DSS Course Schedule: Fall 2023 Semester

Web conference courses

Class meets in real time on specific day and time. Each course also has its own Course Reference Number (CRN).

Course Section Course Reference Number (CRN) Course name Instructor Modality
DSS 601 500 58260 Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control Payne, Trachtenberg, Heinrichs, Ford Zoom: Tuesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 700 500 58262 Strategy and U.S. Defense Policy DeBiaso Zoom: Monday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 705 401 58954 NATO Security Issues Clawson, Dodge Zoom: Tuesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 707 500 58263 Seminar on Congress, National Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction Taylor Zoom: Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 709 401 59934 Space Policy and Security Gardner Zoom: Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 713 500 58265 Intelligence, Counterintelligence, and Covert Action Peck Zoom: Wednesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 722 401 57609 Emerging Strategic Challenges Rose Zoom: Thursday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 723 500 60132

Counterproliferation*

*Restrictions: 
doctorate students only; ineligible if course previously taken; permission required

Bronson Zoom: Monday, 6-9 Eastern
DSS 726 401 58895 Chinese Military Power Anderson Zoom: Tuesday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 797 301 59205 Special Topic: Educ Wargaming Taylor Zoom: Thursday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 797 500 59939 Spec Topic: Intelligence and War Gentry Zoom: Monday, 6-9 p.m. Eastern

In-residence, seated courses

Class meets in real time on specific day and time. Each course also has its own Course Reference Number (CRN).

Course Section Course Reference Number (CRN) Course name Instructor Modality
DSS 601 1 42390 Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control Payne, Trachtenberg, Heinrichs, Ford Tuesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 700 301 51433 Strategy and U.S. Defense Policy DeBiaso Monday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 705 301 58953 NATO Security Issues Clawson, Dodge Tuesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 707 301 45880 Seminar on Congress, National Security, and Weapons of Mass Destruction Taylor Wednesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 709 301 59933 Space Policy and Security Gardner Wednesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 713 301 58264 Intelligence, Counterintelligence, and Covert Action Peck Wednesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 722 301 47419 Emerging Strategic Challenges Rose Thursday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 726 301 44981 Chinese Military Power Anderson Tuesday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern
DSS 797 300 59938 Spec Topic: Intelligence and War Gentry Monday: 6-9 p.m. Eastern

Internet courses

Classes are asynchronous; no real-time class meetings required.

Course Section Course Reference Number (CRN) Course name Instructor Modality
DSS 601 899 45881 Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control McGiffin Online/Asynchronous
DSS 601 898 56521 Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control Trexel Online/Asynchronous
DSS 601 897 58473 Seminar on Nuclear  Strategy and Arms Control Trexel Online/Asnychronous
DSS 632 897 54977 Seminar on International Security Affairs Berman Online/Asynchronous
DSS 708 895 59150 Seminar on Contemporary Security Issues in Russia Marlo Online/Asynchronous
DSS 710 899 45524 Seminar on International Terrorism and Security Kiras Online/Asynchronous
DSS 715 899 58889

Grand Strategy

Prequisite requirement: DSS 601 Nuclear Strategy

McGiffin Online/Asynchronous
DSS 719 899 54975 Strategic Culture Kartchner Online/Asynchronous
DSS 722 899 56244 Emerging Strategic Challenges Gibson Online/Asynchronous
DSS 723 899 56245 Counterproliferation Bronson Online/Asynchronous
DSS 727 899 45393 Chemical and Biological Warfare Moodie Online/Asychronous
DSS 730 899 58843 Cyber Conflict and International Security Mazanec Online/Asynchronous
DSS 740 899 58431 Ethics of Weapons of Mass Destruction Kartchner Online/Asynchronous
DSS 801 899 58268

Advanced Nuclear Strategy, Deterrence and Arms Control
Enrollment restricted, doctorate students only.

