Intelligence Analysis

Catalog description

This course focuses on intelligence analysis including the analysis of international threats to security. The course will provide students with a foundation of human cognition in an effort to help understand why we think the way we do, how we come to formulate biases, and the many analytical, perceptional, and cognitive errors we frequently make in conducting analyses. Students will be provided with a foundation from which to understand and conduct critical analysis. This course affords an opportunity to look at a variety of case studies related to both US and foreign threat analysis and action, including the evolution of responses to threats, perspectives on threat action, principles of threat analysis and response, and assessments of successes and failures of such actions. Students will develop a comprehensive knowledge of intelligence analysis, how intelligence agencies assess and counter international threats in order to guard global security interests, and how various threats affect national security policy and decision-making. (Prerequisite: SSGS500)