DSS Required Books List

Required Books List, Spring 2025 Semester

DSS 601 Seminar on Nuclear Strategy and Arms Control (Trachtenberg)

  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.
  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 (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.
  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 Survey and Writing in International Security Affairs (Ellis)

  1. Robert G. Joseph, "Countering WMD: The Libyan Experience". National Institute Press, 2009.  
  2. H.R. McMasters, "Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World." Harper, 2020.
  3. William Zinsser, "On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Harper Perennial, 2016

DSS 632 Survey and Writing in International Security Affairs (Gentry)

  1. Michael Mandelbaum, "The Rise and Fall of Peace on Earth". Oxford University Press, 2019.
  2. Robert G. Joseph, "Countering WMD: The Libyan Experience". National Institute Press, 2009.
  3. Keith B. Payne, "Shadows on the Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament". National Institute Press, 2020.
  4. Aiden Warren and Joseph M. Siracusa, "Understanding Presidential Doctrines: U.S. National Security from George Washington to Joe Biden". Rowman and Littlefield, 2022.

DSS 702 Seminar on Regional Security: Middle East Focus (Berman)

  1. Vali Nasr, "The Shia Revival: How Conflicts Within Islam Will Shape the Future". (WW Norton, 2007)
  2. Dan Senor and Saul Singer, "Start-Up Nation: The Story of Israel’s Economic Miracle." (Twelve Books, 2017)
  3. Jim Lacey, ed., "The Canons of Jihad: Terrorists’ Strategies for Defeating America." (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2008)

DSS 705 NATO Security Issues (Dodge)

To be determined.

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. 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 (Beasley)

No books required for this course.

DSS 710 International Terrorism and 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 712 American National Security Policy

  1. McDougall, Walter A. "Promised Land, Crusader State: The American Encounter With the World Since 1776.". Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
  2. Kagan, Robert. "The Ghost at the Feast: America and the Collapse of World Order, 1900-1941". United States: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2024.
  3. Gaddis, John Lewis. "The United States and the End of the Cold War: Implications, Reconsiderations, Provocations". United Kingdom, Oxford University Press, 1992.

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 714 Strategic Thought (Clawson)

  1. Brands, Hal ed., "The New Makers of Modern Strategy from the Ancient World to the Digital Age". (Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 2023).
  2. Sun Tzu. "The Art of War". Samuel B. Griffith, trans. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980).
  3. Strassler, Robert B. ed. "The Landmark Thucydides". (New York: The Free Press, 1996).
  4. Machiavelli, Niccolò. "The Prince and the Discourses". (New York: Random House, 1950).  
  5. Machiavelli, Niccolò. "The Art of War." (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2003).
  6. Clausewitz, Carl Von. "On War". Edited and Translated by Michael Howard and Peter Paret. (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1984).
  7. McCraine, Kevin D.  Mahan, Corbett, "Foundations of Naval Strategic Thought".  (Annapolis, MD.: Naval Institute Press. 2021).
  8. Walzer, Michael. "Just and Unjust Wars: A Moral Argument with Historical Illustrations". 5th edition. (New York: Basic Books, 2015).
  9. Weigley, Russell F., "The Age of Battles: The Quest for Decisive Warfare from Breitenfeld to Waterloo". (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1991).

DSS 719 Strategic Culture (Kartchner)

  1. Kerry M. Kartchner, Briana D. Bowen, and Jeannie L. Johnson, eds., "Routledge Handbook of Strategic Culture" (London: Routledge, 2024). ISBN: 978-0367445485. Students should purchase this book as an eBook: ISBN 9781003010302.
  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.
  3. Adamsky, Dmitry (Dima). "The Russian Way of Deterrence: Strategic Culture, Coercion, and War." Stanford University Press, 2023. ISBN:  978-1503637825 (paperback)

DSS 720: Internship/Professional Experience (Koch)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 721 MIssle Defense, Proflieration and Warfare (DeBiaso)

  1. Payne, Keith B. "The Fallacies of Cold War Deterrence and a New Direction." (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2001).
  2. Gray, Colin S.  "The Sheriff: America's Defense of the New World Order". (Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2004).
  3. Trachtenburg, David (Ed.), "Expert Commentary on the 2022 Missile Defense Review". (Fairfax, VA: National Institute Press, 2023).

