Intelligence and National Security Decision Making

Catalog description

Examines the organizational and decision-making environment in which the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) exists. Analyzes how intelligence agencies and elements interact with each other and U.S. government national security leaders, delving into the historical and contemporary debates about that relationship. Topics include the national security policymaking processes and the role of intelligence in them; intelligence authorities and oversight; intelligence mission risk, planning and integration; and the fundamental tensions facing intelligence professionals--counterintelligence/security vs. civil liberties; sharing vs. compartmentalization; and secrecy vs. transparency. Students evaluate how the IC can be more efficient, flexible and innovative to support decisions made in an uncertain world--one in which traditional national security dividing lines are blurring. Students assess how the conflation of boundaries upon which the IC has long relied to define its mission--such as foreign and domestic; law enforcement, military and intelligence; public and private; and even collections and analysis--complicates intelligence authorities and support to policymakers. Through case studies and simulations, students emerge with a stronger understanding of the complexity of IC authorities, missions and relationships to be positioned to support policy processes, influence IC decisions and work across institutional boundaries.