McGiffin Online/Asynchronous
DSS 832 899 58270 Advanced Survey and Writing in International Security Affairs
Enrollment restricted, doctorate students only.
Geipel Online/Asynchronous

Arranged courses

Course Section Course Reference Number (CRN) Course name Instructor Modality
DSS 720 1 42478 Internship Training in DSS Policy Koch Arranged (In-residence)
DSS 720 899 54976 Internship Training in DSS Policy Koch Arranged (Internet)
DSS 794 1 49538 Active in Research Contact your academic advisor for enrollment details. Arranged
DSS 796 10 50367 Directed Reading and Research in Defense and Strategic Studies Contact your academic advisor for enrollment details. Arranged (In-residence)
DSS 796 899 56305 Directed Reading and Research in Defense and Strategic Studies Contact your academic advisor for enrollment details. Arranged (Internet)
DSS 799 301 51435 Thesis Contact your academic advisor for enrollment details. Arranged (In-residence)
DSS 799 899 58271 Thesis Contact your academic advisor for enrollment details. Arranged (Internet)
DSS 896 899 58340 Doctoral Capstone Project
Enrollment restricted, doctorate students only.
Geipel Online/Asynchronous

Required books

For fall 2023 semester (August 21 to December 14).

DSS 601: Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control (Payne/Trachtenberg/Ford/Heinrichs)

  1. Keith B. Payne, “Chasing a Grand Illusion: Replacing Deterrence with Disarmament.” 2023
  2. Keith B. Payne, “Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament.” ISBN-13: 978-0-9855553-2-0. This book can be ordered from MSU bookstore
  3. Keith B. Payne, “The Great American Gamble: Deterrence Theory and Practice from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century.” (Fairfax, Virginia: National Institute Press, 2008).
  4. John G. Stoessinger, “Why Nations Go to War.” (any edition)
  5. Kenneth Waltz, “Man, the State and War:  A Theoretical Analysis. (1959 or later edition)

DSS 601: Nuclear Strategy and Deterrence (McGiffin)

  1. Keith B. Payne, “The Great American Gamble: Deterrence Theory and Practice from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century.” ISBN-13: 978-0977622177.
  2. Keith B. Payne, “Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament.” (Fairfax, Virginia: National Institute Press, 2020). ISBN-13: 978-0-9855553-2-0. This book can be ordered from MSU bookstore.
  3. Therese Delpech, “Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Cold War for a New Era of Strategic Piracy.” Arlington, Virginia: RAND Corporation, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0833059307.

DSS 601: Nuclear Strategy and Deterrence (Trexel)

  1. Keith B. Payne, “The Great American Gamble: Deterrence Theory and Practice from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century.” ISBN-13: 978-0977622177.
  2. Keith B. Payne, “Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament.” ISBN-13: 978-0-9855553-2-0. This book can be ordered from MSU bookstore.
  3. Keith B. Payne, “Chasing a Grand Illusion: Replacing Deterrence with Disarmament.” 2023
  4. Therese Delpech, “Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Cold War for a New Era of Strategic Piracy.” Arlington, Virginia: RAND Corporation, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0833059307.

DSS 632: International Security Affairs (Berman)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 700: Strategy and U.S. Defense Policy (DeBiaso)

  1. Bolt, Coletta and Shackelford, “American Defense Policy, Eighth Edition”. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005.
  2. Michael O’Hanlon, “Defense 101: Understanding the Military of Today and Tomorrow”. 2021, Cornell University Press.

DSS 705: NATO Security Issues (Clawson/Dodge)

Required reading

  1. David S. Yost. “NATO’s Balancing Act”. United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, D.C., 2014.
  2. Stanley R. Sloan.  “Defense of the West:  Transatlantic Security from Truman to Trump. Second Edition”. Manchester University Press, Manchester, UK, 2020. 
  3. The NATO Secretary General’s Annual Report 2022:  https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/opinions_212795.htm

Recommended reading

  1. Hans Binnendijk and Gina Cordero. “Transforming NATO: An NDU Anthology”. Center for Technology and National Security, National Defense University, December 2008.  https://ndupress.ndu.edu/Publications/Article/1216716/transforming-nato-an-ndu-anthology/

DSS 707: Congress, National Security and WMD (Taylor)

  1. Hamilton, Alexander; Madison, James; and Jay, John, “The Federalist Papers”. Signet Classics, April 1, 2003.
  2. Oleszek, Walter J., Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process, Eleventh Edition (Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2020). (The Eleventh Edition is the most recent, but previous editions are acceptable.)
  3. Trachtenberg, David J., “The Lawgivers’ Struggle: How Congress Wields Power in National Security Decision Making.” Fairfax, VA, National Institute Press, 2020.

