U.S. National Security Policy
MIT OpenCourseWare offers this introduction to how US foreign and national security policy gets made. The course covers the statutes that structure policy-making, the agencies and actors involved in the inter-agency process, and how the executive, legislative, and judicial branches interact to shape decisions. Students write policy memos and take part in a crisis simulation exercise that puts the course's concepts into practice under time pressure. Materials include the full syllabus, lecture notes, assignments, and readings drawn from real national security case studies, all published freely through MIT OCW under a Creative Commons license. The course targets students interested in international relations, security studies, and public policy, and assumes no specialized background beyond general interest in how Washington actually decides on war, diplomacy, and defense.