DSS 722 Emerging Strategic Challenges (Rose, Ritcheson)

  1. Christopher Whyte & Brian M. Mazanec, "Understanding Cyber Warfare, Politics, Policy and Strategy".  Second Edition, Routledge, London and New York, 2023.
  2. Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr., "The Origins of Victory: How Disruptive Mililtary Innovation Determines the Fates of Great Powers". Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2023.
  3. Daniel Yergin, "The New Map: Energy, Climate and the Class of Nations". Penguin Press, New York, 2020.

DSS 722 Emerging Strategic Challenges (Marlo)

  1. Christopher Whyte and Brian Mazanec, "Understanding Cyber Warfare., Politics Policy and Strategy." Routledge, 2nd Edition.  ISBN-13: 978-1032159317, ISBN-10: 1032159316
  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)

  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 725: Instruments of State Power (Ford)

Course readings will be provided by the instructor. 

DSS 726: China: The International Politics of China’s Rise (Anderson)

  1. Taylor Fravel, “Active Defense, China's Military Strategy since 1949.” Princeton University Press, 2019.
  2. Elbridge A. Colby, “The Strategy of Denial: American Defense in an Age of Great Power Conflict.” Yale University Press, 2021.

DSS 727 Chemical and Biological Warfare (Melley)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 730 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 737 ADVANCED Chemical and Biological Warfare (Moodie)

No textbooks are required for this course.

DSS 740 Ethics of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Kartchner)

  1. Sohail, Hashmi H., and Steven P. Lee eds., “Ethics and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious and Secular Perspectives”. Cambridge University Press, 2004.
  2. Vesselin Popovski, 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

If books are required, they will be assigned by your course mentor or instructor.

DSS 797 Special Topic: Arctic Security Challenges (Anderson)

No books required for this course. 

DSS 797 Special Topic: Cybersecurity - Understanding and Assessing Risk (Bell)

To be determined.

 DSS 797 Special Topic: Educational Wargamming (Taylor)

No books required for this course. 

DSS 797 Special Topic: Information Technology, National Secuirty and the 4th Industrial Revolution (Whyte)

No books required for this course. 

DSS 799: Thesis

If books are required, they will be assigned by your thesis mentor.

801 ADVANCED Nuclear Strategy (Payne)

  1. Keith Payne, "Shadows On The Wall: Deterrence and Disarmament". Fairfax, VA: National Institute Press, 2020), pp. 1-62, 147-159.  Please note: this book is available to all 801 students at no cost to the student via the DSS library at the Fairfax, VA campus. 
  2. Keith Payne, "Chasing the Grand Illusion: Replacing Deterrence With Disarmament". Fairfax, VA: National Institute Press, February 2022. Please note: this book is available to all 801 students at no cost to the student via the DSS library at the Fairfax, VA campus.
  3. Keith Payne, "The Great American Gamble". National Institute Press, 2008). Please note: this book is available to all 801 students at no cost to the student via the DSS library at the Fairfax, VA campus.

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 (editor), "The New Makers of Modern Strategiy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age". (Princeton University Press, 2023).
  3. Hal Brands, "The Twilight Struggle: What the Cold War Teaches Us about Great-Power Rivalry Today." (Yale University Press, 2022)
  4. Roy Peter Clark, "Writing Tools: 55 Essential Strategies for Every Writer."  (Paperback), Little, Brown (2016).
  5. Mustafa Suleyman, "The Coming Wave". (Crown, 2023)
  6. Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic, "Storytelling with Data." (Wiley, 2015).  

DSS 840 ADVANCED National Security Strategies (Koch, Ford)

  1. Hal Brands, ed., "The New Makers of Modern Strategy: From the Ancient World to the Digital Age." Princeton University Press, 2023.
  2. Melvyn P. Leffler and Jeffrey W. Legro, "In Uncertain Times: American Foreign Policy after the Berlin Wall and 9/11." Cornell University Press, 2011. 
  3. Aiden Warren and Joseph M. Siracusa, "Understanding Presidential Doctrines: U.S. National Security from George Washington to Joe Biden." Rowman and Littlefield, 2022.

DSS 896 Doctoral Capstone Project

If books are required, they will be assigned by your project mentor.