DSS 708: Security Issues in Russia (Marlo)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 709: Space Policy and Security (Gardner)

Required

  1. James Clay Moltz, “Crowded Orbits: Conflict and Cooperation in Space.” New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. ISBN 9780231159128. https://tinyurl.com/5n85txwe
  2. John J. Klein, “Understanding Space Strategy: The Art of War in Space.” New York, NY: Routledge, 2019. Paperback, ISBN 0367-671689.  https://tinyurl.com/2s3ee9ds 
  3. James Clay Moltz, “The Politics of Space Security: Strategic Restraint and the Pursuit of National Interest.” (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2019), ISBN 97815503609402. https://tinyurl.com/529y7mrd 
  4. Jon R. Lindsay & Erik Gartzke, “Cross-Domain Deterrence: Strategy in Era of Complexity.” New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2019. ISBN 9780190908652. https://tinyurl.com/2c6hvh5t 

Optional

  1. Johnathon W. Martin, “US Space Policy Reference Manual: An Anthology of National Space Policies and Other Space Policy Documents.” Lexington, KY: Mammoth, 2021. ISBN 9781077897168. https://tinyurl.com/5n8tmxc5                                               

DSS 710: International Terrorism & Security (Kiras)

  1. Hoffman, B. (2017) “Inside Terrorism.” New York, NY, Columbia University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0231174770; ISBN-10: 0231174772.
  2. Hoffman, B. and Reinares, F. (2014), “The Evolution of the Global Terrorist Threat.” New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0231168991.

DSS 713: Intelligence, Counterintelligence and Covert Action (Peck)

  1. Robert Jervis, Why Intelligence Fails:  Lessons from the Iranian Revolution and the Iraq War, Cornell University Press, 2010.
  2. Mark M. Lowenthal, Intelligence, from Secrets to Policy, 8th ed., CQ Press, 2014.
  3. Lock Johnson and James Wirtz, James (eds.),  Intelligence: The Secret World of Spies: An Anthology,  4th or 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 2014.
  4. David Wise, Spy: The Inside Story of How the FBI’s Robert Hanssen Betrayed America, Random House, Inc., 2003
  5. Michael V. Hayden, Playing to the Edge: American Intelligence in the Age of Terror. Penguin Press, 2016.
  6. Richards J. Heuer, Psychology of Intelligence Analysis.  Center for the Study of Intelligence, CIA, 1999. 
  7. Henry Crumpton, The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA’s Clandestine Service, The Penguin Press, 2012
  8. Mark M. Lowenthal and Robert M. Clark, The 5 Disciplines of Intelligence Collection, CQ Press, 2016

DSS 715: Grand Strategy (McGiffin)

  1. Terry L. Deibel, “Foreign Affairs Strategy: Logic for American Statecraft”, Cambridge University Press, illustrated edition July 16, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0521692779.
  2. Peter Layton, “Grand Strategy”, Columbia, SC: 2018, ISBN:0-6482793-0-8. 
  3. Keith B. Payne, “Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament.” (Fairfax, Virginia: National Institute Press, 2020). ISBN-13: 978-0-9855553-2-0. This book can be ordered from MSU bookstore.

DSS 719: Strategic Culture (Kartchner)

  1. Sohail, Hashmi H., and Steven P. Lee, “Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular Perspectives.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  2. Adamsky, Dima, “The Culture of Military Innovation: The Impact of Cultural Factors on the Revolution in Military Affairs in Russia, The US, And Israel.” Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2010.

DSS 720: Internship/Professional Experience (Koch)

No books are required for this course.

DSS 722 Emerging Strategic Challenges (Rose)

  1. P.W. Singer & Allan Friedman, “Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know”. Oxford University Press, New York, 2014.
  2. Daniel Yergin, “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Class of Nations”.  Penguin Press, New York, 2020.
  3. Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., “The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers.” Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2023.

DSS 722 Emerging Strategic Challenges (Gibson)

  1. P.W. Singer & Allan Friedman, “Cybersecurity and Cyberwar: What Everyone Needs to Know”. Oxford University Press, New York, 2014.
  2. Daniel Yergin, “The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Class of Nations”.  Penguin Press, New York, 2020.
  3. Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., “The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Military Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers.” Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2023.

