence of terrorists and increased the problems faced by the security services. Finally, Professor Aldrich also discusses the challenges faced by the state in balancing our security, liberty and luxury. Are our civil liberties at risk?

This kit covers stereotyping of Arab people, the Arab/Israeli conflict, the war in Iraq and militant Muslim movements. Students will learn core information and vocabulary about the historical and contemporary Middle East issues that challenge stereotypical, simplistic and uninformed thinking, and political and ethical issues involving the role of media in constructing knowledge, evaluating historical truths, and objectivity and subjectivity in journalism.

Edward Snowden's revelations about government surveillance of private citizens sparked debate around the world about the trade off between privacy and security. The Institute for Humane Studies invited Professor Ronald Sievert of Texas A&M and Cindy Cohn, legal director for the Electronic Frontier Foundation to answer questions about government data collection. This is their debate.

In this video from Wide Angle, visit the Pankisi Valley, a no-man's-land in the Northeast of Georgia that has become home to the rebels and refugees of the Chechen war.

This graduate reading seminar explores the role of religious groups, institutions, and ideas in politics using social science theories. It is open to advanced undergraduate students with permission of the instructor.

This course provides an introduction to the politics and theories surrounding the proliferation of nuclear weapons. It introduces the basics of nuclear weapons, nuclear strategy, and deterrence theory. It also examines the historical record during the Cold War as well as the proliferation of nuclear weapons to regional powers and the resulting deterrence consequences.

This seminar looks at key issues in the historical development and current state of modern American criminal justice, with an emphasis on its relationship to citizenship, nationhood, and race/ethnicity. We begin with a range of perspectives on the rise of what is often called “mass incarceration”: how did our current system of criminal punishment take shape, and what role did race play in that process? Part Two takes up a series of case studies, including racial disparities in the administration of the death penalty, enforcement of the drug laws, and the regulation of police investigations. The third and final part of the seminar looks at national security policing: the development of a constitutional law governing the intersection of ethnicity, religion, and counter-terrorism, and the impact of counter-terrorism policy on domestic police practices.