Fall 2012 - 62285 - PA388K - Advanced Topics in Public Policy

The Long Cold War, 1919-1991

Course Overview

Topics for these policy seminars have included environmental and natural resources policy, health-service delivery policy, social welfare policy, transportation policy, science and technology policy, international affairs, national security, urban and regional growth policy, and political campaigns.

Section Description

The Cold War continues to influence contemporary global politics and policy-making. The institutions that govern our world today from domestic national security structures to international organizations like the UN, NATO, and even international financial institutions were largely shaped by the Cold War. Our ways of understanding international relations were likewise influenced by the omnipresence of military threats, real or imagined, to our security and well-being, which may help explain the over-militarized U.S. response to many post-Cold War security challenges.

Today's students and policy-makers must understand the key elements of the Cold War in order to manage contemporary institutions and challenges. This seminar will study the "long history of the Cold War," going back to the early twentieth century and up to the present, for the purpose of illuminating powerful political, economic, social, cultural, and ideological dynamics that continue to shape global power. The course will seek to offer knowledge of origins, an appreciation for inherited legacies, and a recognition of often overlooked opportunities, born of prior experiences. As a whole, this course will use close historical analysis to build a foundation for looking to the future of domestic and especially foreign policy.

This course is cross-listed with HIS 381. The LBJ School is the home department.