DSS 723 Counterproliferation (Bronson, both sections)

  1. Etel Solingen, “Nuclear Logics:  Contrasting Paths in East Asia and the Middle East”, Princeton University Press, 2007, ISBN-13: 978-0691134680, paperback and Kindle.
  2. Scott D. Sagan and Kenneth N Waltz, “The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate, Third Edition, London, W.W. Norton & Company, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0393920109, paperback.
  3. Vipin Narang, “Nuclear Strategy in the Modern Era: Regional Powers and International Conflict, Princeton University Press, 2014, ISBN-13: ‚Äé978-0691159836, paperback and Kindle.
  4. Rupal N. Mehta, “Delaying Doomsday: The Politics of Nuclear Reversal”, New York, NY, Oxford University Press, 2019, ISBN-13: 978-0190077976, hardcover and Kindle.
  5. Vipin Narang, “Seeking the Bomb: Strategies of Nuclear Proliferation”, Princeton University Press, 2022, ISBN-13:978-0691172620, paperback and Kindle.

DSS 726: Chinese Military Power (Anderson)

  1. Colby, Elbridge, "The Strategy of Denial:  American Defense in an Age of Great Power Competition", Yale University Press, 2021.
  2. Fravel, Taylor, "Active Defense, China's Military Strategy since 1949", Princeton University Press, 2020.

DSS 727: Chemical and Biological Warfare (Moodie)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 730-899: Cyber Conflict and International Security (Mazanec)

  1. Christopher Whyte and Brian Mazanec, "Understanding Cyber Warfare." Routledge, 2nd Edition.  ISBN-13: 978-1032159317, ISBN-10: 1032159316
  2. Andrew Blum, “Tubes: A Journey To The Center Of The Internet”, Ecco; Reprint edition, May 28, 2013, ISBN-13: 978-0061994951.

DSS 740 Ethics of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Kartchner)

  1. Sohail, Hashmi H., and Steven P. Lee, “Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular Perspectives.” Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2004. ISBN-13:‎ 978-0521545266
  2. Popovski, Vesselin, Gregory M. Reichberg and Nicholas Turner, eds., “World Religions and Norms of War: Conflict, Culture & Religions.” Tokyo: United Nations University Press, 2009.  Full text available free online at: http://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2544/ebrary9789280811636.pdf

DSS 794: Active in Research

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 796: Directed Reading Course

Consult with your project mentor for any required books.

DSS 797: Special Topics: Educational Wargaming (Taylor)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 797: Special Topics: Intelligence & War (Gentry)

  1. Mark Moyar, "Phoenix and the Birds of Prey: Counterinsurgency and Counterterrorism in Vietnam." Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2007.

DSS 799: Thesis

Consult with your board chair for any book recommendations.

DSS 801: Advanced Nuclear Strategy and Deterrence (McGiffin)

  1. Keith B. Payne, “The Great American Gamble: Deterrence Theory and Practice from the Cold War to the Twenty-First Century.” ISBN-13: 978-0977622177.
  2. Keith B. Payne, “Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament.” (Fairfax, Virginia: National Institute Press, 2020). ISBN-13: 978-0-9855553-2-0. This book can be ordered from MSU bookstore.
  3. Therese Delpech, “Nuclear Deterrence in the 21st Century: Lessons from the Cold War for a New Era of Strategic Piracy.” Arlington, Virginia: RAND Corporation, 2012. ISBN-13: 978-0833059307.
  4. Keith B. Payne, “Chasing a Grand Illusion: Replacing Deterrence with Disarmament.” 2023. ISBN-13: 979-8218147563

DSS 832: Advanced Survey and Writing in International Security Affairs (Geipel)

  1. Chicago Manual of Style Guidelines (Quick Study, 2012). https://tinyurl.com/v4sd8p4b 
  2. Hal Brands, "The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today." (Yale University Press, 2022)
  3. Roy Peter Clark, "Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer."  (Paperback), Little, Brown (2016).
  4. Mark Galeotti, "The Weaponisation of Everything." (Yale University Press, 2022).
  5. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, "Storytelling with Data." (Wiley, 2015).  

DSS 896: Doctoral Capstone Project (Geipel)

Consult with your project mentor for any required books